It’s The Focus, Stupid!

The editor’s fingers drummed on top of her desk, her eyes steady, friendly enough, but not kind, “You have been claiming you’re going to get four books out this year—three of your novels and the next Land for Love and Money.”

I felt myself blink. “Yep!”

“Where are they?”

I launched into my mantra. “Well, the Sandy storm shut you folks down, and then I decided to rewrite the last third of Uncompahgre and, hell, this is only December…”

She brusquely cut me off, “Are you making improvements to your ranch this year?”

I felt my eyes widen. What the @**# does that have to do with this? “Yes—irrigation and field work on two fields on the spread…”

“Just two?” she interrupted me again with a wry smile.

“Yep. Try to do more and nothing will get installed.”

She nodded. “Exactly. So if that’s true for the cowboy and his ranches, what makes you think it’s less applicable to the author and his books?”

Of course, she was right.

“It’s the focus, Stupid.” That has been my grimaced message to myself in the mirror the past month.
There’s a host of things to attend to on the ranch side of my equation, compounded by the morons in Washington DC – and I include all of them, both parties, left or right. But that is yet another tale. And then there’s life, and the never ending promotion of the books.

When I finally do sit down to write, and those first several paragraphs setting the scene are on the page, it’s as if I’ve stepped through a portal. I am on the stage, it is 1855, and there is the smell of sage, gunpowder, perfume and the land. The characters smile, nod their heads as if they have missed me, and begin to again tell me the story. Then I can write like the wind – three to six thousand words a day, and sometimes more. The problems are two-fold. First, finding the time to sit down and do the first two transportive paragraphs. Second, now that the single cell in my thick cowboy skull has acknowledged that more focus on fewer books, and a set schedule taking into account the incredible myriad of mandatory steps will actually result in more “walk” and less “talk” in getting the highest quality books out and into your hands!

It wasn’t until we sat down during January and really mapped out the schedules to some of the smallest details (though even then not to the nth degree) that I realized how right they were. There are more than one hundred critical steps between story concept and the pages in a reader’s hands. The Cowboy had blissfully and woefully underestimated.

I’ve tipped my cowboy hat back and I’m scratching my forehead vigorously. “What the hell was I thinking?”

So in summary, apologies for getting Book 3 out later than I wanted or you anticipated, but taking a step back now means ten steps forward in the future. Adjusting the Uncompahgre release results in a schedule and structure critical to a realistic two Threads West books per year—still more than the typical big series schedule of a single novel per annum.

Yes, I write because I love to write. I pen because I have a story to tell.  I bond with the characters that live in the pages because they are me, and you, and real people we all know. I immerse myself in the tale because there are multiple messages on many levels that I want to send. But above all, I write because you like to read.  Thoughts, comments, or what have you are welcome!

Extremes of Thread West Country ...

This was only a few week ago.... 



THE EXTREMES of threads west country…dumping again and woefully behind on digging out from the first one. 14 inches since 9 this AM, dumping, equipment still mostly in mercury retrograde and getting close to 4 feet on the level. The ranch house seems mighty comfy considering thoughts of the Donner party in wagons stranded high in the pass at 8,000 feet way back when!

My office remains hopeless

As I dictate this I am wandering through the ranch house. I stop at my writing desk. Despite my best efforts it has now become just as cluttered as the other flat surfaces on various levels. There is an array of blogs, new web pages, contributions to four websites, Land for Love and Money, coming out June 26, 2012 (www.landforloveandmoney.com) the evolving manuscript of Book Three of the Threads West series—Uncompahgre—where water turns rock red.

I stare at pages and wonder, “Let’s see, did I do those re-writes?” My eyes glaze over at the scribbled edits on this and that manuscript for both fiction and non-fictional.

My writing desk has become a storage place for outlines, blogs and revisions. The breakfast bar in the kitchen is now home to the amended copies of the Land for Love and Money and the third book of the Historical Western series. My office remains hopeless. I believe that somewhere under the piles of papers there’s a short story or two. I’ve run out of floor space to pile papers and documents. I have to move papers to sit on the couch.

My new mantra has become, “I’m enjoying this creative process.” I gaze cross-eyed at a pile of paper with so many red-line edits that it’s difficult to see the original print.

“I think I will work on Uncompahgre,” I argue with myself. “No I really need to get those blogs done.” (sigh). Nope need to put the final touches on the Green for Green Workbook for Land for Love and Money.”

And finally, “I think I will just go fishing for a couple of hours!”

Speaking Gig At Los Alamos Middle School

I had the great privilege to address about one hundred and fifty great kids and teachers of the Los Alamos middle school in January. The message of the universal energies of the land, romance, the American spirit, and self-reliance formed the core of the presentation. We talked about the undeniable fact that we are all from elsewhere but are bound by those chunks of “soul food.” Fun stories brought laughter, applause, great interaction and over half an hour of terrific questions. Those kids definitely got the concepts! It was a total delight. Thanks to Peggy Durbin of Ottowi Station Bookstore and Museum, for setting up the event and the “Los Mos” school system for hosting it. Los Mos rocks!

We are so pleased that Reid enjoyed speaking with the students at the Los Alamos, NM, Middle School on January 28. Speaking for nearly two hours to a rapt audience of about 100 seventh and eighth graders, Reid discussed self-expression and the creative process, self-reliance ("If you need a hand, look at the end of your arm"), and the universal energies of the land and romance. The students may not have known it then, but they were also getting a free writing workshop. The students' questions to Reid were thoughtful and full of insight. He was unfailingly respectful of and interested in the kids. He and I were especially pleased when several students remained after the talk to discuss their own writing with him. 


The signing the evening of January 28 was a delight. As I told Reid, our customers prefer to talk the authors' ears off, and that seemed to suit him perfectly. Several of the students from the morning's talk came by for books. Of course, we always have some shy customers who call a couple minutes before the signing is scheduled to end and who ask in a fraught whisper, "Is he still there? Will you have him inscribe a book to Richard?"
A good customer to the store came in this morning and wanted to know whetherThreads West would be a good selection for her book club. I told her it would be perfect.


Thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing Reid again.
Sincerely,
Peggy Durbin

A wonderful romantic adventure back in time......

Started the book one cozy morning and didn't stop til I reached the end.. 

I was captivated by the characters and the imagines that they brought to my head...so now the book sits on my nightstand and will certainly reread it several times before the next arrives...

~Carol N.