HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL!

It’s a beautiful autumn in northern Wyoming. The mountains that surround us are frosted with fresh snow, and the aspens are a wide vista of quaking golden leaves, interspersed with dark green pines and fir trees. The buffalo and deer are growing their winter coats like crazy, trying to get ready for the cold they know is coming. We have our heavy winter coats out, too, but haven’t needed them yet. That’s supposed to change next week when the new cold front rolls in.

We just returned from a balmy Key West where we celebrated our 39^th wedding anniversary, got sunburned, and ate WAAAY too many conch fritters and lobster pizzas. Had a grand time visiting the local museums and taking the Ghost and Graveyards Tour, which was fabulous.

Hello Everyone!

We hope you’ve had a great summer.  For the past month, we’ve been suffering through a lot of the wildfire smoke pall, as have most states in the western U.S., but it’s raining today here in Wyoming, so we are hoping for clear blue skies (at least for a short while) later today. 

It’s been an interesting summer for us. June was a little stunning. We received the Owen Wister Award for lifetime contributions to western literature, and were inducted into the Western Writers Hall of Fame (a bit disorienting to see our names next to Jack London’s and John Steinbeck’s names). In June we also received two 2021 International Book Awards. Michael’s book, UNRECONCILED, won for best science fiction novel, and Kathleen’s book, CRIES FROM THE LOST ISLAND, won for best Young Adult novel. Kathleen won for best science fiction novel a few years ago for MAZE MASTER, but we’ve never each won an IBA in the same year!  Too cool…

June has been a remarkable month for us.

First, we have been the recipients of the Western Writers of America’s Owen Wister Award for lifetime contributions to Western literature, and will be inducted into the Western Writers’ Hall of Fame along with names like A.B. Guthrie, Bernard de Voto, Mari Sandoz, Zane Grey, Willa Cather, Louis L’Amour, Dorothy Johnson, Elmer Kelton, David Lavender, and so many other giants.

In the run up to this, Michael was informed he would be inducted into the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame on September 18 in a special ceremony in Denver. And, yes, he is a 4th generation Colorado Native and so many of our books were written, or use, Colorado as a background. Two hall of fame inductions in one year? Leaves us wondering what these organizations know that we don’t. Usually, they save these things for just before you’re going to die.

For the record: We’re both still remarkably healthy, feeling chipper, and ready to duel with dragons even if we’re getting a bit slow when it comes to outrunning bison.

No sooner had that started to sink in than we were informed that Kathleen’s novel Cries From the Lost Island had placed 1st in the Young Adult category in the International Book Awards. Nor was she the only winner. Michael’s Unreconciled, the 4th Donovan novel, was the 1st Place Winner in the International Book Awards Science Fiction category. Two number one books! It left us humbled and honored.

COMING “ADRIFT” IN A WHOLE NEW WORLD. Published by DAW Books: June 15, 2021

“Welcome to Donovan” is an ironic and sometimes mocking statement well known to readers of Michael’s “Donovan” series. For Kathleen and Michael, June is a busy month with three of their novels being released at the same time, including, in addition to ADRIFT, Kathleen’s THE ICE LION from DAW, and Michael’s DISSOLUTION from Wolfpack.

For those of you new to the Donovan series, ADRIFT is a stand-alone novel. You don’t have to read the earlier books to know what’s happening. How to describe it? The Donovan books have been likened to “Deadwood” crossed with “Avatar.” This is frontier fiction set on a dangerous world thirty light years away, and a little over a century in our future. Don’t expect the usual science fiction tropes; Michael gives you complex humanity, a whole new take on biology, and a world that fights back.

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.

The international best-selling writing team of W. Michael and Kathleen O’Neal of Cody, Wyo., will receive the Western Writers of America 2021 Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature.

The Gears, who are best known for their prehistory series of books, will also be inducted into the Western Writers Hall of Fame, housed outside the McCracken Research Library at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody.

“For more than three decades, Kathleen and Michael Gear have been bringing the past to vivid life with their books about the indigenous peoples. Both individually and as a writing team, their work stands out for its focus and readability,” said WWA President Chris Enss. “The Wister Award was created for such talent.”

Added WWA Executive Director Candy Moulton: “Michael and Kathleen, with their careers in archaeology and as award winning bison ranchers, bring extraordinary understanding and passion to everything they write whether the subject involves the prehistory of America, or the genetics of bison.”

The nonprofit guild’s highest honor will be presented during WWA’s convention June 16-19 in Loveland, Colorado.