5 February 2004 The T.A.L.K. sessions we have every Tuesday at The Coffee Cup in Pittsburg, Texas, continue to draw interest, with new and interesting people dropping in each week. We seem to have stirred the muse in a number of people wanting to write, and there’s always that part of the discussion. If someone has a question on how to begin a book, fiction or nonfiction, we all try to give solid advice. Many have begun writing as a result of dropping in. And, we always feel privileged when the owners of the coffeehouse, Gus and Janet sit in, which they do when they have help at the coffee bar. Help consists of students at Northeast Texas Community College, Fran and her twin sister, Mitzy, who take turns working there. They are not identical twins, so I get them even more mixed up than if they were identical, because I can’t see more than a few inches even with powerful eyeglasses. But, that makes it even more interesting as the girls try to stump Jory. And succeed, more often than not. The book signing last month at The Coffee Cup was a rousing success on January 17th, thanks to the promotion that Gus and Janet did for the event, and the cordial atmosphere. We drew a crowd because we had two other excellent writers at the autograph table, Helen R. Myers, who looks and dresses like a high fashion model (see pictures) and Bob St. John, whose columns in The Dallas Morning News along with his many books, including LANDRY, his book on the late TEX SCHRAM, and SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, have brought him nationwide acclaim. His newest collection of columns, POSTSCRIPTS IN A REARVIEW MIRROR will hit the stands next month, but he did have some advance copies on hand last month. These went quickly, of course. And Helen drew long-time fans anxious to meet her and pick up her latest suspense novel, NO SANCTUARY, published by MIRA. Some representatives from the Mt. Pleasant Public Library came to the book signing and put me in touch with Lori Rigney, the director. So, I will be signing copies of TEXAS DUST and other books at the library this month, on February 28the, to be exact, from 10 until noon on a Saturday. Charlotte and I met Lori and were captivated by her charm and energy. The library is a beautiful place with a great Texas research section downstairs, and a formidable library of books on audio, both on tape and CD. Lori is doing an excellent job on the publicity for this event and I’m looking forward to it. Last week, I was saddened to learn of the death of a dear friend, Richard C. House, a fellow western writer, who was also, like me, a buckskinner, a devotee of the really old West during the era of the mountain man. Dale Walker emailed me that Dick had died peacefully in his sleep, then other emails started coming in from others who knew Dick. We knew him as Beau Jacques, his pen name for his mountain man pieces in magazines, and for the last few years as This Old House, which was the way he signed his emails. He fought cancer bravely and just thinking of him brings tears to my eyes. There was another sadness to his passing, as well. Dick and I, along with Ormly Gumfudgin (some may have seen Ormly on The Gong Show a time or two), and the famous historian, C.L. “Doc” Sonnichsen, formed a barbershop quartet at Dick’s instigation and performed several times at the Western Writers of America convention. Now, both Doc and Dick are gone, and only Ormly and I are left, and I don’t think he and I would make a great duet. During those years, I, along with Dale Walker, Robert J. Randisi, and Loren Estlemen, started an after convention soiree which was held after the Spur Awards banquet in one of our rooms. We called this “The Campfire” and it was, at first, by invitatioin only. Dick and Ormly were always there. Ormly is famous for being the only living bazooka player and who has Bob Burns’ old bazooka which he bought down in Arkansas when Charlotte and I hosted the WWA convention in Branson, Missouri several years ago. And Dick always recited the great Robert Service poems along with “The Face On The Barroom Floor.” From memory. Both Dick and Ormly worked at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena for many years until their retirement. Dick’s daughter, Laura, wrote me an email after his death saying someone had sent her my email tribute to Dick and that she her mother, Dick’s wife, were very touched by what I said about Dick. Well, I miss him. Over the years he sent me songs, old Western songs, and poems, and personal chats on tape. So, I have those to remember him by, along with those great evenings at The Campfire. Another good friend, Ralph Compton died during his prime while writing THE TRAIL DRIVE series. Since then, other writers, such as Cotton Smith, Robert Vaughan and Dusty Richards, all good friends, have picked up the torch and written shorter versions published under the NAL/Signet imprint. Last week, I was asked to write one and I accepted the challenge and the offer. I will deliver this novel, THE PALO DURO TRAIL to the editor, Dan Slater, by April 1st, which is a very tight deadline and crowds me into the next deadline for the second novel in my OWLHOOT TRAIL series for Pocket Books. So, I spend the early hours of the morning researching the Palo Duro novel, which I will begin writing next week, and turning out 10-11 pages a day in the afternoons. Keeps me off the street. And, of course, I will deliver the first of my new series, THE VIGILANTE, to Berkley on or before September 1st of this year. Somewhere in between, I’ll be working on THE BARON DECISION, the 7th novel in The Baron Series for Tor. My second CHILL novel, THE SEPULCHRE, was finally published by Hardshell Word Factory last month. It is available in several formats, including PDF downloads, and as a Print-On-Demand (POD) trade paperback. So, now Hardshell has published two of the paranormal mysteries with five more to go. I have a gothic novel under consideration there at the moment and it is entitled, MORTAL WHISPERS, set in Louisiana. Bob St. John, Helen R. Myers and I will be meet again at the autograph table in the elegant and charming Oaklea Mansion in Winnsboro, Texas next month. We’ll be signing our latest novels on March 27th, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. thanks to owner Norma Wilkinson, who so graciously invited us, once again, to her lovely home. If you’ve never been to Oaklea Mansion, you’re in for a rare treat. Drop by The Coffee Cup if you’re in the neighborhood. Every Tuesday afternoon. That’s about the only time I’m let out in public and it’s what keeps my waning batteries charged. Many people have commented on Leslie King's fine design of this website, which she has completely revamped, giving it more than a touch of elegance. I love it, too. She's a superb designer. Yours truly, Jory