It’s seems wrong that I should spending a big chunk of the day thinking of every way possible to promote the next book. It’s too pedestrian to contemplate what I want for dinner or to speculate about what time the cable guy will actually arrive tomorrow. The concerns of my everyday life are too ordinary in comparison to the life my brother lives in prison. I try not to dwell on it, but I know he was raped and severely beaten and the thought of that violent act and his current physical condition as a result haunts me. As I address more envelopes for the launch of the book in Dodge City in June, thoughts of Rick break into my mind and stop me cold. I quickly say a prayer that God would take him now and not let him suffer any longer. It’s amazing how eagerly I wait for news that he’s gone. My brother trusted me to help him and I let him down. Shakespeare wrote, “When sorrows come, they come not as single spies, but in battalions!”

It’s April already. Just 30 days out from the release of Thunder Over the Prairie. I so hope all goes well with it. If feels a bit like I’m sending a child off on their own for the first time. I’m very protective of it and don’t relish the thought of any bad reviews. I don’t happen to think any publicity – good or bad – is a plus. I do like the good though! I subscribe to the idea that if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all. I subscribe to that saying – I don’t always practice it. I think the key thing to remember about critics is that they’re dependent on the innovator, the person doing the real work of creating. And because many critics just sit on the sidelines of life, never the hunter, they are doomed to be forgotten. And no one wants to be forgotten. But it’s not all their fault. I mean, we give them their chance when we rely too much on critics to make our choices for us. We think we need help sorting out books, films, restaurants, or whatever. I guess we think if we don’t have that we don’t have all the facts. But you know something? We don’t need help! You like the Red Skelton paintings? Buy the Red Skelton paintings! What do critics know anyway?