Journal Notes

Some days it feels like I’ve got just one hopeful thing going on. Today it’s Thunder Over the Prairie. I’ve included a few reviews from the book on Amazon.com as a reminder to myself of how grateful I am to have had a chance to write about some of my heroes. I’m pleased people like the book and would like to ask other readers if they feel favorable towards the material if they would post their comments on Amazon. I’m working on a new book now about women journalists of the Old West. I’ll be adding some interesting stories on the site in the days ahead. And now, on with the reviews…. This author is always a pleasure to read!, June 10, 2009 Cynthia Martin: Once again, history is made fun and easy to read. The story grips you from the very first page. The author always seems to strive to bring you that little know fact you might not have known. Familiar historical names are brought to life in the pages of Chris Enss’ book. An incredible true story that reads like a classic Western movie, May 28, 2009 Michael L. Thomas “radio talk show host” Any fan of the Western genre, fact or fiction, will love this book. An easy read full of everything a great Hollywood western would contain…a spoiled brat rich villain…four young lawmen looking to right a wrong…a beautiful victim…but this is all true. Chris Enss and Howard Kazanjian have managed to transport readers back to one of the most important years and sites in the history of the old West…Dodge City, 1878. Absolutely awesome, May 24, 2009 Denise Fink I could not put the book down. I am involved in a Bible Study and I actually neglected to complete my Bible Study to finish the book, because of the way the author draws you in and I just felt the emotions of the characters. From the death of Dora to the posse hunt for the killer, it kept me on my toes. I also love the fact that the book told about each of the characters lives. So wonderful to read. Can’t wait for more

Many books get bad reviews. I’ve had more than my share of bad reviews and although I do not think there is any up side to reading them I wouldn’t deny a critics right to express his opinion. Over the last few years however it seems that reviewers have gone beyond critiquing the work and ventured into personal attacks. One reviewer suggested I should “consider a career change and become a mortician.” One said “she should stick to comedy writing.” Author Brendan Behan once wrote, “Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how it’s done, they’ve seen it done every day, but they’re unable to do it themselves.” All that being said, I don’t mind the good reviews. I eagerly lap up a glowing response. Lord Byron told his editor to “send him no more reviews of any kind.” “I will read no more of evil or good in that line.” I’d like to be able to do that, but I know I can’t. I take praise like a greedy boy takes an apple and I’ll keep coming back for more. Over the last few days I’ve been smacked around quite a bit verbally by people who haven’t even read Thunder Over the Prairie. The shots have been hurtful, inaccurate, and unfair. But if I dismiss the bad mannered, egotistical ramblings of the self-proclaimed Old West historians who believe great legendary men like Wyatt Earp need the likes of them to dismiss actual newspaper accounts of his actions – I’d have to throw out the nice comments the work has received from people who enjoyed the read and I’m not going to that.

It’s good to be home again, but what a time I had on the book tour. I met some wonderful people in every town I visited. Larry Bowen at Readers Corner Book Store in Rolla, Missouri, Steve Meyer in Richmond, Sue Lightfoot in Carrollton, and Mary Kay Speaks at Barnes and Noble in Independence were gracious and fun to work with. I laughed more at Larry’s store than at any other signing I’ve ever done. Bowen and his staff like authors and are very supportive. Larry’s Bowen book store is to Missouri what Larry McMurtry’s book store is to Texas. I got to see my niece while I was in Rolla too. Nickol is stunning and kind. More grownup than any 22 year old has the right to be and full of promise. I’m proud of the person she has become. I knew I loved her, but I wasn’t prepared for just how deep that emotion would go. The launch in Dodge City turned out very well. Jim Sherer and Cathy Reeves went out of their way to make sure the celebrations were classy and inviting. The events were well attended and I’ll never forget it as long as I live. The highlight of my time in Dodge was when I got to hold Bill Tilghman and Bat Masterson’s gun. Tilghman is my hero and I’m glad Brent gave me the chance to handle the firearm. His gun was light and I couldn’t help imagine how many bad guys he brought down with it. What a moment. If only Val Kilmer had been there it would have been perfect!

