It's almost time!

The Touch of Roy and Dale will be available in select book stores and on online book sites soon, but earlybirds can pre-order now!  Just visit westquest.org to get the earliest possible delivery.  The book will be ready to ship by the end of November.

Be sure to check out my interview with radio host, Greg Bell, as we discuss the book this week on SiriusXM radio, Radio Classics, Channel 82, and on SiriusXM's book channel.

A substantial portion of the gross proceeds of this book are being donated to Roy and Dale's charity, The Happy Trails Children's Foundation, and I couldn't be happier to be able to help.  I hope you enjoy knowing that your purchase of the book will help, too.

Happy Trails! 

It's true.  There's always something to learn.

Throughout my life I've known Roy Rogers and Dale Evans from my own perspective.  After all, I was born in the 50s and grew up on horses.  Roy and Dale were huge in my world.  But today, decades later, it's as if I'm being personally introduced to them by thousands of members of their family.  For that's what Roy and Dale's fans are--family.

Producing the book, The Touch of Roy and Dale, has been one of the most profound experiences I've ever enjoyed.  Getting to know Roy and Dale's fans has been a gift I will forever cherish.  I'm humbled and grateful for the opportunity to bring the words of those fans, plus incredible photos, art, poetry, songs and custom treats, to all the world with this book.  What an experience this has been!

The book is inching ever closer to completion, and when it's ready, I'm confident that Roy and Dale, in spite of having departed our earth, will somehow feel the true love their fans have poured from their hearts.

I will surely produce more books in my lifetime, but I may never produce another one that is such a labor of love.

The Touch of Roy and Dale is only a few short months from its debut.  And I, for one, can't wait!

In case I forget to say it at the time...THANK YOU to all the fans who shared their stories and their sentiments.  This book is about the King of the Cowboys and the Queen of the West, but it is also all about you!  

April 2, 2010

Utilizing only holistic treatments, my dog, Digger, beat Legg-Calves Perthes disease, and my article about Digger's amazing journey appears in the April/May issue of Animal Wellness Magazine.

Legg-Calves Perthes can be devastating to the dog as well as to those who love him or her.  Unfortunately, the "cures" inspired by conventional medicine can be as horrible as the disease itself.  Watching Digger heal and become a normal four-legged dog again was a great joy, and I hope others who read his story understand that, above all else, there are choices. 

As the world mourns the loss of Michael Jackson, I can’t help but reflect upon the brief moments in time when my world and Michael's crossed paths. His music was always a part of my life, but I had the extreme good fortune of experiencing three special and personal "Michael" moments. Oh, these weren’t sit-down conversations, hugs or even handshakes. They were just three fleeting instances of sharing a common circumstance.  But they were awesome to me.

I recently read the debut romance novel, LIE TO ME, of author Starr Ambrose, and found it to be a quick and thoroughly entertaining read.  It's high on my recommendation list for anyone who loves romantic suspense.  I wrote a review of the book for Suite101, so click on my Suite101.com Articles tab and check it out!

 

Thank goodness for books.

Sometimes movies just don't stack up to the book they are based on, and I have to wonder what the screenwriters were thinking.  I saw "Marley & Me" on Christmas Day and wished I hadn't picked that day to see it.

Was the "Marley & Me" book on your must-read list in 2008?  Have you seen the movie?  Check out my review of the movie here:

Marley & Me - Movie Review

Then tell me how the movie worked, or didn't work, for you!

 

Waiting is joyless, yet we do it again and again, day after day.  What would life be like if we didn't have to wait?  Just how many precious moments and finite heartbeats are lost just waiting for something not yet here or not yet happening?  It doesn't matter whether we're waiting for something spectacular or something dreaded, the wait can be just as excruciating.  If we're waiting for something fantastic, we wish our lives away trying to make it get here faster.  If we are waiting for something unpleasant, we brood about it so much that the next thing we know we are smack dab up against the "awful", wondering where the time went.  I've tried to beat waiting at its own game.  I vowed to turn every moment of waiting into a moment of learning something new.  It didn't work.  My brain revolted against all the trivial "stuff" I tried to jam into it.  Then I tried to psyche myself out by reversing the process..."No!  Don't send my lottery winnings so fast!"..."Hurry, colonoscopy, hurry!"  It didn't work.  I couldn't fool that pit of "waiting" in my stomach the least little bit.  And finally, I tried to pawn off the waiting onto someone else..."I, uh, lost all my calendars and my watch is broken, so you'll have to tell me when I need to do "this" or need to be "there".  It didn't work.  Turns out, everyone else is saddled with their own miserable waiting and aren't the least bit interested in managing mine.  Bummer.  So, I have to ask.  If good things really do come to those who wait, then shouldn't we all be bursting with goodness by now?  Yes, it's an odd creature, this thing known as waiting.  If only someone could come up with a way to beat "the wait" I'm sure we'd all fork over our last plug nickel to learn the secret.  I know there must be an art to waiting, and when it's finally discovered, I just hope it will have been, well, worth the wait.