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Spearfish Lake Tales
Spearfish Lake Tales Message Board
Welcome! This board is intended for discussion of Wes Boyd's writings as posted on Spearfish Lake Tales; Stories Online; Beyond The Far Horizon,
or other message boards. Discussion of other authors that frequent these boards or sites is not off topic.

Please keep it clean and somewhere close to being on topic.
Spearfish Lake Tales

Subject: Randy


Author:
The Mage
[Edit]

Date Posted: 02:28:19 10/08/08 Wed

I think that our boy should see that he is just a 'beast of burden' in reality. All three girls are just selfishly using him. Nicole would have been good, however, now that she is infected by Crystal's wanderlust, she is just as bad as the other two.

He needs to find another woman and get married.
Replies:
Subject: Leadville, CO


Author:
Frank
[Edit]

Date Posted: 07:33:15 10/01/08 Wed

So Crystal is crossing paths with Rocinante. It is a beautiful area, and Ski Cooper has an interesting history as a training facility for the US Army 10th Mountain Division. When I lived in Colorado Springs back in the late 1990's, it was an easy day trip for skiing to go to Leadville, and there weren't any lift lines there. The "lodge" didn't have lodging, but it was a nice family oriented place. If you got your lift tickets at the supermarket, it was pretty affordable.

Sounds like Crystal has made her decision, and Randy isn't in it.

Best Regards,
Frank
Subject: Absent Friend available in hardcopy


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 22:33:16 09/30/08 Tue

"Absent Friend" is now available in hardcopy through the store button on the website. I was going to hold off a little while longer and decided there was no point in it.

This gets me almost caught up with the hardcopies. Starting with Dawnwalker, hardcopies will be available about the time the book ends posting. This means that the hardcopy of Dawnwalker will be available the first week of November.

The Dawnwalker download promo is essentially over, although I will accept late comers for another few hours. Thanks to all that donated! I was expecting a lot fewer donations that I got, and I'm pretty close to blown away.

The thing that really gets to me is how many donations I received from all over the world. Lots from the US and Canada, of course, but also England, Australia, Iceland, South Africa, Germany and Norway come to mind and I'm sure I missed more than one. Thanks Everybody!!!

-- Wes
Subject: Dawnwalker download promo ending


Author:
Wes
[Edit]

Date Posted: 21:44:11 09/28/08 Sun

It's Sunday night, September 28 as I write this, and I just want to remind people that I will be cutting off the promotion on the Dawnwalker downloads on the 30th. I'm not going to split hairs if someone is located in a distant time zone, but the Dawnwalker downloads will be ending until about the time the book is completed. So, if you want to get an order in, do it!

I have to say that this promotion went a lot better than I ever dreamed it would. Thanks to everybody that placed orders, and I hope none of you were disappointed.

Just as a reminder, too, hardcopies of Dawnwalker will be available about the time the book wraps up November 7. A new book, Andromeda Chained, starts on November 10. It's a favorite of mine, even though it uses the most off the wall premise I've ever tried. I think you'll like it!
Subject: Link to my site


Author:
Susan Crealock
[Edit]

Date Posted: 12:30:34 09/25/08 Thu

Dear Mr. Boyd,
I have a new blog, Online Novels, (http://online-novels.blogspot.com/) with titles, links, and summaries of more than 300 free online novels, including four of yours. I see on your website that you have an "online book links" list and would very much appreciate your adding me to the list if you can.
Thank you.

Susan Crealock
Replies:
Subject: Score


Author:
Tucson
[Edit]

Date Posted: 23:43:15 09/23/08 Tue

Crystal 2 Hockey team 0.
Replies:
Subject: Busted Axle Road now available in hardcopy


Author:
Wes
[Edit]

Date Posted: 14:00:10 08/12/08 Tue

I just finished uploading Busted Axle Road to Lulu.com, so it's now available for order. I haven't actually checked out the proof copy but it ought to be all right. It's available for $24.95 at http://stores.lulu.com/spearfishlaketales along with Rocinante, The Next Generation and Snowplow Extra.

I haven't totally firmed it up in my own mind, but at the moment I'm considering doing Runner's Moon early in September and Absent Friend in early October, so that I will be able to make a hardcopy version of Dawnwalker available right around the time it ends up being posted on the site, even though it will still be being posted on SOL and BTFH.

