Back from the Dakotas

... and actually I've been back from the Dakotas for a few days now! Sorry for the delay in posting, but I had a number of projects waiting for me on the return.

My final scheduled stop in North Dakota was Medora, a gorgeous little town with a BIG tourism appeal. It's located at the south end of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the North Dakota Badlands. Medora has a number of other tourism attractions, including a nightly pageant presentation, a cowboy hall of fame and many, many gift stores.

My first appearance was the Western Edge, which I think has GOT to be one of the greatest bookstores of the west. Owned and operated by Doug and Mary Ellison (they're on the right - summer help Colin is on the left), it has just about every western title now in print. They were nice enough to host me for a book signing at the store and I think we did well, selling six or seven. The Ellisons also put me up at night in one of their rooms - the Western Edge is a former motel, but they found that selling books was an even better business. They keep rooms for friends passing through and how great is that?

I then traveled over to the Chateau de Mores State Historic Site for my presentation of the "Lost Forts of the Northern Plains." Site supervisor Dee Linn was my host there (she was also nice enough to treat me to a buffalo burger lunch at the Cowboy Cafe upon my arrival in town!) - I didn't quite pack the room, but it was good practice and I got some good questions.

Finished with my obligations for the day, I was able to hit the Custer Trail auto route south of town and made it to the Battle of the Badlands site, which was actually part of the Sully Campaign of 1864. I returned to Medora for a pizza before turning in for the night.

The next day had me striking out for South Dakota and the Black Hills. I made a long-planned for stop at the Fort Dilts battlesite (this was never a fort but a sod enclosure to hold off Indian attacks for about two weeks). I stopped in nearby Bowman, ND, to visit the Pioneer Trails Regional Museum to see if they had the book and, if not, maybe see if they were interested in carrying it. He bought seven! I decided to do this for the next couple days in between visiting battlesites and forts and ended up selling and signing 40 copies for six museums and attractions in the Black Hills. So please stop by the Tri-State Museum in Belle Fourche; the High Plains Western Heritage Center in Spearfish; the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in Hill City; the 1881 Courthouse Museum in Custer City; and Fort Hays south of Rapid City!

I also got in some sightseeing, driving through Custer State Park and its tunnels, spending time with the burros (photo), and viewing Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial from the road. The day finished out at Wall, where I signed the inventory of my book at the Wall Drug bookstore (they had ordered eight before I left home and had sold one since). It is really an impressive western bookstore. I made camp for the night at a campground in town.

The next morning - Wednesday, the final day of my trip - had me in Pierre for a signing at the Prairie Pages. Before the signing I stopped to see my new friend Ken Stewart at the state archives and made a visit to the South Dakota National Guard Museum, which I had always missed finding open in previous visits to Pierre.

The people at Prairie Pages were great! They had bought an add in the local paper and radio time before the signing, so we had a fairly decent turnout - nine sales all in all, plus owner Peggy bought some for inventory (that's her on the right, with Betty and Lula Mae who also work in the shop). After that, I made the long drive back home to Omaha.

BIG trip - just under 2,500 miles - but well, well worth it.

Hello from North Dakota!

Starting day 4 of my book tour in North Dakota, which in the past few days has included appearances at Fort Abercrombie in the east, the Bismarck Barnes & Noble in the center part of the state, and Fort Buford in the west.

Fort Abercrombie really went over the top, not only hosting me for two presentations, but putting on a reception, bringing a cake with a pic of the book on it, AND making two huge posters of the book cover for me to sign. Wow! Thanks to Jim Acker and the rest of the staff at the new visitor center at the site - GREAT PEOPLE!

Friday had stopping in Jamestown for an interview with Keith Norman from the Sun at Fort Seward. Keith is active in the promotion of the fort site AND owns the Great stories Book Shoppe in town (he bought three copies from me for the store to sustain until more came in). I was then off to Bismarck to see my good friend Chris Johnson, now the acting director of the museum at the state Heritage Center. I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum, including a visit to the gun vault - here I am holding an 1870 Springfield. Had a signing at the Barnes & Noble that evening, but it was pretty light in selling three books (I blame Michael Phelps).

Yesterday I was out to Fort Buford for their 26th annual encampment. I gave a presentation in the sun (no Power Point) on the "lost" forts of the northern plains - those that almost didn't make the book because I either didn't think there were any signs that they existed OR that I didn't even know they existed. A little challenging without the slides to back me up, but it went well and sold - three copies!

Hope I don't sell just three copies EVERY time I stop. Better luck today in Medora, where I'm at the Western Edge bookstore and the Chateau de Mores State Historical Site.

Book tour update, and a good signing!

I've let the blog go too long without some input!

