Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day, a day to honor the dead from all the wars of our country.

My book Spring House: Book 1 in the Westward Sagas tells the story of my ancestor Adam Mitchell, a Patriot of the Revolutionary War. He survived the war, but many of his relatives, friends, and neighbors gave their lives for the cause.

I’m proud to say that members of my family have fought in every US war. We all wish for peace, but I am thankful and proud of our brave military members who stand up for what is right and lay their lives on the line to defend their country.

Today I will remember and honor all who have given their lives in the service of our country.

Get a free, autographed copy of Spring House! Update

Updated 9/12/07: Thanks to everyone who responded. I have plenty of reviews now and am not actively seeking any more. 

Recently I offered a free autographed book to anyone who posts a review of Spring House at Amazon.com.

The press release has apparently been picked up somewhere or the word has spread somehow. In the last couple of days, a number of new reviews have been added to Amazon.com. The reviews are all wonderful. My editor told me my head was going to be so big it wouldn’t fit through the door.

If you would like to write a review and receive a free book, go to Amazon.com, scroll down the page to Customer Reviews and click on the link to submit a review.

After you have submitted your review at Amazon.com, go to Westward Sagas and fill out the contact form with your mailing address and any special requests for the autograph.

There seems to have been a problem with receiving the requests for the free books through the contact form. The form has been checked and should be working now. If you have submitted a request and didn’t get a response, please send it again. You will receive an e-mail acknowledgment to let you know your request was received and your free book will be sent out right away.

Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed Spring House.

Books ‘n’ Authors and All that Jazz: The Biggest Liar in Texas

Donna Ingham delivered the luncheon speech at Books ‘n’ Authors and All That Jazz. The well-known humorist and folklorist calls herself the Texas Tale Teller and has been recognized as World Storyteller and Biggest Liar in Texas.

Her Web site describes her performances:

Humorist and folklorist Donna Ingham takes the ancient art of storytelling and gives it a Texas twist to entertain audiences of all ages. Hear tall tales, folklore, historical and personal stories told as only a Texan could–or would.

Although she has earned her reputation as a storyteller, she has also written three books about Texas.

She told delightful Texas stories, including the tale of Oliver Loving and Charles Goodnight, the real men who inspired Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove. Oliver Goodnight is buried in Weatherford, and his great-great-granddaughter attended the luncheon.

Updated 8/14/07: A correction pointed out by a reader. Rick really knows his Texas history:

Just a slight correction to your remarks about Donna Ingham: It is Oliver Loving who is buried in Weatherford. Charles Goodnight is Buried in a cemetery just off highway 287, East of Amarillo, at the unincorporated town of Goodnight.

I was so impressed with Donna’s presentation and want to emulate her in my speaking and writing career. Her enunciation, projection, and delivery were perfect. Even with hearing problems that usually keep me from being able to understand speakers clearly, I could hear and understand – and enjoy – every word she said.

Her performance was entertaining and educational. As a genealogist and family historian, she echoed what I believe when she closed her presentation by saying, “If we don’t write these family stories, they’ll be lost forever.”

[tags]Books ‘n’ Authors and All That Jazz, Donna Ingham, family history, Texas tales[/tags]

Lulubelle, the Flying Dog

If you’ve read my blog for awhile, you probably know that my best friend and companion is my yellow lab Lulubelle.

Lulubelle has assigned herself two important jobs that she takes very seriously:
1) Take me for a walk every morning.
2) Guard the truck whenever she goes anywhere with me (which is every chance she gets!).

Recently, I took her with me to get my truck serviced. The mechanic asked if I was going to take Lulubelle in the waiting room, but she insisted on remaining at her guard station in the back of the truck.

The mechanic was hesitant to raise the truck on the lift. “Are you sure she won’t jump out?” he asked.

I assured him that Lulubelle would be perfectly happy in the back of the truck as long it took. I was right. She stood guard in the back of the truck high in the air on the lift for more than an hour. Passers-by stopped to look and point, but Lulubelle didn’t see anything unusual about manning on her post as truck guard … even when the post was several feet up in the air!

 

Books ‘n’ Authors and All That Jazz: A highlight

One of the sessions I attended at Books ‘n’ Authors and All That Jazz was “Converting Your Novel to a Screenplay: Screen-Writing From a Novelist’s Point of View” presented by Tom Townsend.

Tom is the award-winning author of twenty-six books, including seventeen novels, and at least five of his novels have been optioned for film. He frequently gives presentations to schools and directs military living history programs.

Tom also has extensive experience in the film industry as the owner of a documentary/historical video production company and a supplier of reenactors, military vehicles, and weapons systems to movies.

I found his advice on how to turn a book into a screenplay very interesting. I highly recommend that any author with an interest in creating a screenplay of a book hear Tom Townsend speak.

[tags]Books ‘n’ Authors and All That Jazz, novel to screenplay, Tom Townsend[/tags]