While I've got several books in the queue waiting to be posted, I haven't been very productive writing in the last few months. But, the last week or so I've been able to make progress on a new Spearfish Lake book. No name yet and much is coming together, but at least I'm actually getting something done.

-- Wes
Replies:
Subject: Crystal's father


Author:
John
[Edit]

Date Posted: 06:41:57 09/03/08 Wed

Just had a thought. Could it be that Pete is jealous of Crystal because she has the courage to do things outside the box?

John
Replies:
Subject: Dawnwalker Download (no spoilers)


Author:
Buggage
[Edit]

Date Posted: 17:36:41 09/13/08 Sat

Just finished, for the second time, reading the full Dawnwalker download. THANKS Wes, for deciding to make it available.

I don't want to "spoiler" so I won't go into details, but there are some inetersting twists and turns I hadn't expected. Nicely done. I'll have to check back on the forum to discuss some of em when you update to that chapter.

This, unfortunately, begs the question: If this is Book 1 of the "cycle", what can we expect timing-wise for future stories? This is my problem with finding a good series...I get engrossed in the stories and have little patience for waiting for more! :)

I fear I've become addicted to Spearfish Lake.... Some interesting parallels between SL and the small town I've returned to, where my dad's family is from. I really like what Mike McMahon says "The smartest ones return".
Replies:
Subject: Sorry


Author:
John
[Edit]

Date Posted: 13:58:32 09/12/08 Fri

I'm sorry. I really messed that posting up. Some how my message ended up in the reply section.
Subject: Divorce coming?


Author:
John
[Edit]

Date Posted: 13:42:38 09/12/08 Fri

Replies:
Subject: Chapter 47


Author:
zoltantheduck
[Edit]

Date Posted: 21:27:33 09/10/08 Wed

Ah, the demise of Nanci, just came about a bit quicker and not in the manner that we possibly expected.

At last she has nothing to hold her back, I'm expecting big things from her - probably in the prostitution or XXX film industries - just the thing to make Pete's heart burst with pride.

Of course she could also die from AIDS - oh well, as The Wanderer would say "Life goes on", or in Nanci's case, maybe not.

Regards.

ztd
Subject: Runner's Moon now available in hardcopy


Author:
Wes
[Edit]

Date Posted: 16:17:17 09/09/08 Tue

Runner's Moon is now available in hardcopy -- see "store" details. I haven't updated the store page yet but if you click on any of the Lulu buttons on the store page it will get you there.

Had a near miss today. I was going through the chapters getting set to send them up to SOL when I discovered that the chapter I had set up to go tonight, 47, was a repeat of 46. You can bet I changed it in a hurry. Stuff happens, after all.

I'm getting lots of response to the special offer, and had to redo the donation meter. Wow! Thanks, all!
Replies:
Subject: Special Donation Offer


Author:
Wes
[Edit]

Date Posted: 21:11:23 09/07/08 Sun

First, the big news:

Effective immediately, I am announcing a special, one-time offer.<

For the month of September only, those who donate $25 or more through the Donation Page on the website will get a free download of the FULL version of Dawnwalker. For those of you who have been writing and saying that you can hardly wait for the next episode -- well, here you go! I only ask that you not make copies to pass along, and that you not hand out spoilers, especially here on the forum pages.

Due to the file size, I'm planning on sending the book in a zipped archive, but if you can't handle .zip, then specify "No Zip" in the "Purpose" section of the PayPal page.

This is the promotion that I planned to announce last weekend, but I got too wrapped up in getting the new book completed that I just couldn't tear my attention away enough to do the necessary preparation, which involved a much needed major rebuilding of the Store Page, to reflect the availablity of downloads and hardcopies.

I think I've mentioned it before, but can't recall if I've done it here -- but I'm pushing ahead on the hardcopy project. Runner's Moon should be available in hardcopy in the next week or so; doing the final paging is the next project on my list. Absent Friend should be available in hardcopy in early October.

Starting with the end of Dawnwalker, electronic downloads will be available for $5.00 apiece as has been past practice. However, I intend to have hard copies of Dawnwalker available in the same time frame, so you'll have it available to give as Christmas gifts, if you're so inclined. I'm planning on continuing that practice -- as a story gets within a couple chapters of the end on the site, I'll make both downloads and hard copies available.

