AWARDS SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE
It’s been a hectic couple of months since our last newsletter. Where to start? Probably with our recent travels. For those of you who have been keeping track, we were off to Italy and Greece for Kathleen and her dearest old friend Itrice’s combined birthday celebration cruise. They’ve been planning this for years, and it came off this September. Most of the cruise was concentrated on classical archaeological sites like Akrotiri, the Parthenon, the Forum, and Pompeii. With Itrice around expect lots of laughter, joy, and good food!
WOMEN WRITING THE WEST
Back home, the next excitement for us came when we arrived at the 30th annual Women Writing the West conference in Denver the second week in October. WWW celebrated their founding members, including Kathleen, with a special and wonderful ceremony led by award-winning author Karen (K.S.) Jones. In addition, our co-authored article, “Gene-Edited Bison: A Barnyard Revolution? Or a Looming Disaster?” placed 2nd in the Downing Journalism Awards. Then, to Kathleen’s surprise, her short story “Stalker” was the 3rd place winner in the Laura Awards in the best western short fiction category. Have to tell you, Women Writing the West puts on a great conference.
THE WILL ROGERS MEDALLION AWARDS
Home for only three days, we were off to Fort Worth, Texas, for the Will Rogers Medallion Awards. Not to sound like a looped recording, but the weekend was filled with old friends, good cheer, fine food, and merriment. Executive Director Chris Enss orchestrated a great celebration and awards ceremony where Michael picked up Bronze medallions for his short story “Bad Choices” in the Wolfpack RIDIN’ WITH THE PACK anthology and a Bronze for his AFTER THE EAGLE HAS FALLEN in the Modern Western Novel category. Both stories are set in the Wyoming Chronicles’ universe.
And for all of you who have asked for more! Wolfpack Publishing has requested a 4th book in the series. Thank you all for your support of the series. We’ll start work on book 4 as soon as we deliver BUFFALO JUSTICE, our upcoming Western mystery/thriller set in northern Wyoming and Montana.
THE “PEACEMAKER TALE”
On the book front!!
ECLIPSE DANCER, the 8th and final part in the “Peacemaker Tale” has just been published. You can now buy the entire re-issue starting with PEOPLE OF THE LONGHOUSE and binge from Part 1 to the heroic ending in Part 8. This epic series is set around the origins of the Iroquois Confederacy and follows a group of stolen children as they work together to escape one of our most frightening villains—the evil Gannajero. To our delight, the series has been off-and-on bestsellers on Amazon. We’ve been pleased with the high ratings and rave reviews. And there is talk that all eight parts may be released as a boxed set for Christmas.
If you have the original Forge quartet including PEOPLE OF THE LONGHOUSE, THE DAWN COUNTRY, BROKEN LAND, and PEOPLE OF THE BLACK SUN you don’t need to order the 8-part reissue. (Unless you just want to have them for your collection.) But for the rest of you, happy reading.)
SWITCHING GEARS
On October 15th our first short fiction anthology, SWITCHING GEARS was released in print and eBook format. We’re particularly proud of this one. You get two New York Times bestselling authors who have collectively been inducted into four literary Halls of Fame—and both writing at the top of their game. “No Quarter” and “Bad Choices” two Spur-Award and Will Rogers Medallion Award-winning stories are both included along with six new stories. Fans of Michael’s THE MORNING RIVER and COYOTE SUMMER will get to experience the moment Travis and Baptiste meet. Kathleen’s fans will get to share her “Ruins” and “Wolf Bait,” both psychological thrillers as well as her haunting story, “The Hammer” about a young Bonnie Parker. Along with Michael’s “Oldest Profession” and “What’s Owed the Demon,” we think it’s a great collection. By the time you read this, we’re also hoping the audio version has been released and you can listen to Michael and Kathleen reading their stories in their own voices. And, yes, we had a blast recording it.
Here's a suggestion: Been looking for a perfect Christmas/Seasonal gift? Have a friend, family member, book club buddy that you’ve wanted to introduce to our writing? We can’t think of a better gift under the tree than a copy of SWITCHING GEARS. The stories are eclectic and should appeal across the board to all kinds of readers. The anthology has mysteries, thrillers, historical fiction, and a classic love story.
WHAT’S COMING
We’ve been busy! The Wolfpack Publishing re-issue of PEOPLE OF THE RAVEN is being released in December. We’re proud of RAVEN, it won us the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award for best historical novel of the year. Now, it will be back in print for the first time in years. Got the original Forge edition? You’re set. The only change is an updated archaeological forward containing the most recent information on “Kennewick Man” and the peopling of the Americas.
Following RAVEN, Wolfpack will be releasing our Anasazi novel, PEOPLE OF THE MOON in January. It will also be coming in 2 Parts: PEOPLE OF THE MOON and DYING MOON, documenting the collapse of the Chacoan Empire in the American Southwest. It was a finalist for the Spur Award for best historical novel of the year.
And then…? Why, we’ll be delivering BUFFALO JUSTICE to Wolfpack Publishing sometime around the end of December. This is our modern-day mystery/thriller dealing with hot-button issues swirling around the Yellowstone bison herd, environmentalists, conservation litigation, and critical habitat in Montana and Northern Wyoming. We’ve lived this fight, and are pleased to employ our knowledge of buffalo, genetics, politics, and range science in the telling of a snap-and-crackle thriller set against the background that made the Yellowstone TV series such a success—the modern West.
And in 2025?
As mentioned earlier, Sam Delgado, Breeze Tappan, and Lauren Davis will be back in the forth installment in the Wyoming Chronicles series!! Can’t wait to dive into the next spine-chilling adventure as the End of the World wreaks its next havoc.
Finally, if enough copies of SWITCHING GEARS sell, we’ll pitch Wolfpack around issuing a second anthology of our short stories. Only time, and you, dear readers, will tell.
Meanwhile, we send you our best wishes for health, prosperity, and happiness as we enter winter. Here, in Wyoming, we’re looking forward to some cooler temperatures and hoping for a whole lot of snow. Over 885,000 acres burned this year in Wyoming, and the wildfires are still not out. Puebloan peoples believe that the buffalo bring snow; we are sending our prayers to Buffalo Above for many snowstorms.
Until next time, read great books, spend time over the holidays with cherished family and dear friends. Don’t let a single day pass without telling someone you love them.
Michael and Kathleen