Journal Notes

The book I’ve been working on about my brother has allowed me to connect with a variety of interesting people. Many of those have lost a loved one in the Federal Prison system. Some of them have loved ones inside that have been falsely accused. It’s comforting to talk to people who know the hurt and sadness you’re experiencing. No matter how much you talk about it or cry over it with them nothing erases the image of the one you hold dear being repeatedly raped and beaten beyond recognition. I wish it did. There’s a common bond, but nothing makes it hurt less. Not even if I were able to write the most stirring novel ever, compose the most touching symphony heard, or paint a picture that would move all who looked upon it. Nothing, nothing diminishes the grief in your heart. You just go on living by faith that God knows ALL.

I miss my brother and think about him everyday. My sincere prayer is that when the book I’ve written about him and the circumstances surrounding him being taken from us is told that lives will be changed. Prior to penning the tome I only wanted to get back at the two people who brought this on. I realize now that it won’t change anything as far as they’re concerned. I hope it helps the next group of people who find themselves in similiar situations where false allegations rob them of a son and a brother. I’m working on chapter six in the Buffalo Bill Cody saga. I’m looking forward to being in Cody, Wyoming in August to do more research on the subject. Think I’ll rent a car and take a drive through Yellowstone. I finished writing the western film treatment for AMC. I’ll work on the rewrite this afternoon and this evening turn my attention to promotions for the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West. The book is being released in September. I was encouraged by the quote I received from Jay O’Connell for Thunder Over the Prairie. It’s going to go on the back cover of the book. I can’t wait to share it though so here it is. “Thunder Over the Prairie, written with cinematic clarity and a galloping pace, is a wonderful primer for the considerable literature on Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp et. al. This accessible narrative of a fascinating episode in the careers of these well-known western icons is filled with characters that are archetypal yet utterly fresh at the same time. This charming books is the perfect read for anyone over a drink (or two) in a dusty western saloon on a lazy afternoon.” I’ve got a couple more copies of A Beautiful Mine: Women Prospectors of the Old West for anyone who writes and let’s me know they’d like to give it a read. Drop me an email.

Part of the process of completing a manuscript is soliciting quotes from other authors or industry professionals. The quotes can be used for the back jacket of the book or the inside cover, etc.. In the past few years I’ve been able to get quotes from some great people such as Kim Dickens, who starred as Jonie Stubbs on HBOs Deadwood, Dusty Rogers, Roy Rogers and Dale Evan’s son, and producer Rob Word. Most of the people I have asked to supply a quote have been very kind, but none more so than the author Jay O’Connell. Mr. O’Connell wrote a book entitled The Train Robber’s Daughter. The book is a biography of the life of Eva Evans, the daughter of one of California’s most notorious outlaws, Chris Evans. Jay has one of the largest collections of material on the crime team of Chris Evans and John Sontag. I didn’t know that when I was writing the book Outlaw Tales of California or I certainly would have looked him up. One of the chapters in Outlaw Tales is about Chris Evans and John Sontag. When Outlaw Tales came out Jay sent me an email congratulating me on the book and told me about The Train Robber’s Daughter. I wrote him back and asked him to give me a quote for Thunder Over the Prairie. He kindly agreed. He agreed even though he wasn’t too thrilled about Outlaw Tales and the fact that I didn’t contact him when I was writing the book for information about the men. Like I said, if I’d known about his background I would have done just that. His response to Thunder Over the Prairie was positive and I look forward to his quote. Jay O’Connell demonstrated a level of decency I have rarely ever seen in the writing business. I respect and admire him for that. The Train Robber’s Daughter is a good book and I look forward to more work by him.

In the last five years I’ve learned more about how cruel people can be than any of the 47 years I’ve been around. Most of what I’ve learned about depraved behavior I learned at the hand of a young woman that used to call me “Aunt.” It would be nice to get past the hurt and lies, but I don’t think there is any chance of that happening. Somehow I feel if I let the hurt go entirely I would be forgetting the brother I lost and I can’t do that. Maybe the people who caused this pain can go on like he didn’t exist, but I can’t. I may not write about him everyday, but he is always in my heart. I wish he could be at the launch for the posse book, which has now been rescheduled to June 6th , 2009 in Dodge City. The publication date for Thunder Over the Prairie was set for September of next year, but according to my editor it’s in good shape and ready to go to press. I did get the forword from Jim Sherer, former Mayor of Dodge City, yesterday. He had a lot of nice things to say about the work and I’m grateful. There is a blessing with having had experience with truly ugly people and that is that the truly decent individuals I’ve known stand out all the more. Without the cruel I’ve known it I wouldn’t recognize the kindness in someone like Jim Sherer, or the sweetness in my little adopted niece Breanna Sanders, or the beauty of a special friend long since gone like Edna Kirsten. From that respect I’m thankful I’ve gone through what I have. It improved my vision when I wasn’t even looking.

And there goes June…. It’s been a busy year. I finished the sample chapter for the spy book, made revisions to the posse book, completed a rough promotional schedule for Thunder Over the Prairie, and am getting ready to submit most of the material needed for the children’s book. Jim Sherer, the former mayor of Dodge City is working with me on setting up the launch party for Thunder. The launch is scheduled for October 3, 2009 at the Dodge City Public Library. Invitations will go out to politicians and local history lovers, the press will be invited…it’s going to be fun. I’m going to cram everything I know about marketing into this title. I really want the book to do well. The publishing industry as a whole is suffering along with the rest of the economy and this might be the last time I get a chance to do something this grand again. Not that it matters much given what I do for a living, but I have the worst case of laryngitis I’ve ever had. It’s very quiet in my home office. The smoke in Northern California is bad right now and I think that’s what brought this on. I haven’t spent as much time as I wanted to working on the Buffalo Bill Cody book. I make up a schedule for my daily work and I’m supposed to be completing two pages a day on that project. I’m three pages behind. I think I’m going to blame that on the layngitis. How can I write when I can’t read aloud what I put down on paper? A Beautiful Mine comes out tomorrow. I received my copies today. I’ve never received the finished book this early. It’s a refreashing change. I’ll be sending copies of the book out to everyone who emailed and asked for a complimentary copy. I’ve got a few remaining for anyone else that signs up for the newsletter and emails telling me they’d like an advanced copy of their own. Let me know.