Incidentally, I did finish the project I was working on, tentatively titled Bird in the Hand (at least till I think of something better). It's in typical first draft roughness, and I haven't even skimmed it over yet. It'll be a while before it's posted, which will give me plenty of time to work on it. I'm also planning a sequel, tentatively titled Bird in the Bush, which I'm planning on using for my National Novel Writing Month project in November. I have to admit that NaNo kind of feels like "amateur night" to me, but the motivation really worked for me last year so I'm going to take a swing at it again.

Dawnwalker will be coming to an end in early November, as I said. I just sent Andromeda Chained the next book to be posted for final proofing, and plan to have it all ready to go before I get involved in the November projects. I think you will like Andromeda Chained, but I will be the first to admit that it starts from the strangest premise that I've ever used for a novel. It's a very different book, and I think one of my best.

Oh, well, back to work. Well not exactly -- my wife is waiting for me to grill some steaks. Then, back to work!
Replies:
Subject: big blowup


Author:
Kirby Lambert
[Edit]

Date Posted: 11:15:57 09/03/08 Wed

Actually we could see this coming. After all Crystal said that she would not stand by and let herself be blamed for Nanci's failure when it did happen. We all know that Crystal does not make threats she makes promises plus all of the clues were there that she was preparing for a fast get away because she was 99% sure how things would turn out. Crystal has been shown time and again by Pete that Jon is the "crown prince" and that Nanci is the perfect daughter that can do no wrong, while Crystal remains the wayward disapointment.

Having gone through much the same thing when I was growing up I can state from experience that it does not just come from suspicions about parentage. It will tend to happen any time an offspring does not fit the parental expected mold.

It will be interesting to watch the way things unfold.

Kirby
Replies:
Subject: Crystal's departure


Author:
John
[Edit]

Date Posted: 01:41:22 09/03/08 Wed

It is always sad to see the alienation of family members from their parents. Can't say that we didn't see this coming though. I wonder if Crystal's Dad(oops wrong word, don't really know what to call the stuffed shirt,) anyway I wonder if Peter will ever admit that most of the trouble with Nanci is of his making?

Crystals Mom should have realized that there was a parting of the ways coming when her daughter referred to her as a 'half friendly face.'
Subject: A busy weekend


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 12:16:11 09/01/08 Mon

Happy Labor Day to all you Americans reading this. Happy day to the rest of you!

The last episode of Absent Friend goes up on SOL tomorrow, and the first of Dawnwalker. For those of you that have been reading Dawnwalker on the website, this is not news, but for those of you coming in from SOL, this is a long coming of age story that wanders to many different places over a period of years. Dawnwalker is the longest book I've ever done and I haven't even let one get close to its size since. However, I've been getting very good comments on it, so I hope you will enjoy it. It is not complete on the website, Spearfish Lake Tales yet, but the story is considerbly further advanced. You're welcome to check it out there!

Dawnwalker is a pretty good book by itself, but it also provides the foundation for a whole series of books, five in all at the moment and possibly a sixth if I can figure out how to tell the story. You've got a lot of reading ahead of you.

On to other business:

To those regular readers on the website: I'm sorry about the late update last night. The long weekend had me screwed up and I had it in mind that it was Saturday until we were on the way to a race last night. The race ran considerably later than I expected -- I thought it started at 7:00 PM, but that was a preliminary and the main event didn't get going until close to 9:00, then there were fireworks and a two-hour drive to get home before I could get the post up. I headed for the computer as soon as I got in the door.

The race was pretty interesting. For those of you that are not short track racing fans, I'll describe it. It was a 200-lap enduro at Kalamazoo Speedway, which is a 3/8 mile track. The cars were all little four cylinder jobs, which might not sound all that interesting, but there were a lot of them -- 131 cars of the Escort/Cavalier sizes really fill a 3/8 mile track, even 3 cars wide. Then there are the rules: when there is an accident (and accidents are expected with that many cars on that small a track -- it's like watching a busy freeway at rush hour) they stop the race dead, no cautions or anything like that, get the driver out of the car, and leave the car in place! Yep, this turns it into a freaking madhouse! Oh, did I mention that they run the wrong way around the track, clockwise instead of the usual counterclockwise? Can you wonder why I had a ball?

An interesting sidelight to the late update: Today being the first of the month, I had a few administrivia things to do on the website, and discovered, much to my surprise, that yesterday was the best day in terms of hits that I've ever had on the site! The only thing I can figure is that a bunch of you must have been sitting there from about 9:30 EDT on hitting the site every few minutes to see if I'd updated. That's loyalty! I'm sorry I made you go through it, but it's kind of nice to know that people are anxious to read the next bit!

