The Return of Rawhide Robinson.

Rawhide Robinson is the star of three of my previous novels. Rawhide Robinson Rides the Range – True Adventures of Bravery and Daring in the Wild West won a Western Writers of America Spur Award. Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail – The True Tale of a Wild West CATastrophe won a Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award and was a Spur Award finalist. Rawhide Robinson Rides a Dromedary – The True Tale of a Wild West Camel Caballero was a finalist for both honors.

Now, after laying low for a few years, tall-tale-teller Rawhide Robinson is back. Speaking Volumes, publisher of the paperback and eBook editions of the aforementioned books, has just released the new, never-before-published Rawhide Robinson Rides a Wormhole – The True Tale of Bravery and Daring in the Weird West in paperback and eBook.

As you may know, extraordinary things often happen to ordinary cowboy Rawhide Robinson. In his latest adventure(s), while riding herd on a ranch in the remote Nevada desert a lightning strike zaps him into the middle of the twentieth century and the middle of Area 51, a top-secret experimental airbase where strange things are said to happen.

In a chance encounter, Rawhide Robinson meets young teenager Eric, who helps the discombobulated cowboy escape the clutches of military police, the CIA, and local law enforcement, and gets him mixed up in a kidnapping by Las Vegas mobsters. All the while, Rawhide Robinson entertains with his signature tall tales as he wonders if he will ever get out of the modern world and back to the Old West.

Learn more about Rawhide Robinson and his adventures on his very own website, RawhideRobinson.com. The books are available at Speaking Volumes and from online booksellers listed below.

The sentiment author Ol’ Max Evans once inscribed in my copy of The Rounders certainly applies to Rawhide Robinson Rides a Wormhole: “Have fun here—I sure as hell did.”

eBook On Sale Now:
Amazon US
Apple Books
Barnes & Noble
Google Play
Kobo Books

Preview eBook Here:
Amazon US
Google Play

Print Book On Sale Now:
Amazon US
Barnes & Noble

Camel bytes.

 

The Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award and Western Writers of America Spur Award finalist novel, Rawhide Robinson Rides a Dromedary: The True Tale of a Wild West Camel Caballero, is now available from Speaking Volumes in digital bits and bytes. Which means you can download and read it on your Kindle, iPad, smart phone, or other electronic gadget. For us old-fashioned or unplugged types, it is also now available in paperback.

Here’s where to get your copy of the eBook:
Amazon US
Apple Books
Barnes & Noble
Google Play
Kobo Books
Here’s where to get your copy of the paperback print book:
Amazon US 

You can read more about Rawhide Robinson, the ordinary cowboy who lives an extraordinary life—much of it a product of his imagination—on his very own web site. Enjoy.

About those cat videos.

I have no personal experience in the matter, but I am told that cat videos are popular on the internet. I wonder if that fascination spills over to cat books.

Our cowboy hero Rawhide Robinson, star of many a campfire tale and Old West adventure, is up to his knees in felines in Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail—The True Tale of a Wild West CATastrophe. Winner of a 2015 Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award and Finalist for a Western Writers of America Spur Award, this hilarious tale is now available in paperback and eBook, formatted to fit your bookshelf and whatever electronic gadgets you have. The publisher, Speaking Volumes, has listed the novel all over the place:

Print Book:

·   Amazon US
·   Barnes & Noble

eBook:

·   Amazon US
·   Apple Books
·   Barnes & Noble
·   Google Play
·   Kobo Books

eBook Preview:

·   Amazon US
·   Google Play

Enough shameless commerce for today. Rest. Relax. Curl up with a good kitty and enjoy.

Rawhide Robinson gets a re-ride.

    

    Some of you will be familiar with Rawhide Robinson. He’s the ordinary cowboy who spins stories about his extraordinary experiences. He’s the star of three award-winning novels, Rawhide Robinson Rides the Range, Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail, and Rawhide Robinson Rides a Dromedary. His outlandish tales are enjoyable for readers from junior high age to geriatrics. He even has his own website where you can get to know him.
    The news of the day is that Rawhide Robinson is once again riding into the literary world, in new paperback and eBook editions from the publishing house Speaking Volumes.
    Rawhide Robinson Rides the Range: True Adventures of Bravery and Daring in the Wild West is now available in paperback and eBook. That’s the handsome new cover above. The other two Rawhide Robinson novels previously published in hardcover will be along soon in paperback and eBook. And, somewhere down the trail, another Rawhide Robinson adventure will be available for the first time—Rawhide Robinson Rides a Wormhole: A True Tale of Bravery and Daring in the Weird West.
    For gifts, for yourself, or just for fun, when Rawhide Robinson rides into your life you’ll have a lot to laugh about. Stand by for crass commercialism. Here’s where the new edition of Rawhide Robinson Rides the Range is now on sale:

Paperback:
Amazon US
Barnes & Noble

eBook:
Amazon US
Apple Books
Barnes & Noble
Google Play
Kobo Books

Rawhide Robinson makes the news.

