My Views on the War April 15, 2003 I have sat still long enough. I apologize in advance to those friends of mine who have advised me against this kind of letter, but I do not believe I can hold still any longer and still hold my head up in public. If this letter is to hurt my sales, then it is a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I am not personally fighting in the war, but if I do not stand up for those who are, then I am an absolute coward who deserves to be downtrodden and forced to kiss the feet of dictators.
There is a newsletter I get periodically, known as "Truthout." After finally reading some of the articles publicized in this letter, I see that the name "Truthout" means that they are doing without the truth. Every article is written specifically to bash Republicans basically for being Republicans and Conservatives for being Conservatives. Anything I've seen of them does not give any indication that their comments would be friendlier if the Republicans and Conservatives changed their views on any subject. If you are Republican and you are Conservative, you will be bashed. Let this be known.
Well, I am not a Republican. I think for myself. But I am a Conservative. I do not believe we should mollycoddle criminals. I believe our society is better off not having to share this planet with murderers, and especially not having to pay for them to watch TV, lift weights and sue whomever they feel they want to simply out of boredom and because they can. I do not believe we should be allowed to murder unborn babies. I own a large number of firearms. I collect them for the beauty of their metal and woodwork, and their symbol of the Old West. I have never killed anyone with my firearms, and without being provoked by threat of death or injury on me or my family I do not intend to. I have never committed a felony or a misdemeanor. I am a law-abiding citizen. And I do not intend to take over any worlds. I believe in the pursuit of happiness, and I believe in the same right for the rest of the world, as long as it does not mean stomping another's rights into the dust.
Let me make an illustration here, because what I do is write. This is the best way I can illustrate my views on the war.
Let us suppose that a man by the name of John Smith (I want a very plain name no one can cry racism about) decided one day he wanted to take over the United States. John was a powerful general, and he was hungry for power. So he met secretly with many other generals who hungered for power and supported him. One day they walked into the US House of Representatives during session and began picking out liberals who they knew would oppose them. Systematically, as these men complained about their treatment, they duct taped their mouths, took them out and shot them. Then they did the same with the Senate, then the judges, then of course killed the president. Anyone who stood in their way and was in a position of authority they killed. Thus, John Smith came to power over the United States.
Soon, we had John Smith Avenues, John Smith Streets, John Smith Boulevards, John Smith Airports...in short, any John Smith anything you can think of. We had statues of John Smith everywhere, and of course John Smith won the next election by 100% of the vote because he was so popular (or was it because he threatened to kill anyone who voted against him, and everyone knew it was a valid threat?). We had billboards of John Smith everywhere, photographs and paintings of John Smith before our eyes no matter where we went. We were starving to death, but John Smith, instead of the 150,000 or 200,000 dollars, or whatever paltry amount we pay our president now, (compared to the million to 90 million we're willing to pay our sports stars and actors) was making in the billions of dollars a year and owned five or six multi-million dollar palaces.
John Smith decided he didn't like too many towns in Texas, New Mexico, southern California or Arizona. Too many minorities there. He decided he didn't like Chicago, and he did not like anyone who proclaimed to be Amish, Quaker, Mennonite, or anything of the like. So...he destroyed those four states and gassed Chicago and any community where the people lived a different lifestyle than that of which he approved. He also wiped out most rural communities because those people thought too much for themselves.
Americans had no hope. John Smith was everywhere. He had taken over. We had no friends anywhere in the world because everyone else in the world was so cowardly they would rather hide their heads in the sand than stand up for someone who was being so brutally subjected to a powerful regime. Well, guess what. Hitler was not unlike John Smith. You saw what happened there. But these so-called "Truthout" people want to call Bush "Hitler." Okay, let's call him Hitler. Let's stand up for the rights of the poor little Saddam Hussein, who's just trying to make his innocent way in the world. Then let's see what happens to the world when people like Saddam Hussein (who is, as you guessed, John Smith) are allowed free reign. Where does it end? When the schoolyard bully is allowed to beat up anyone he wants and no one is strong enough to oppose him, where does it lead? I'm sorry, folks. There was a time I let the liberal and Hollywood crowd cause me doubt about this war. Then I did research of my own. I'm sorry our boys and girls are dying in Iraq. But they chose to die for their country if they had to, and they went over to Iraq with a sense of pride, knowing they were protecting people who had no hope under such a brutal leader as Hussein. I pray for our soldiers every day, and I pray for our president. And I believe there were in actuality many Iraquis who were--and are--doing the same. Yes, things may not be great for them at the moment, with war surging around them.
