Coming Summer 2012

Sam Sixkiller was one of the most accomplished lawmen in 1880s Oklahoma Territory. And in many ways, he was a typical law-enforcement official, minding the peace and gunslinging in the still-wild West. What set Sam Sixkiller apart was his Cherokee heritage. Sixkiller’s sworn duty was to uphold the law but he also took it upon himself to protect the traditional way of life of the Cherokee. Sixkiller’s temper, actions, and convictions earned him more than a few enemies, and in 1886 he was assassinated in an ambush. This new biography takes a sweeping, cinematic look at the short, tragic life of of Sam Sixkiller and his days policing the streets of theWild West.

Howard Kazanjian is an award-winning producer and entertainment executive who has been producing feature films and television programs for more than twenty-five years. Chris Enss is an award-winning screen writer who has written for television, short subject films, live performances, and for the movies, and is the author or co-author of more than twenty books. The two also have also collaborated on books about Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Elizabeth Bacon Custer, John Wayne, and the Intrepid Posse.

During the California Gold Rush (1848-1850), New York outfitters advised prospective miners that a pair of Colt revolvers was a necessary addition to their equipment. Given the condition of the State right now some would say a pair of Colt revolver would still be a necessary item to carry. One of the best gifts I received this Christmas was a working replica of a Colt. The Colt Navy 1851 is iconic and symbolizes the Wild West like no other handgun, it was used by such notables as Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody and Calamity Jane, the Colt Navy also served on both sides of the Civil War. The Colt Navy was even manufactured by both sides as well…they couldn’t get enough of these accurate and reliable revolvers. It’s a black powder weapon and leaves a cloud of smoke behind after it’s fired. The phrase “skin that smoke wagon” was used in reference to the Colt Navy. I’m looking forward to going to the range. A Colt and time at the range are a great source of inspiration for writing books about the Old West. The three books I’ve been working on over the last year or so will be released in the summer and fall of 2012. Not quite sure where the launches of the books will be held but think it would be fun to bring the Colt with me. There are some great quotes about the Colt Navy in the film Colt .45. I always liked. Randolph Scott plays the sheriff in the film and is introduced to the weapon with the following line: “The first Colt repeating pistols in this territory, Sheriff. The finest guns ever made. Here’s law and order in six finger doses. Yes, sir, easy to load and as durable as your mother-in-law.” No matter how much damage a gun could do in the Old West and still do on the tamed frontier, it’s nothing compared to what can be done by a single corrupt lawyer. And this I’ve learned from personal experience…a lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns.

Family loyalties involve certain obligations. They are duties we perform out of love, as this simple story illustrates: One of two brothers fighting in the same company in France fell by a German bullet. The one who escaped asked permission of his officer to go and bring his brother in. “He is probably dead,” said the officer, “and there is no use in your risking your life to bring in his body.” But after further pleading the officer consented. Just as the soldier reached the lines with his brother on his shoulders, the wounded man died. “There, you see,” said the officer, “you risked your life for nothing.” “No,” replied Tom. “I did what he expected of me, and I have my reward. When I crept up to him and took him in my arms, he said, ‘Tom, I knew you would come – I just felt your would come.’” There you have the gist of it all; somebody expects something fine and noble and unselfish of us; someone expects up to be faithful. Merry Christmas to my brother Rick. I won’t forget you. Merry Christmas to all.

By 1030pm on Friday evening I finally completed the additional chapters needed for the mail-order bride book and sent them off to the publisher. I hope that’s the last on that subject for a while. I need to concentrate on completing the book about women outlaws of the Mid-west. I’m woefully behind on that book and it is due March 10. It would appear I’ve been playing catch up all year. Writing is my passion however and I can’t imagine doing anything else. No matter how far behind on a deadline I slip. This week promises to be as busy as they last 40 plus have been. Today I shall attempt to move the shell of a Volkswagen vehicle into the church sanctuary. We are doing a play entitled A Ride with a Perfect Stranger and need the vehicle as a prop. Months ago I thought it would be quite impactful for the congregation to see a car in the church. The play does in fact take place inside the vehicle. Now I’m having second thoughts. I just pray it all goes well as I have no backup plan. Looking back on this year I can see how the situation with my brother has deeply affected me. The toll it’s taken on friendships I was once able to nurture and the toll it’s taken on my health have been substantial. This ordeal has changed me so and I’m almost unrecognizable to myself. I pray for a bright outcome but never sense the Holy Spirit is giving me confirmation on that – perhaps because in this case there is no real positive outcome. Hearts will still be broken over all that was lost. Rick will never be the same physically or emotionally. None of us will ever be the same. “This world breaks everyone,” Hemingway once said, “and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”  Hope the readers of this post will take a look at the featured video posted.  There will be more to come in 2012.

