Montana Speakers Bureau

I'm really pleased that my program with the Montana Committee for the Humanities Speakers Bureau has been approved for another four years. The presentation has been renamed "Northern Lifestyles of the Northern Plains In and Before the 18th Century." Not as catchy as "Dog Days to Horse Culture" but the program contains much of the same information with many updates I've added during the last year.

I presented the program for a regional U.S. Forest Service gathering and it was well received. The program is already booked for the September Montana Academy of Living History. I expect schools to be calling, too.

The new book Child of the Mist was listed in this quarter's State of the Arts from the Montana Arts Council. I also received a nice comment from a reader about both books. That's heartening.

Kray Crime

The Lost
© 2008 Roberta Kray
Mystery + + + + +

PI ex-policeman Harry Lind and investigative journalist Jessica Vaughan are each drawn into a twenty-year-old intrigue through different means, but revolving around the murder of Jess’s mentor, Len Curzon. In The Lost Jess wants to find out who killed Len, and Harry’s own PI case turns out to be connected to the whole sordid deal.

Intrigue, betrayals and the underworld of London are expertly intertwined. All the characters are deftly drawn, from Harry and Jess, to the crime bosses and their henchmen. It’s a Cant-Put-It-Down book, with a satisfying and thoughtful ending.

What Cuts Into My Writing Time?

I watch a lot of DIY programs, and it's so misleading when they spruce up a place with paint. Inexpensive yes, but without a crew, as they have on most of those shows, it's time consuming!

I'm sprucing up my kitchen with paint. I've vacuumed and washed the walls (paint doesn't adhere too well to cooking residue), patched nail holes, pulled baseboards and their nails, vacuumed all the detritus from that. Still have to remove face plates and mask the cupboards and counters, put down a floor cloth. Uh huh. And this is just for one wall! Next will be cleaning out that dusty, grungy stuff from over the tops of cabinets (I don't have the trendy tall cabinets that go to the ceiling) and prepping that to paint.

I keep thinking of the finished project and how much I'm going to like it. Yes, yes... So back to housework. I'll work on my writing after dark (Hmm. Sunset is at 9:30).

SPUR Awards

Congratulations to all the SPUR Winners and Finalists.
The Spur Awards are presented by Western Writers of America (WWA) to thgee best writing in more than a dozen categories for the previous year. The awards are presented at the annual WWA Convention, this year held in Scottsdale, Arizona. All the Winners and Finalists (titles and authors) can be found at the WWA site.
Another awards presented by WWA is the Owen Wister Award to honor an author's lifetime contribution to Western writing. This year the OW award went to Tony Hillerman.

Recent Enjoyable Reads

My reading hasn't been as prolific as former years, but I am getting to a few books. Here are a couple of recent reads I enjoyed.
The Third Lynx
© 2007 Timothy Zahn
SF + + +
ISBN 9780765317322 TOR
sequel to Night Train to Rigel
Another fun Zahn adventure, with the savvy Frank Compton and his faithful sidekick Bayta, fighting the Mohdri (from Night Train). A real catchy voice, and lots of plots twists.
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A Picture of Guilt
© 2007 James Brownley
Mystery + + + +
9780727865625 Severn House
Well developed story as journalist Alison Glasby's tenacious character (often a bit overbearing, too) leads her to the true facts about a murder that occurred before she was born. Characters are well drawn and distinctive. Set in London and Norwich, England with good sense of place. ================