But were things better before--when "John Smith" was ruling their kingdom?
As you can see, I'm a little opinionated about this war. I haven't always had such an opinion. It came from research and a personal need to know the truth. Please do not let Alec Baldwin, Barbara Streisand and their fellow pukes out of Hollywood sway you. They know nothing but their own selfish interests. They would protect a brutal murderer over the millions of people subjected to him because I guess it is the "in thing" to do--and because it is their nature to oppose anyone who is not a fellow liberal.
The truth hurts. "Truthout" emails are NOT TRUTH. Do not let them persuade you. As for me, I have no political agenda. I have simply sat back quietly and observed, and I am done being quiet.
Kirby Jonas
Howling Wolf Creations Newsletter April 4, 2003 Disciples of the Wind At the risk of boring you all, I got thinking that after all the work I've done on Disciples of the Wind lately (that's the one I'm working on with my brother Jamie) I should give you all a teaser. Believe me, this book is very close, and while I of course am happy with all my books this one holds a special place in my heart.
Jamie is two years older than I am. When we were young we played with our Johnny West dolls like there was no tomorrow. We called it "playing West" or "playing Johnny West." It was almost a religion for us. And what a time we had. Some of the book plots I have on my plate even now came from those days. Jamie was my hero. He always knew the coolest names to use for our characters, had the coolest ideas for new plotlines to follow. And our "games" were almost like miniature movies, especially as we got older. We would actually plot them out at night, then act them the next day. Those days are like a dream now.
So when Jamie came to me a few years ago with the idea of writing a book together about characters we had played with as children, I was elated! What a chance to go back to our childhoods, to "play Johnny West" once more. I can't tell you how the plot developed. I know only that it was to revolve around two brothers, one older brother of Johnny West, one younger, and they would face the wily "Sam Cobra," only in our book his name is "San (Sandoval) Cobra."
Through sessions of brainstorming, much as when we were young, we came up with a plot that I think will knock your socks off and a writing premise that I'm not aware of having been tried before.
The book, seen first person through the eyes of Jake West (my character), and Jason West (Jamie's character), takes place in and around Palisade, Nevada, now a ghost town and mostly nonexistent since treasure hunters packed all the old wood away back to California to sell. Jamie and I had the chance to go to Nevada to research the book a couple of years ago, and it came to life. So the book begins with Jake telling how he ended up in this town of Palisade on his way to Virginia City to go into business with his favorite brother, Jason. Then Jason picks up the tale in chapter two, Jake in chapter three, and on and on, every other chapter, until Jason ends it with his eloquent words.
I have to tell you, folks, this book is tremendous. Not to brag on my own writing, but I do enjoy reading back over even that. What I do want to say is that you are in for a rare treat when you read the interplay of Jamie's words with mine. You are going to see some of the most eloquent writing in Idaho (in my opinion) as Jamie's words float of those pages into your memory. He is without a better, in my opinion, at evoking the feel of the weather, the emotions of his characters, and his writing is much like poetry.
Jamie hasn't pursued the horse riding, gun shooting scene like I have, but you will never know the difference. I have worked closely with him on those points. It is the pure music of his words that will take you and carry you away. I can hardly wait to have the book out so you all can see what I mean. The book has been a long time in the making, and because of our different writing paces we haven't exactly meshed, but the final story will make it all worthwhile.
Start counting down the days: as long as the printing budget holds, it will not be long before you are sitting down in front of your fireplace or wherever it is you like to read with a copy of Disciples of the Wind burning its words into your soul.
Kirby JonasHowling Wolf Creations Newsletter April 2, 2003 - Contents:
1) Book news, Clint Walker, etc.
2) Marx collector news: new Marx 12 inch figure retailer. Cheapest prices available! (At Kirbyland, of course)
3) Marx collectors: custom horses and dolls
4) Apologies
Howdy, fans of the West! I was at work yesterday, and far away from my mailing list, so (fortunately) I had to forgo the pleasure of any April Fool's-type letters to you all. Now I'm required to be honest and serious for the rest of the year! And you all know how serious I am!