Desperate brides, dental surgery and death threats…the last two days have involved a bit of all three areas and then some. Every time I submit the new book about mail order brides I am told by the editor that I’m 4 or 5 thousand words short. So I write a few more chapters and turn those in and another word count shows that I’m still 4 or 5 thousand words short. I’ll be back at it again today. I am going to submit a chapter about the Harvey Girls. If I’m still 4 or 5 thousand words short you’ll hear a scream of frustration from coast to coast. Yesterday’s visit to the dentist was a treat. And by treat I mean horrifying. I’m not a good patient during a simple cleaning removing several fillings and replacing them with new ones to save my molars really sends me over the edge. After poking my gums with a sharp instrument for several hours the doctor pointed out to me that my gums were bleeding. I felt the need to mention that they weren’t bleeding when I came in and that maybe the problem was him. I feel better today. The death threats have eased up somewhat. For a couple of days I was receiving emails that explained that “my days were numbered.” Whose days aren’t number? In the midst of the hate mail and name calling I received an email of encouragement I want to share. I do this not to suggest I’m deserving of such kindness but to point out that there are angels disguised as human beings who offer encouragement when it feels all hope is lost. “Hi, I attended some of your wonderful seminars at the SASS convention and I was deeply moved by your terrible experience with “Missouri Justice” and I applaud and pray for you, for what you are doing to help your brother. His story is tragic and needs to be told as there are so many men out there who have been unfairly incarcerated by terrible women who use the law to warehouse their husbands or boyfriends in hellish conditions, just because they can. You are brave and a woman of incredible strength, I feel the Lord is working through you to not only help your brother but to help others, and to get recognition to change the law into a process that reveals the offenders and champions the innocent. You go girl!!! Best wishes Sierra Lady S.A.S.S.” God bless you, Sierra Lady and thank you. Now it’s time to return to Object Matrimony, which is the title of the mail-order bride book due to be released next year.

The hardest aspect of writing is writing. I spend the day reviewing the research I’ve done on a particular individual and desperately try to create an original way to tell their story. That’s what I hope to do with Victoria Woodhull today. My goal is eight pages by the days end. I am anxious to speak with a gentleman who emailed me this weekend who is a relative of Harvey Logan from the Wild Bunch. Maybe there’s an untold story there. I’m excited to start digging. Of course nothing I write can compare to the pithy, succinct, hate-ridden emails I received this weekend. One example of such an email read, “Die, Die, Die, B___, B___,B____ for sticking up for your brother.” My personal favorite was “You should be repeatedly raped and thrown in a grave for defending your brother.” What started it all was the following email – complete with a bogus email address so there was no way to respond. All subsequent emails contained a fake email address as well. The tracking device on my computer system and the one built into the website quickly traced the author of the letters to a home in Norborne, Missouri. They initially tried to hide their location at a spot in Dallas, Texas, but again…the tracking devise. As I’m focusing on writing this morning I have to applaud the author of the hate mail. They decided not to be long winded with their thoughts. They were brief, to the point, and guilty. I can smell their fear all the way in California. In spite of the hate mail I’m going to continue to champion my brother. The emails make me believe we are on the right track. If the false accuser of my brother was secure in her testimony there would be no need to write such letters. Here is a copy of one of the first emails – certainly the only one tame enough to share.
Your Name
Sydney Lindsay
Your Email
syd.linds99@gmail.com

Message
You are seriously an awful person for continuing to defend your brother. Shame on you.

Apart from the fact the email address is a fraud (which given the author I’m not surprised) the use of the word “seriously” makes one believe the author is under the age of 20. As a published author I’d edited this piece by removing the word “seriously”. It’s not needed. I wish I could critique the other emails in this journal entry but they were too graphic to include here. And now it’s time to continue with my own writing. I’m overwhelmed with work and I’m grateful for that.