Most of my activity in the past week or so has been in filling out dates for my first book tour to the Dakotas. The tour starts Thursday, Aug. 14, at Fort Abercrombie in Abercrombie, ND - the fort is the cover of the book and it sounds like I'll have a nice little welcome there. Jim Acker, the site superintendent for the fort, has me in presentations at 3 and 7 p.m. and in between, he said they're planning a reception! I am really looking forward to this - I can't wait to see the new visitor center, but also to meet old and new friends.

Following Ft. Aber, I'll have stops in Bismarck, Fort Buford, Chateau de Mores State Historic Site and Western Edge Bookstore in Medora, ND, Prairie Pages in Pierre, SD and maybe a couple other stops. I plan to file reports along the way, so keep checking in!

I had a signing today at the Confluence Bookstore in Bellevue, actually a "wine & sign" event with a number of authors and artists. We were each given the opportunity to speak about our books - which I did - and got several great questions. I ended up selling 11 books, which was pretty good for the number of emails I sent out! Susan and daughter Megan were there, as were my parents, my Aunt Shirley, and friend Paul Nyholm. A lot of history lovers were there, too - a fun day!

Barnes and Yutan, Then Barnes & Noble

I had two things going on today: a visit to my "second" hometown of Yutan, Neb., and a signing at Barnes & Noble at Oakview Mall.

The Yutan visit was supposed to be a photo op - I had donated a copy of the book to the public library there and the town newspaper (the Connection) wanted to get a photo. I got a surprise - instead of one or two people there, about a dozen people from Yutan were there including my fifth-grade teacher Mrs. Stange, my long-time classmate Carole Anderson and many more from my childhood! I ended up selling all of the books I had in my car (5) and still need to deliver a couple more! It was a fun hour at the library - they pulled a couple yearbooks to show me my photo (so much for forgetting THOSE mug shots) and then we took the newspaper pic.

Then made it to B&N for the 1 p.m. signing. Marcia, Virginia and Bob were there to greet me and help out - great hosts! My son Chris and friend Matt were there early; Matt bought a book and we took a photo for posterity.

I was scheduled for two hours but ended up staying through 4 as friends continued to stop by and others with an interest in the Indian Wars wanted to visit - I sold 17 books which made me happy (more than 10 at a store like B&N is good).

A Couple of Media Opportunities

Yesterday I had phone interview with the Wahpeton Daily News of Wahpeton, ND, about "Forts" - they're very interested in the book since the cover features nearby Fort Abercrombie. I, of course, had great things to say about the fort and North Dakota! Fort Abercrombie, incidentally, was selected because of the blockhouse and stockade wall - with the flag in the background, it definitely looks like a fort! You don't need to be able to read to determine that's what the book is about. The wheat growing in the foreground obviously makes the statement this is on the plains as well. But it was a good interview with Erin Hevern and hope it brings more attention to the book.

I'm getting a photo taken tomorrow (Saturday) in Yutan for donating a copy of the book to the town library. Yutan is my hometown and the local newspaper wants a shot of my presenting the book. And then I'm off to my signing at the Oakview Barnes & Noble.

The previous posting talked about my numbers with Amazon - they actually got better! Amazon had the book ranked at #27,318 in sales and it was #3 in books about the Reconstruction (post-Civil War), #6 in books about the West, and #10 in books about tourist destinations and museums. It naturally changed the next hour, but I'm glad I got to see it!

A "Top Ten" in Amazon!

I checked Amazon this a.m. and got a couple of nice surprises!

First off, in overall Amazon.com Sales Rank, "Forts" was #53,804 in Books - that's a HUGE leap over a couple of days ago when it was 700,000 something (and it was 1.4 million a few weeks ago). So I guess that means I maybe sold five copies this week as opposed to just one! JUST KIDDING

The book is also ranked #10 in books on the Reconstruction, #25 in books on the old west, and #26 on books for tourist destinations and museums.

Coupled with Kyle telling me a couple days ago that we've already sold a thousand copies, and Fort Hartsuff letting me know they've already had to place a second order, it's been a great week!

Great news from Fort Hartsuff

Just heard from Mary Hughes out at Fort Hartsuff (near Burwell, NE) - she said the book has been selling well and she's placed her second order in less than a month! That is great news, especially from a great little fort site like Hartsuff.

Yesterday was my second signing, and first bookstore appearance, with my talk at the Bookworm in Omaha. That is a wonderful independent bookstore and was the first site I booked for appearances. The talk started with only a couple people (including my wife and one of my best friends) but the seats started to fill once I started talking and we had close to 15 when it ended. I sold books to about a third of them, which wasn't bad, but the best thing is that I got more practice time at speaking, which is always good.

Next week: Barnes & Noble