Tucson Festival of Books

This is a short posting to say the Tucson festival of Books has drawn record crowds of readers and authors. All the sessions appear to be SRO, with many turned away at the door. I had an active session on Saturday and look forward to two panels todays. I also attended several other presentations and they were outstanding with lots of questions and answers.

When my wife left me thirty minutes early to see Sandra Day O'Connor’s workshop, the line was already well beyond the capacity of the auditorium. Too bad. O’Connor wrote one of my favorite Western books. Granted, it was a children’s’ book, but I believe it still qualifies as a Western. Chico tells the story of her childhood pony and how it saved her life. Great illustrations and my grandchildren love the story.

If you’re in the vicinity, come on down. You can catch me at one of my panels or at a book signing directly after the sessions.

Also, don’t miss the Western Writers of America booth. There are always some great Western writers waiting to meet you.

11 Things Writers are Tired of Hearing

BuzzFeed listed 10 Things Writers are tired of hearing. Add cute animations and some acerbic replies and you have an interesting article. Here are the BuzzFeed’s 10 and my personal answers.

     

     1.     Do you make any money doing that?

             Yes, but I’m still struggling to make more than minimum wage.

     2.     When does your book come out?

             Darn … last year.

     3.     Oh, I have a great story for you…

             I only have enough time on this planet to write my stories.

     4.     You should write about me!

             I’m glad you haven’t noticed I already did.

     5.     Cool. You know, J.K. Rowling is a millionaire.

             Yeah, but she went to school at Hogwarts.

     6.     What’s your novel about?

             About 72,000 words.

     7.     You have your MFA? What’s that do?

             Actually, I have an MBA. It taught me how to make money so I could write.

     8.     Have you ever considered being a journalist?

             I write fiction, which means I lie for a living. Wait a minute …

     9.     But what’s your real job?

             Not writing. I enjoy it too much for it to feel like work.

   10.     Really? Nobody reads books anymore.

            You obviously don’t have grandchildren bugging you to buy them chapter books.

Okay, so here is my #11 thing I am tired of hearing: When will the next Steve Dancy book be out? 

Actually, I love to hear that, but I tend to over-promise, so I cringe when people ask a second and third time. It takes way too long to get a book from first draft to print-ready.  And if I haven’t worked on it for a few days, the query makes me feel guilty. 

Honest stories filled with dishonest characters.

Zane Grey Defined a Genre

Portrait of Grey at Monument Valley

Zane Grey was an athlete, avid fisherman, and a lifelong philander. Grey was introverted and remained somewhat antisocial his entire life. Oh yeah, he was also a writer. In fact, he wrote his first story at age fifteen.

He attended the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship, and played minor league ball for several seasons. After graduating with a dentistry degree, he set up practice in New York City. About ten years later, he gave up dentistry to write full time.

His first published work was a magazine article about fishing, and he wrote extensively about fishing his entire life. At first, his novels were repeatedly rejected. He grew to love the West after several hunting trips to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, so he incorporated these experiences into his writing. Still his novels continued to be rejected. (His early works were not Westerns.)

In 1910, he wrote his first Western, The Heritage of the Desert which became a bestseller. Two years later, Riders of the Purple Sage became his best-selling book of all time. From that point forward, he was a celebrity writer and Grey’s Westerns were eagerly published.

Zane Grey authored over ninety books, counting the ones published posthumously from manuscripts or serialized magazine stories. He would cease writing for long periods, and then burst into writing frenzies where he would scribe over 3,000 words a day. He sold over 40 million books, most of them Western novels, but some were children’s stories or non-fiction books about hunting, fishing, and baseball. Over 100 films were based on his stories. After his death, he even made it to television with The Lone Ranger, Sgt. Preston of the Yukon—which were based on his characters—and Zane Grey Western Theater. His Westerns allowed him to explore the world extensively, maintain several homes, and write about fishing. In fact, his books made him a millionaire, which irked critics who had little respect for his writing skill.

Zane Grey’s West Society claims that “In 57 novels, 10 books of Western nonfiction, and 130 movies, Grey, who died in 1939 at age 67, almost single-handedly created the "Myth of the West."

The official Zane Grey website lists his books, movies, and magazine serializations.

Books are a perfect gift ... and a great way to avoid the crowds

At times, friends and relatives can be hard to buy for. Some seem to have everything. Due to age or illness, others may be less mobile than in years past. Some don’t really want much. Families scatter across this huge country and selecting a gift, packaging, and shipping can be a chore.

A book, however, is always a great gift … especially if you take the time to match their taste in fiction or nonfiction special interest. Suddenly, your thoughtfulness becomes part of the gift. Whether your relatives or friends are interested in the Civil War, literature, romance novels, Westerns, paranormal fiction, railroads, guns, cooking, collecting old comic books, antique automobiles, or anything else, there's always a book that will bring a smile to their face.

Books are the best entertainment value. They provide hour after hour of personal pleasure, and then they can be passed on to another person. When I give a book as a gift, I  write a personal note inside that won't get tossed out like last year's Christmas card.

Children's books are great gifts. We search for autographed storybooks for our grandkids. Local bookstores always have children book promotions around the holidays, and this is one area where we actually like to join the crowd. A great find is when the author and the illustrator both sign the book. We've done this for several years, so now our grandkids' bedrooms have dedicated shelves for signed books. The icing on the cake is we get to read them a story from one of these books whenever we visit.

Here are Amazon links to bestselling books in a few categories. There are many more categories a click away, but you can also search for books on a specific subject.

Children's books

Cook books

Crafts & Hobbies

Action Adventure

Romance 

Westerns

Amazon Bestsellers

If you have a Western enthusiast in the family, giving one or more of these books can bring a smile to their face … mine as well.

The Perfect Gift

Books are perfect gifts. They're already a great value, but with the speed the world is going to those nifty electronic readers, books will soon be valuable antiques. Heck, in the near future, you may only be able to gaze at books in those brick and mortar museums they call libraries.

My bet is that children's books won't go electronic anytime soon. We always search for autographed storybooks for our grandkids. A great find is when the author and the illustrator both sign the book. We've done this for several years, so now our grandkids' bedrooms have dedicated shelves for signed books. The icing on the cake is that we get to read them a story from one of these books when we visit


Several of our relatives have hobbies and special interests. Some people can be hard to buy for—unless you pick a book about their hobby. Whether your relatives or friends are interested in the Civil War, railroads, guns, cooking, or collecting old comic books, there's always a book around that will grab their interest.

Books are the best entertainment value around. They provide hour after hour of personal pleasure, and then they can be passed on to another person. I also like that when I give a book as a gift, I can write a personal note that won't get tossed out like last year's Christmas cards.

By the way, if you're thinking about a gift for me, I collect vintage Western books from the first half of the twentieth century. I especially like the ones with great illustrations on the dust cover. But if you give me one of these, do me a favor and write your personal note on a Post-It.