Rawhide Robinson is an ordinary cowboy who often finds himself in the middle of extraordinary events—some real, some he spins in outlandish campfire tales.

The novel in which he made his debut, Rawhide Robinson Rides the Range, made the news when it won a Western Writers of America Spur Award. The second book featuring the cowboy, Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail, won a Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award and was a Spur Award Finalist.

The latest book of whimsical tall tales and outrageous adventures, Rawhide Robinson Rides a Dromedary, recently made news upon being named a Spur Award Finalist by Western Writers of America.

Not a bad showing for an ordinary cowboy. If you haven’t read Rawhide Robinson’s adventures as yet, he will be pleased to entertain you.

Rawhide Robinson trades cows for camels.

(Note to readers: We will return to our usual literary nonsense following this brief commercial message.)

Don’t worry. Giving up horses and cows is only a temporary aberration for Rawhide Robinson. Just as our ordinary cowboy hero traded cattle for cats in Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail, in his latest adventures(s), we find him delivering dromedaries.

Rawhide Robinson Rides a Dromedary: The True Tale of a Wild West Camel Caballero is loosely—very loosely—based on the US Army’s experimental use of camels as pack animals in the southwestern deserts. And if you think herding longhorn cattle and Chicago alley cats is fodder for fantastical escapades, wait till you read about our cowboy’s exploits on the high seas and at Levantine ports of call.

As usual, Rawhide Robinson spins tall tales as easily as a loop, and sailors find his stories every bit as entertaining as cowboys do.

Western Writers Hall of Fame member Loren D. Estleman says the book is “rich in color, texture, and relentless forward movement.” Booklist says, “Rawhide’s over-the-top storytelling is complemented by Miller’s slapstick humor and verbal gymnastics.”

Rawhide Robinson Rides a Dromedary is hot off the press. Watch the short video for a taste of what’s inside the covers, and visit RawhideRobinson.com to read an excerpt. And, of course, buy the book.

End of crass commercialism. Tune in next time for something altogether different.

Another Rawhide Robinson cover up.

Five Star, publisher of my Rawhide Robinson novels, recently sent the cover for the next book featuring the adventures of the extraordinary ordinary cowboy. That’s it, up there.

The book is due for release in February and I am looking forward to seeing it in print. It is always exciting (and somewhat intimidating) to see something you’ve seen about a million times on your computer screen show up as a genuine, actual, ink-on-paper book.

Read a bit more about Rawhide Robinson Rides a Dromedary: The True Tale of a Wild West Camel Caballero (and the other Rawhide Robinson novels). And consider putting the first two in the collection on your Christmas list for readers from junior high through geriatrics who would enjoy tall tales, Old West adventures, and cowboy humor.

And save room on your book shelves for the next one, come February.

Rawhide Robinson Rides the Interweb.

Rawhide Robinson, the ordinary cowboy who finds himself involved in all manner of extraordinary events, now has his own web site.

Visit www.RawhideRobinson.com and you’ll learn about the Wild West’s wildest cowboy. You can watch (in a matter of seconds) short videos about the books Rawhide Robinson Rides the Range: True Adventures of Bravery and Daring in the Wild West (winner of a Western Writers of America Spur Award) and Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail: The True Tale of a Wild West CATastrophe (winner of a Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award and finalist for a Spur Award). And you can read brief excerpts from those books as well as Rawhide Robinson Rides a Dromedary: The True Tale of a Wild West Camel Caballero, slated for release in February, 2018.

There’s no other cowboy quite like Rawhide Robinson. Pay him a visit online at www.RawhideRobinson.com. And, of course, you can get to know him better by buying the books. They make fine entertainment for readers from junior high to geriatrics.

(If I do say so myself.)

 

“Goodbye, Old Paint…

…I’m leavin’ Cheyenne.”

Truth be told, unlike that classic cowboy song lyric, I’ve already left Cheyenne. We were there last week for the annual Western Writers of America convention.

As usual, the WWA convention was a good time. I saw lots of fellow writers who’ve become friends over the years, and I met some who likely will become friends. I sat in some interesting panel discussions and presentations and visited some interesting historic sites in the area. And, to repeat myself, my novel Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail: TheTrue Tale of a Wild West CATastrophe received a handsome certificate as a Finalist for the Spur Award for Best Western Juvenile Fiction, a book suitable for readers from junior high age to geriatric.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the convention was the acceptance of a Spur Award for Best Western Storyteller by young author JoJo Thoreau, author of the illustrated children’s book Buckaroo Bobbie Sue. Calling her young is not an exaggeration—JoJo is nine years old.

Which is certainly a novelty.