I was going to announce a new promotion this weekend, but I'm going to put it off for a bit -- maybe next weekend. I have been busy as all get-out, working on a new book. This is a milestone for me, since it's the first time since February that I've been able to keep up my own interest in a project past the first few pages. I'm at 160,000 words on this one and am getting close to the end, and going pretty well -- the race held me to 5,000 words yesterday, but I did 15,500 on Saturday and 11,500 on Friday, which is knocking them out, even for me. If I had another couple off days I could probably finish it up, but it will probably drag out until next weekend now. At that, I might drag it out -- my wife as agreed to not gripe at me about not mowing the lawn until I get the book done, so I'm tempted to hold off the last hundred words or so until the snow flies.

No -- I'll get it done as quickly as possible. I have to do these things while my interest holds. Sometimes it doesn't. I've got one book on the hard drive that is within 10,000 words of being done, and I pretty well know what they are, but I just can't force myself to sit down and write them. It's a darn good book, too. Go figure.

Anyway, I'm just procrastinating to keep from getting back to working on Bird in the Hand. I can still get a few thousand words done today, and that gets me closer to the end. Guess I'd better bite the bullet and go do it. Happy reading, all!

-- Wes
Replies:
Subject: Chapter 43


Author:
Joe
[Edit]

Date Posted: 12:53:28 09/01/08 Mon

If Myleigh says to Crystal I need to get out of dodge, lets move up your trip to Buddha and Giselle's and I'll take a bus back to Ithaca. Randy could find himself with all three girl friends for the first time. Awkward to say the least.

We also have not heard of Myleigh's professional music. I would think the Album will be out soon.

Joe
Subject: Nanci


Author:
John
[Edit]

Date Posted: 03:26:21 08/29/08 Fri

Hi,

I have a sinking feeling that Nanci will either get pregnant or be on drugs long before her sister graduates. I also think that Pete will put all of the blame on Crystal.

This could be the start of a tremendous rift in the family.

Any thoughts?

John
Replies:
Subject: photos


Author:
John
[Edit]

Date Posted: 10:57:03 08/26/08 Tue

Greetings again,

It seems to me that there are several reasons that Myleigh chose to put those three photos on her desk. First and foremost is that they are just excellent memories. Second, perhaps she feels the need for some courage boosting in her new situation, i.e. at the new school w/o her lions. However the third possibility is, to me, the most interesting. Could it be that she is using the photos to cast the Gauntlet, figuratively speaking, announcing that she is somewhat of a lion in her own right?

Just asking? What say you?

John
Replies:
Subject: Dawnwalker


Author:
Rick Jones
[Edit]

Date Posted: 09:00:23 08/21/08 Thu

Wes
I am a dawnwalker junkie and I know you are writing as fast as possibLe but you are killing me with the postings.
P.S. I BELIEVE I HAVE READ ALL OF YOUR POSTED BOOKS AND LOVED ALL OF THEM.
Replies:
Subject: Chapter 39


Author:
zoltantheduck
[Edit]

Date Posted: 21:43:22 08/21/08 Thu

Hi,

After reading Chapter 39 and also John's remarks about Chapter 36, one has to wonder whether Myleigh will head back to Spearfish Lake after gaining her Masters to become part of the Jenny Easton Band.

As Wes has already written that Crystal had a good chat with Tiffany Archer, could we see her back in Spearfish Lake as a part-time teacher and tour guide for, oh, let's call it "Spearfish Lake Sled-Dog Tours"?

We know that Nicole will probably also head back to be a teacher, so might this not put Randy and the girls into a Love Square/Tripod similar to Lazlo's "The Millionaire Next Door", though without the girl/girl connotations?

Gives us something to think about.

Regards.

ztd

ps .B, any more of those Karl Larson stories in the planning stages yet?
Replies:
Subject: Chapter 36


Author:
John
[Edit]

Date Posted: 07:55:16 08/15/08 Fri

Hi,
Since Myleigh will be in Spearfish Lake for the summer, it is my thought that Jennifer just might like to help the girl out also; by having her do some Harp work on a recording or two.

Something like that would provide residuals, that would go a long way to helping Myleigh with her fiscal problems.

What do you think?

