Hi Everyone!
It’s a beautiful snowy day in northern Wyoming, and we’re glad to see it. This has been an especially dry winter, so we cherish every flake we get. The best part of the day has been watching the gauzy clouds drifting over the faces of the mountains and the white tailed deer leaping through the drifts in the backyard. We’re supposed to have sub-zero temperatures all next week. That means life will basically come to a halt here. Birds will hide in the trees and animals find warm spots to stay put until the worst passes. More and more, we are all dreaming of spring.
Thanks again to everyone for all your emails and cards. We’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of congratulations we’ve received after winning the Western Writers of America’s “Owen Wister Award” for outstanding contributions to Western literature. We’re still a little dazed. And honored. And humbled. As promised, we will let you know the date for our upcoming installation in the Western Writers Hall of Fame. Hopefully it will be a warm June day.
We just got more great news. Two of our books have been nominated for the Reading the West Awards: CRIES FROM THE LOST ISLAND in the Young Adult fiction category, and PEOPLE OF THE CANYONS in the Adult Fiction category. As you can see… https://readingthewest.com/nominees/ the competition is very tough. We’re up against several brilliant books. The judges should have determined the short-list by the end of February (we’re keeping our fingers crossed!) and if either of our books makes the short-list the public will be allowed to vote for their favorite title on April 15th. If you enjoyed any of the short-listed books, even if they are not our books, please vote. It helps booksellers to know what you care about.
We’re having a grand time with the books we are currently working on. Michael is about mid-point in drafting LIGHTNING SHELL (Book 5 of the People of the Cahokia series) and Kathleen is flying through THE ICE ORPHAN (Book 3 of the Rewilding Chronicles). By now the characters are old friends of many trials and tribulations, so these are poignant times for us as authors. Each day we watch the end of their stories getting closer.
Please stay safe and well.
Best Regards,
Michael and Kathleen