But her book and her Spur Award are no novelty. She’s an honest-to-goodness writer and Buckaroo Bobbie Sue is an honest–to-goodness book. It‘s the colorfully illustrated rhyming story of a young girl’s wish to, as we say in the cowboy trade, “make a hand,” and her rise to heroics at the right minute.

I played a small role in the making of the book and am pleased as punch that JoJo (who’s too young to know better) trusted me help out.

Leaving Cheyenne wasn’t easy, but at least as we rode out of town “leading Old Dan” we left with saddlebags full of fine memories—including meeting in person the budding—but already accomplished—author JoJo Thoreau.

 

The cat is out of the bag. Sort of.

Western Fictioneers, an organization of authors who write novels and short stories about the Old West, recently announced nominees for their annual Peacemaker Awards. The awards, named in honor of the Colt revolver, are bestowed upon the Best Novel, Best Short Fiction, Best First Novel, and Best Novel for Young Adults or Children.

I’m happy to say that Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail: The True Tale of a Wild West CATastrophe, is nominated in the latter category. Winners will be announced June 15 and if there is further good news I will pass it along.

This recognition, along with being named a Western Writers of America Spur Award Finalist, is high praise for my latest novel.

If you haven’t read Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail, you can order a copy through your local bookstore or online, both in hardcover and e-book. There’s a short video about the book on my Amazon Author Page and out there elsewhere. Whether young or old—say from junior high school student to senior citizen—you’ll get a grin out of the extraordinary exploits of an ordinary cowboy.

Rawhide Robinson feels the prod of a Spur rowel.

My latest novel, Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail: The True Tale of a Wild West CATastrophe, is a rollicking story of an ordinary cowboy who finds himself in extraordinary situations. This time, he sets out to relieve a rat infestation in the mining boomtown of Tombstone by driving a herd of cats there. On top of the adventures the drovers meet along the way, Rawhide Robinson regales the cowboy crew around the campfire with more of his over-the-top tall-tale escapades.

Young adults and adults who have never quite grown up all the way will enjoy the humor and excitement in the stories.

It seems the judges in the Western Writers of America Spur Awards enjoyed the book, as they selected it as a Finalist for Best Western Juvenile Novel. I’m looking forward to the award ceremony at the WWA convention in June in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

My earlier Rawhide Robinson novel, Rawhide Robinson Rides the Range: True Adventures of Bravery and Daring in the Wild West, won the 2015 Spur Award.

Not a bad showing for an ordinary cowboy.

Reminder: I will be talking about Western writing at the Write Here in Ephraim writers conference. C’mon down and join the fun.

Under my tree.

With Christmas in the offing, I thought I’d give myself a couple of gifts for the season.

My web site, www.writerRodMiller.com, was originally built by my friend and finer author Michael Zimmer. But the technology is now outdated, and updating the site was time consuming and difficult. So, I bit the bullet and brazened myself for some frustration and built a new one.

Same address, www.writerRodMiller.com. It’s not as spiffy looking as the earlier one, but I think it should serve. It has links from all my books to either the publisher or my Amazon Author page, so should you want to buy a book (or subscribe to a magazine) you can “click through” as they say in the trade.

Also new is a little promotional video for my new novel, Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail. You can view it below, on YouTube, or on my Amazon Author Page. It will only occupy 38 seconds of your time and you will, I hope, find it—the book it’s about, rather—intriguing. All thanks to banjo magician extraordinaire Mike Iverson for permission to use “Oh! Susannah.”

Enough self-serving crass commercialism. But it is, after all, the Christmas season. May you all have a merry one.

Can you judge a book by its cover?

The old saying says no—you can’t judge a book by its cover.

Book publishers say yes—readers ought to be able to glean a good deal about what’s inside a book by the nature of its cover. And, for the most part, they live by that belief. The covers of romance novels share a certain similarity. As do mysteries. And science fiction. And thrillers. And fantasy. And other categories of books.

Including, of course, Westerns.

Which brings up the subject of my forthcoming Western novel (look for it in December), Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail. While it is certainly a Western novel, you’d have to cast a pretty wide loop to catch it with the usual herd.

For one thing, it’s humorous—something I think is sadly lacking in Westerns. And most other fiction, for that matter. For another thing, while there are a few confrontations where people get shot at, but I don’t think anybody gets shot.

And again, like its Spur Award-winning predecessor, Rawhide Robinson Rides the Range, it’s filled with lies—or, to use more polite language, tall tales.

Or, as Rawhide Robinson would have you believe, the absolute truth.

Those differences are probably why the cover doesn’t look much like a typical Western novel. Still, the cover does tell you something about what’s inside—a book that’s not much like a typical Western novel.

Finally, if the quality of the artwork on the cover is any indication, what’s inside is likely to be pretty darn good.

If I do say so myself.