Wolf's Howl Newsletter September 2005
Well, hello everyone!
I'm coming at you all a day late and more than a few dollars short, but I'm all in one piece. Summer in the good ol' USA came and went faster than a cat through a dog run, and I'm sitting here at the computer again wondering exactly what happened. I tried to find my head, but with no success I'm going to have to start this letter without it.
Horse (Cloud Catcher) on his way
First off, the biggest news is that my little half Friesian, half quarter horse bay colt is going to be joining the ranch here shortly after Halloween month is upon us. Check out his photos down below. They won't show you any of his conformation, but they'll reveal a whole heap about his personality. The owner of Abacus Farms, where he lives on, tells me this is the only kind of photo she can get because she can only run backwards so fast, and he is so friendly he won't stay away from her. Just my kind of "bronc." Anyway, Debbie and I and our good friend Dave Lundy, from Colorado, will be driving out at the end of the month so I can do a little work on my latest novel with Clint Walker and also pick up the little rascal. No, not Clint--Cloud Catcher!
Books
I'm embarrassed to admit this, but other than the fact that my latest with Clint, entitled LONG ARROW, is into chapter eleven, I don't have any good news to share on the book front. The two books I wrote with my brother, Disciples of the Wind and Reapers of the Wind, are apparently going to hit sometime in November, exactly when I didn't want them to come out. Just in time for Christmas, I guess, but two books in one month are going to be hard to handle! The good news, back to Long Arrow, is that it's a crackerjack of a plot, and I have a feeling it is going to end up more of a hit than even YAQUI GOLD, the last offering from me and Clint.
We didn't make the writers' convention in Spokane, Washington this year, and that is sad news for us, as it sounds like it was a great one. Our friend, musician and author Mike Blakely didn't make it either, so it would have been a big disappointment without him. But we missed all the rest of them just as much, especially our friends Todd Shank and W.C. Jameson, Candy Moulton .... aw, shoot...the list is too long! We'll be making it to the one next June, in Cody, Wyoming, and it sure would be great to run into some of you there. What a great time of year to see Yellowstone, as long as you can handle the droves of tourists at that time of year.
As far as I can tell we're no closer to a movie deal with either Tom Selleck or Sam Elliot on any of our books. Of course Yaqui Gold is the one I would like to see, since I wrote it around the two of them, but hey--we'll settle for any of the books, right? I'm hoping for a possible interview with one of my old-time favorite actors, Glenn Ford, and with any luck I'll get one with James Arness as well, but that is up in the air right now. No, it won't lead to a movie deal, but it sure would be neat to meet them in person, wouldn't it?
As for Hollywood, we just got back from "Little Hollywood," Kanab, Utah, where we had dinner one day with James Drury, "The Virginian," and a group of ladies who belong to my Virginian discussion group, the only one authorized by James Drury himself. James was the usual gentleman, charming us all, and it sure was good to see him again. But I have to say it was just as great meeting all the gals with whom I've corresponded for some time now. I also did a little outline work with Clint Walker in the conference room of his hotel, and then I accompanied him and his wife Susan out to their new property, where we saw a whole slug of cottontail rabbits and two elk that sauntered past where their house will be. We stood there in the beauty of that red rock evening, with the clouds lit up by the last of the sun, and I thought, "How can it get any better? Standing here in the midst of a desert twilight with Clint Walker, my most endearing Western hero, and his lovely wife, Susan Walker? Okay, it could have only been better if Debbie and the kids had been there. But it was a once in a lifetime evening.
The next day I was able to meet a couple of other longtime heroes, Denny Miller, who played on Wagontrain, and William Smith, who played on many old time Westerns, as well as Kimo Koru, on Hawaii 5-0. Roberta Shore, who played Betsy on The Virginian, was also there, and was as gracious and beautiful as ever.
All in all, it was a beautiful trip, capped off by a brief encounter with possibly the biggest bull elk I've ever laid eyes on, including all those I see every fall in Yellowstone Park. He was camped out in the grass and juniper country of Central Utah, of all places.
I made it back just in time to accompany one of my dearest friends, Maxine Nielson, to her forty year class reunion. Don't worry--it was a date my wife set up!
So all in all, I guess there's plenty of news, but no new books. I'll be taking pre-orders soon, but not until I know the book is underway being printed. No more of the late books of the past. The next two will not be announced until they are almost in my hands.
Folks, I hope all goes well out your way, whether you be in the States, Canada, or across the Atlantic. It's great having all of you as friends, and my only wish is that I could cross trails with you all in the coming year. Oh--one other wish--safety for you all, and stay out of the path of hurricanes and other natural disasters. I wouldn't want to lose any of you.
Your friend,
Kirby Jonas