Landscape is an essential part of most westerns and this weekend we traveled to the Texas Hill Country around Mason in search of Lupinus texensis, better known as the Texas Bluebonnet. Yes, who can live in Texas without going on … Continue reading →
I just returned this weekend from the annual meeting of the West Texas Historical Association, which always offers an interesting program of presentations on the region’s history. One of the most fascinating papers was by Holle Humphries on “Quanah Parker … Continue reading →
Occasionally, I get asked why I’ve written under various pennames. The answer can be simple or complex, but either way it carries on a great literary tradition. Mark Twain, of course, was actually Samuel L. Clemens, Lewis Carroll was really … Continue reading →
As a young boy I remember seeing a lot of John Wayne movies in the 1960s, but one I don’t recall is The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. I do remember the identically named Gene Pitney song, though it was … Continue reading →
One of the things I enjoy about history is getting to meet such interesting people. In researching Civil War journalism for a talk as part of Angelo State University’s Civil War Lecture Series this week, I first met Peter Wellington Alexander. … Continue reading →
For an author, seeing one of your books return to print is like running into an old friend that you haven’t seen for years. So, I am excited to see the return of The Memoirs of H.H. Lomax, starting this … Continue reading →
I’ve now received an electronic version of the finished cover of my next juvenile book, Just Call Me Uncle Sam. That’s when I finally feel like I’ve actually published a book, even though it won’t be available for awhile. This’ll … Continue reading →
For Christmas in 1960, my Aunt Ella Mae and Uncle Joe Whitworth gave me a copy of Huckleberry Finn. To my recollection that was my first exposure to Mark Twain, the last of the three writers I would say influenced … Continue reading →
When painters or sculptors finish their artistic endeavors, they have something to display. When writers finish a project, they have a stack of typewritten pages, nothing they can frame for the wall or display on a coffee table. That’s why … Continue reading →
Probably the most influential writer in my life was Ernie Pyle, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and war correspondent for Scripps-Howard. Of course, he died at the end of World War II before my birth, but I could find his collected … Continue reading →