John
Replies:
Subject: Dawn Walker 35


Author:
Bill
[Edit]

Date Posted: 23:33:34 08/12/08 Tue

After reading chapter thirty five, a saying by my grandmother
popped up " There is not a lot to see in a small town, but you hear makes up for it".
Replies:
Subject: All of your stories


Author:
Chatles
[Edit]

Date Posted: 13:27:19 08/07/08 Thu

Wes,
I have read, or am currently reading all of the stories you posted on line, and I appreciate the opportunity to read nice clean stories. But they are about as exciting as a financial report in the Wall Street Journal. Lots and lots of facts from every angle and viewpoint, but no drama. This is not a complaint. Just my observation.
Regards,
Charles
Replies:
Subject: Chap 25 - Note: possible spoilers


Author:
Lew
[Edit]

Date Posted: 23:02:40 07/20/08 Sun

1: Wonder why Randy didn't tell Myleigh the stage name Jennifer sings under? Maybe he just doesn't like to be a name dropper?

2: Just a side comment; The "Yooper" acccent sure gives my spell checker a fit (G). Nothing but red squggly lines everwhere LOL

Really enjoying the story and look forward to each chapter as it's posted.

Lew
Replies:
Subject: Dawnwalker - WOW


Author:
GComyn
[Edit]

Date Posted: 10:13:54 07/25/08 Fri

Wow.... just as good as the others... I've read them all by now, and this is just as engrossing....

The only problem I have is....... it's coming too slowly!! *gryn*...

but at least it's on a set schedule.. so I know when I can read the next... not like some, when you don't know when the next chapter is going to be seen.

Thanks for sharing these stories with us...

GComyn
Subject: Sad song


Author:
Tucson
[Edit]

Date Posted: 01:09:24 07/21/08 Mon

OK now the title of the story is revealed. Your writing is so descriptive that I set here with the feeling I am in the room with them. I find I am waiting and counting the minutes till your next chapter is posted. Thanks for the work you put into your stories. My daughter is teaching english in high school and she is hooked also. It is refreshing to read a story for adults but without the graphic sex.
Replies:
Subject: Chapter 24


Author:
jayess
[Edit]

Date Posted: 07:09:19 07/18/08 Fri

I'm enjoying this as much as any of your other books.

I'm just wondering what will happen after Crystal meets Tiffany (and please don't say that they aren't going to meet)!
Replies:
Subject: chapter 22


Author:
The Mage
[Edit]

Date Posted: 21:17:13 07/15/08 Tue

Hello again Wes,

I certainly didn't expect the turn of events that this chapter brought. It does appear that the plan of Crystal's Mom has gone astray. What will Peter's fear bring forth in the future, I wonder? And what of her siblings, will they fear their sister now?

Thanks for another great chapter.

The Mage
Replies:
Subject: great chap.


Author:
The Mage
[Edit]

Date Posted: 03:37:45 07/11/08 Fri

Hey Wes,

Yet another great chapter! I must say that I really feel bad for the males in Crystal's family. They wouldn't know what fun was if it reared up and bit them in the butt. What a dull Life!!!!

Again I am truly enjoying this Novel.

The Mage
Subject: Rod or Ben?


Author:
Ken Slauson
[Edit]

Date Posted: 22:33:32 07/07/08 Mon

I'm enjoying Dawnwalker a lot, but I'm confused in Chapter 19. Is the character Rod Turpin, or Ben? Seems like you call him by both names.
Replies:
Subject: ch 17


Author:
Joseph Beecher
[Edit]

Date Posted: 00:00:07 07/02/08 Wed

It looks like an interesting summer for Randy. It certainly fits better than running a chipper all week long, I am looking folward to reading about his life in Spear Fish Lake, Tennessee, and Marquette this summer.
Subject: "Snowplow Extra" and "The Next Generation" now available in hardcopy!


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 21:17:41 06/26/08 Thu

Putting out the question of which book to put out next in hardcopy got a little frustrating. "Snowplow Extra" and "The Next Generation" ran just about neck and neck throughout the whole process.

Well, rather than frustrate anybody, I decided to put out both of them! I took the time to go through the squawk lists I've gotten from devoted readers and made a few changes, and ran them through a spell check again just on general principles.

Both books are now available from my store page on Lulu.com.

"Busted Axle Road" will be next but it probably will be a while.