New Books?
Well, I'm embarrassed to admit that this newsletter was triggered by a friend and reader of mine down in sunny Arizona. (You know who you are!) I get involved in so many things I forget to let you all know what's going on in the inner works of Howling Wolf Creations/Publishing. So thank you Dan and any others who have written me getting me back on track. I'll try to do better.
I recently completed the first draft of Yaqui Gold, which you may remember as the brain child of my favorite actor and now one of my favorite people, Clint Walker. It is currently under lock and key, but we are steadily working to improve it and polish it up, and if we can get that done in the next two months I anticipate it to be in bookstores this fall. The original plan was to do only 500 copies in the first print run, making it a very valuable collector's volume in hardback. I don't know exactly how we'll do it now, but as we get closer to the date and I see the huge interest in this book I am rethinking the plan and evaluating the merits of making the book available through in a much larger first run. If you have any input on this, please let me know. If it helps in your decision, my first novel, Season of the Vigilante, Book I, sells sometimes for up to 100.00 in its first print run, which was only 2500 books.
Anyhow, Yaqui Gold should probably be the next book to hit the shelves, a book on whose cover my name will proudly and justly be listed below Clint Walker's. We have done some extensive reworking of the book and its original plot idea, but most of the book is Clint's brain child. I am simply the simple-minded yahoo putting it on paper. And of course I can't tell you how honored I am to be involved with Clint in this capacity. He is one of the most respectable men I have ever known, a man I would have been most proud to call my father if a person were free to choose.
Some of you, most recently Dan, have asked about Disciples of the Wind. I will say this: This WILL be a great book. WHEN it gets done. I don't know when that will be. There is so much editing yet to do on my brother's chapters. As you may remember we wrote every other chapter separately, he speaking first person as Jason West, me speaking first person as his older brother, Jake. Kind of a role reversal thing. My brother, Jamie, is an excellent writer in many ways. But he is no horseman, nor gunman and sometimes lets the excitement of his own proficiency with words cloud believability and realism. Those are the points I have to iron out, so alas "Disciples" will be pushed farther down the production line, although I am working on it almost daily.
Other irons in the fire consist, still, of The Secret of Two Hawks and The Sun Stood Still. Both are still too far out to predict when they will hit shelves, but I hope you will be patient with me. As a fulltime city firefighter I can only invest so much time into my writing, and as my readers know I can't stand to think of getting any facts, spelling, or punctuation wrong, so I rewrite extensively, and it all takes time.
Other News
For those on my Marx collection list, I have just begun retailing the new production 12 inch figures from Marx Toys. The dolls I will have available when my first shipment arrives will be: 1) Johnny West 2) General Custer 3) Black Knight 4) Blue Knight 5) Destiny, the Blue Knight's horse 6) Erik, the brave Viking 7) Odin, the braver Viking 8) Silver Knight 9) Gold Knight. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing any of these. I will be selling them at a lower cost than you will be able to purchase them anywhere else. Also let me tell you that they have ceased purchase on these figures, and what I sell in the next year or so will probably be the only ones available, perhaps ever again. I think the Marx folks realized they have about used up the market.
My Custom Horses and Dolls
I have also been receiving queries on when my next custom horses will be done. Here's the scoop: I have so many people who have ordered horses that I am still working on, including Dianna and Jim, who've waited FAR too long because of my oversight, that even though I have numerous one of a kind horses sitting customized, I won't be able to get to them for at least three more weeks. But I will definitely let you see the new ones I'm working on, even though the next five or six are already bought and paid for. If you REALLY want one of my horses, however, I would advise you to order as soon as possible. If you don't know which one your after but just know you're going to want one, a simple payment of 20.00 down will give you first dibs on unclaimed horses. (That's for you, Boothill!)
Well, it's back to working on polishing Yaqui Gold, which I'm narrating onto cassette for Clint to enjoy, and Disciples of the Wind, that temperamental and imperfect but genius brainchild of my brother's and mine.
I apologize to those of you who have written recently and not heard back from us yet here at Howling Wolf Creations. If you wrote concerning a pressing matter, please do write again, and I will do my best to respond or have Debbie do so. In the meantime, I hope you all have a great day and remember to pray for our troops.
Your friend,
Kirby Jonas