Home again. Like many before it over the last four years, the trip to Missouri was a particularly sad one in many respects. My grandmother’s home and household possessions were auctioned off. It was daunting to see my grandparents life reduced to four plywood tables and a few bits of furniture scattered about a garage. At the end of a two hour period most of all they owned had been sold off. As I watched their things being hauled away I realized that with those things went a lifetime of memories, both good and bad. My grandfather’s passing at 85 was a natural happening. His health had been failing for some years. My grandmother struggles with many health issues as well. Someday in the not too distant future she’ll go too. A natural happening. No surprise. The loss of my brother continues to be the opposite however and being back in Norborne I was flooded with more memories of him. It disturbs me that the maladjusted thing that falsely accused my brother and the other members of the cult church she and her disfunctional lot are a part of continue to contact my family. Now it’s being done through a site called Facebook. Like I’ve mentioned in previous posts, these were individuals who told the lawyers and court that they wanted nothing to do with us and had the FBI visit my mother to emphasize that. What a troubled, evil bunch. The book signing at Barnes and Noble was a joy. There were more than a few sales made and I got a chance to reunite with cousins I hadn’t seen in years at the event. Marla and Merrillyn were warm and engaging, funny and kind. I was so grateful that they came to visit and look forward to getting to know them better. They were endearing because there wasn’t an ouce of pretentiousness about them. It was refreshing. I hope to wrap up the sample chapter of the spy book in the next couple of weeks. I’ve got major revisions to do on the posse book and I need to write the film treatment for it as well. I’ll get back to the Buffalo Bill book too and set my sights on establishing a marketing plan with the publisher for the book about my brother. No signings now until July 7th. I’m off to write.

The associate editor that worked on the book A Beautiful Mine sent me an advanced copy last week. I think it’s a pretty book and will be a nice addition to the collection. The story of women prospectors of the Old West hasn’t been explored much so I’m glad Globe gave me a chance to write about the subject. The book was dedicated to Patti Ferree. She is a wonderful woman who runs a business in Nevada County and has been nothing but kind, especially with regards to my brother. She befriended him, wrote him long letters, and lifted his spirits. Just as I believe there is evil that I’ve personally known, I believe there are angels I’ve come in contact with. Patti is one of those angels. I can only imagine how much better my brother’s life would have been if he had married someone like Patti. I have free copies of A Beautiful Mine to give away to anyone who emails me and asks to be on the mailing list. Next to be released, Frontier Teachers: Schoolmarms of the Old West. I’m off to a signing this evening in Placer County. I’m looking forward to the drive through the historic countryside. I’m excited to send copies of A Beautiful Mine out so let me know via email if you’d like to give it a read.

I’ve been missing my brother a lot today and thinking about the heartache my parents continue to go through. I don’t think any of this will ever really be over. I did have a bit of bright spot however. The following letter was emailed to me about the books. It was good news and after I’ve shared so much of the bad that has happened because of a deceptive mother and her daughter, I thought I’d include this…

Dear Chris,

We sincerely thank you for your commitment to preserving the history of the American West and for especially, the most entertaining way you have shared that history in each of your titles. Also, we wish to thank you for your powerful example as a writer and professional to our community. Your success and the success of your books has been an encouragement to many of our own authors and writers.

As a small independent bookstore, we’ve been selling your titles for several months and have been very pleased at the public response. It may be useful for you to know that in the last six months we’ve sold an average of four of your titles per week. This makes you the best-selling author at Amicus Books, even above and beyond Echart Tolle. We’ve found that your books have a wide demographic appeal and would encourage any retailer west of the Continental Divide to make room for the smokin’ pen of Chris Enss.

Sincerely,

James and Kara Davis
Founders/Directors
Amicus Books and Literary Arts Center
Marysville, CA

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Now that the posse book is completed I am moving on to the next writing assignment. Howard Kazanjian and I are working on a book about a German born spy who fell in love with a Jewish woman who was being held at a labor camp. He took great risks to get her out of the prison. Based on a true story, the event took place in 1944 and is an incredible tale. I’ve never written a war book before so this journey should prove to be interesting. I continue to work on the book about the life and loves of Buffalo Bill Cody. I can’t leave the subject of the Old West totally. I’ll be heading to Missouri next week again. In addition to the book signing I’m doing at Barnes and Noble in Independce, I want to be home for my grandmother. Her home and household items are being auctioned off so she can continue to pay for her care at the nursing facility. I have wonderful memories of spending time at my grandmother’s home. It’s sad that it all has to go.

The short subject comedy entitled An Ounce Short is now available for viewing in its entirety. I hope visitors to the site like the mockumentary. I had a ball working on it and the talent who contributed to the project are exceptional people. I’ll be posting sections of Thunder Over the Prairie on the site next week. Howard and I got the first bit of feedback on the book and it was favorable. I’ve got my fingers crossed that all the reviews will be the same.