Hi everyone:

I got an email yesterday afternoon from ning. They've realized the error of their ways, (i.e. they're now under new management), and they are bringing back the ning mini. As soon as Dirtrider returns we'll get the site all pretty again.

I will also be signing the site over to Dirtrider. He's been running the place for the past few years, while I've been having some serious issues with my vision. It started with a bad fall I had in the summer of…

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Well, sort of.

I've been busy writing romance novels under the name Marina Martindale, and running my book publishing company, Good Oak Press. Five Star Publications, who published my Luke and Jenny historical novels for young readers, has taken the books out of print, and I've been hesitant about…

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As most of you already know, I've switched writing genres and I'm now writing contemporary romance. To that end, I rent a lot of romance movies on Netflix. I watched one last night that also happened to be a western. It was made in 2003 for the Hallmark Channel, and it's called, Love Comes Softly.

Love Comes Softly is the story of a young bride who comes west with her husband. No sooner do they arrive and he is accidentally killed. She's left on her own with…

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Yesterday I read quite a blog review of the new Lone Ranger movie, and I can sum it up in one sentence. Don't waste your hard-earned money. I knew something was up when they cast Johnny Depp as Tonto, as opposed to a Native American actor. Granted, I like Johnny Depp. He's a fine actor, but he's known for playing eccentric characters, and according to what I'm reading, this interpretation of Tonto isn't just eccentric, it's downright bizarre. Tonto is a few bricks short of a load…

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Sorry I haven't been around--busy with that trying to earn a living thing. Then I couldn't remember my user name to log back into Ning... Senior moments. I seem to have them more than usual these days.

Meantime I need some feedback...

I published my last Luke and Jenny book back in 2010, and decided to leave it as a trilogy. I covered a good bit of historical material--the Earps and the O.K. Corral, Billy the Kid, and Frank and Jesse James. For those who are…

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Hi All:

Just wanted to give you all a quick head's up about a possible phishing scam.

If you should by chance receive any emails about paying dues to keep the SOTOW site up--DO NOT respond.  It is not legit.  The only person who has to pay any money to keep…

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I've noticed something odd about my Jesse James book.  It simply hasn't been as well received as my other two titles, and it's left me scratching my head wondering why.

 

I've entered all three of my titles in various literary competitions over the years, and my first two books, on the O.K. Corral and Billy the Kid, did well.  While neither…

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I still vividly recall one of the first lessons taught in my very first high school drama class.  It was that actors who wear their costumes and stage make-up outside the theater are considered rank amateurs.  Apparently, being called an, "amateur," is about the lowest insult an actor could ever receive.

 

That lesson always stayed…

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Long, long ago, in what seems like a galaxy far, far away, and long before I started writing the Luke and Jenny books, I created my first living history character, a composite WWII era housewife, and I did presentations about the WWII home front here in the States.  The idea was to teach people, particularly kids, about the patriotism and sacrifice of The Greatest Generation.  That was when I wrote my first book, a self published WWII era compilation of historic food rationing recipes along… Continue

I wanted to let you know we've made a minor change to the Main Page by decreasing the blogs and increasing the discussion topics.

 

We have a couple of technical glitches with the blogs.  Ning has set them to a "must be pre-approved" mode that makes posting a blog a pain in the butt for most of you, and I am unable to change that setting.  The…

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Some said it couldn't be done... but we're still here.



It was a year ago that the Society of the Old West Network premiered on Ning, and for those of you who are new here is how it all started.



I had been a regular contributor over on the True West forum, and for a time True West was a great place to be because the administrators stayed on top of things and the occasional trouble-makers who showed up were quickly given the boot. Then one day Bob Bell decided he wanted to… Continue

Just got back from a weekend writer's conference, and learned a bit of interesting historical trivial from the keynote speaker. Did you all know that the bestselling book in the 19th Century was Uylsses S. Grant's memoirs?



He explained that Grant had to give up his army pension when he ran for President, and that later in life he became impoverished. In order to secure that his widow wouldn't become destitute after his death he wrote his memoirs. They are still in print today. You… Continue

As we are all too painfully aware, a former member has decided to use the True West forum to launch a very vindictive attack against SOTOW, and, not surprisingly, a couple of other former members have chimed in to state how repressive and unfair we all are.



I was once a very active member of the True West forum. At that time BBB ran a classy site. When the occasional trouble maker came along, as they always do, they were immediately removed, and other members would publicly thank the… Continue