So many of the visitors to this site over the last few months have been teachers, school librarians, and home school educators. School officials from Manchester, Massachusetts to Everett, Washington and points in between have dropped by to check out the books and ultimately added a few to their collection. I’ve had a lot of parents purchase the “Go West” series of books for their daughters and granddaughters and the feedback has been encouraging. My goal was to write material that would appeal to younger readers as well as the mature history buff. I had a wonderful high school history teacher and she made learning fun. Hope the “Go West” series is entertaining as well as educational. In the not too distant future a special section will be added to the site specifically for teachers and the like. It will provide more information about the titles and the great women who made their mark on the west. I’m heading to the plains tomorrow to launch Thunder Over the Prairie. I think it’s going to be a wonderful experience. As usual, no matter what good thing is on the horizon, I see my brother in my side view mirror. The situation that occurred to the male lead in the movie Doubt is reminiscent of what happened to Rick. In spite of Flynn’s insistence that he had not raped a child Sister Aloysius vigorously claimed he did. “You haven’t the slightest proof of anything,” Flynn tells her. “But I have my certainty?,” Sister Aloysius sneered. That’s all it took for Flynn to go down – all it took for me to lose my brother. Like Sister Aloysius I pray the mother and daughter who caused this tragedy are haunted daily by doubt. I miss my brother. I’ll be thinking of him when I’m at the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge. I’ll be thinking of Bat, Charlie, Bill, and Wyatt too. I’ll be back next month.

Although Thunder Over the Prairie doesn’t official debut in book stores until June 2, some readers have received advanced copies. The first review is great and I wanted to share. I pray the book gets more reviews like this one. “5.0 out of 5 stars A truly gripping story, May 21, 2009 by Christopher L. Frank “boater flier” (Penn Valley, CA United States) This true story reads like a thriller! From the first page I was hooked.I had been unaware of the potential odds against the posse before this book. The author brings to life the heros and villian of a real WILD WEST story. I missed an important call in order to finish a chapter, I was so engaged in the action. Take the time to start this book and you wont put it down.”

For all those planning to participate in the launch at Dodge City, I thought I’d include a schedule of events. Guests that made prior arrangements will be staying at the Dodge City Hotel and Convention Center. The address is 2408 W. Wyatt Earp Blvd. and the phone number for the hotel is 620/225-5012.
On Friday, June 5th the following events take place: Launch of book at the Dodge City Public Library from 5 -7 p.m.. Refreshments will be provided. News interviews will be conducted by local media both during and after the launch. Mayor Jim Sherer will be doing the introductions and will say a few words about the book before giving us a chance to share our experiences and sign copies of the book for guests. The bulk of the attendees will be local and regional politicians. The city of Dodge will be taking us to dinner at the Cowtown Steakhouse once the event ends at 7 p.m.. On Saturday, June 6th the following events take place: At 9:30 a.m. a trolley will pick all the guests up from the hotel and they will be given a personal tour of the town. The tour will end on Front Street where a special presentation will be made to Howard Kazanjian. The city officials will name him Honorary Marshal. The BIG launch of the book will take place in front of the Long Branch Saloon at 5 p.m. and continue for one hour. Guests will be treated to buffalo wings and the like, sarsaparilla or lemonade. Immediately following the launch, dinner will be served at the Boot Hill Museum for all invited guests.
If you need a ride from the airport for any reason please let me know and I will make those arrangements. The people of Dodge are very excited about our being there and have gone out of their way to make this special for us. I’m very excited about the event. Please let me know if you have any questions. In two weeks I’m going to be sitting in the same room Wyatt Earp, Bill Tilghman, Bat Masterson and Charlie Bassett put together the “most intrepid posse of the Old West.” That will be a moment I’ll never forget.

