A BIG day in my writing career

I got some great news this week: Stackpole Books let me know that "Forts of the Northern Plains" was on their reprint list for August!

For a writer, that's almost as good as news that you're getting published - you might THINK there's a market for your work, and your publisher might think it will sell, but it's only when they run out at the warehouse that you KNOW there's a market. And that made me happy!

The nice thing about it is that the advance Stackpole sent me to sign the contract and deliver the manuscript is essentially paid off and I can now start collecting royalties. The not-so-nice thing is those checks are cut only twice a year and it's a VERY small percentage of each book's sale that I actually see. So I'll still be out there speaking and selling books myself!

Speaking of which, I've been keeping busy at that. I've been selling at the new Florence Mill Farmers Market - it's run by the owner of the mill and a friend of mine, Linda Meigs, and has turned out to be a pretty good outlet for sales! This weekend, however, I'll set up my tent at Columbus Days in Columbus, NE. I'm looking forward to this as it's my first appearance in the city (I've already had three in North Platte!) and it's always good to try out a new market.

Next week is a presentation on the "Forts of Nebraska" at the Gretna Public Library, and the next day is a trip to Oklahoma for my nephew's wedding. It's the same day as my birthday, so in return I've convinced the missus to allow me to visit the new visitor center at the Washita National Battlefield (lucky me!)

September includes a couple Kiwanis clubs, three senior communities, and two state sites for my Forts of Nebraska talks: the Neihardt Center in Bancroft and Fort Hartsuff. Looking forward to both of those, but the Hartsuff trip is especially anticipated because I've got a promise to get me to the site of one of the fort's few (maybe only) fights, the "Battle of the Blowout." Three Medals of Honor were given after this battle and few people know about it or have visited the site. I'll get plenty of pics!