Since getting my license as a private investigator I’ve been able to delve a bit more deeply into the case involving my brother. Some well meaning people in my life have suggested that I just let it go, but I am wholly unable to do that. After all, it’s my fault he took a plea in the first place. He wanted to keep fighting, but I was scared. Computer pornography is such a complex issue and next to impossible to fully explain to a jury. One of the things the DA’s office accused my brother of was possession of child pornography. They said he had more than 2000 images. My brother was a police officer working on several child pornography cases for the local prosecuting attorney’s office. The former P-A has written a letter attesting to that fact and I will be picking it next month. The letter is great, but I wanted to keep digging. I hired a forensic computer specialist to further look into the images and the results I got back today were staggering. The majority of these awful sites require that a fee be paid to view. The fee ranges in cost from $19.95 to $35.00. If a person only viewed half of these paid sites at the low end of $19.95 a site, the cost would total more than $19,000. That was more than my brother earned in an entire year as a cop. Sites like that don’t take cash – just credit cards. Yet the DA’s office had no credit card records. This small portion of the case is only one that doesn’t track with any sense. I found out yesterday that one of the main instigators in all this sells adult sex toys and has made frequent visits to the sites they accused my brother of visiting. I’m going to deliver all this information to the media. Writing about my intentions is the only thing I can think of to force the cockroaches out of hiding and show themselves. I may lose my life in the process, but I’m going to keep digging into this until I prove my brother was set up.

I received five advanced copies of Thunder Over the Prairie and I’m eager to share the new book. If you’d like a copy send me an email with your name and address and I’ll make sure you get it. Globe Pequot Press did a wonderful job laying out the material. I can’t wait for everyone to see it!

More than 40 schools have visited this website in the last 14 days. I had always hoped that the books about women of the Old West would be attractive reading for junior high and high school students. The students who have used the material in class have reported that they like the books. One of the best things about writing on the subject matter I do is being able to participate in lectures at schools. I get to go out in costume and share stories about some of the most heroic women that ever lived. I couldn’t have been a pioneer. I like frequent showers and am vehemently opposed to using the out-of-doors as a restroom. The closest I ever came to that was an outhouse rural Missouri. I used to stay nights with my Aunt Bessie and she didn’t have an indoor restroom – just an outhouse and every summer is was filled with bees. Oh, the mysteries of nature. As I recall, the outhouse had side-by-side seating. Never understood that either. It’s not really a participatory event. No pioneer would waste time thinking about such things. Pioneers wore a lot of wool year round. I couldn’t do that either. I base most of what I wear on what doesn’t itch. I wouldn’t want to eat like pioneer did. I like fast food drive-thru. I’m waiting for a fast food drive-thru pizza place. As far as I know there are none on the horizon. I’m working on it though. With God’s help and my enormous weakness for pizza I’ll make it happen. I may not be a pioneer, but I do have that pioneering spirit.

My favorite movie is a western entitled Once Upon a Time in the West. Charles Bronson’s character spends the entire film tracking Henry Fonda’s character and it isn’t until the very end of the movie that he finds out why. Fonda’s character murders Bronson’s character’s brother. Just shooting Fonda down when Bronson meets up with him won’t do. He has to make him suffer like he’s suffered. An instant death is too good for Fonda’s bad guy. In the end Bronson enacts perfect western justice. Only at the point of dying does Fonda learn what he did and why he has to pay. It’s a brilliant story and for a brief moment satisfies the desire to see the villain get what’s coming to them. Real life isn’t like that. Evil flourishes and there’s nothing that can be done. No prayer, no polite words of tolerance can make it right. Yesterday I received an email that included a photograph of the interior of the home my brother once owned with the woman he used to be married to. The picture was of a party and my brother’s ex-wife and her new husband were standing where my brother stood at one time. It’s not enough that I lost my brother and live with the image of his broken, raped and beaten body in my mind everyday, but now I have another heartbreaking image to think on. I believe there are many cruel individuals involved in this scenario. People with malformed souls who think they?ve gotten away with sending an innocent man to prison. If the person who sent the email had hoped to hurt me again, congratulations. It worked. I’ll never get over it and you’ll never get caught. Things would be different if this were a Charles Bronson movie though.