-- Wes
Replies:
Subject: Randy and Crystal


Author:
Jayess
[Edit]

Date Posted: 03:04:25 06/27/08 Fri

We've seen that Randy has done 'marital arts' with Crystal but didn't think it was public knowledge at NMU. Is that a typo for 'martial arts'?
Replies:
Subject: March 14, 2008: 40 years -- How Did That Happen?


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 10:40:00 03/14/08 Fri

The newspaper where I work has a column by the woman that runs the local historical society, looking back at the community 40 years ago. She is not the world's greatest typist and her column requires a lot of editing. I was going over it today and came across a mention of a guy heading off to Vietnam back in 1968. That got me to thinking, then looking at the calendar -- and yes! How could I have forgotten?

Forty years ago today my butt was planked in the seat of a 707 enroute from Bien Hoa to Japan, and then San Francisco -- the "Freedom Bird" I'd looked forward to for so long. How could it have been forty years? What happened to the time? Where did it go? It can't have been that long . . . but I guess it has been. I remember well the cheers on that plane as we left the ground and headed off into the night sky leaving Vietnam behind us.

It seems like an appropriate time for "Absent Friend" to start Monday, although honestly, I didn't plan it that way.

That leads me to a story that I might as well tell now -- for it happened a day or two after that landmark day. I was single at the time, your typical trooper, with your typical trooper's interests. My girl friend had dumped me when I was in Vietnam, and I'd spent a lot of time in-country looking forward to getting back to the world to see what I could do about some feminine companionship, which means just exactly what you think it means. I had a mild dream of getting on the plane from San Francisco to Detroit, meeting a girl, and, well, you get the message.

So, I got on the plane, and I was in like Seat 34C. I walked down the aisle, and there in Seat 34B was this absolutely gorgeous blonde! I looked upwards and whispered, "Thank you, Lord."

Then I got a couple steps closer, and saw that this vision of lovliness had a small baby in her arms. I looked back upwards again and said, "Uh, check that."

This girl -- I no longer remember her name -- turned out to be on her way back from San Francisco, where she'd seen her husband off for the Far East aboard some Navy ship. She turned out to be a good sport; we spent a lot of time talking, and I tried to reassure her the best I could. And then, I voiced one concern. I knew my parents would be waiting for me when I got off the plane, and I wasn't in any mood for the big, emotional welcome home that I was dead sure I was going to get. Like I said, typical trooper. She sort of empathized with me.

So, when we got off the boarding ramp, she had one arm around me, and I had one around her and was carrying the baby with the other one. I will treasure for the rest of my life the look on my parent's faces that said, "What the hell has he done now that he hasn't told us about!?!"

-- Wes
Replies:
Subject: Runner's Moon ends on SOL


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 21:37:13 06/03/08 Tue

Runner's Moon ended today on SOL. A new story (to there), Absent Friend, begins Friday.

-- Wes
Subject: Have you considered putting your books onto CDs?


Author:
Amanda
[Edit]

Date Posted: 22:58:05 05/29/08 Thu

I would love to be able to download the full versions. However the only computer we have that can connect to the internet is a dinosaur and doesn't have enough memory or hard disk space to download. I'd definitely be willing to pay a reasonable amount plus shipping and handling to get the pdfs on CD. That way I could re-read a favorite whenever I like, and save a tree and shelf space too.
Replies:
Subject: Rocinante now available from Lulu.com


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 22:42:05 05/29/08 Thu

Over the last several months, a number of people have asked me when I'm going to pursue getting my books in print, or why I haven't done something with Lulu.com or a similar outfit. Well, I did.

This letter is to announce that as of today, Rocinante is available for $24.95 from http://stores.lulu.com/spearfishlaketales

This is a deal directly between Lulu and you. Lulu accepts Paypal and various credit cards -- Mastercard, VISA, and the like. There is a shipping charge that I assume varies depending on your location.

Just to refresh your memory, the book description is "An Aerial Adventure! The only thing that kept Mark going in Vietnam was his plan to spend some time wandering the country by air, like barnstormers did 50 years before. In the last days before leaving, he acquires a partner -- a tall, morose girl named Jackie. They spend months on their coast to coast aerial odyssey, falling in love along the way while having adventures that will turn into memories for a lifetime." The book is softcover, and runs 356 pages.

Now you have a book available in "dead tree" format that you can pass around among your non-internet-enabled friends, use as a gift, or whatever.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how this works out. If sales of Rocinante justify I'm planning on putting the other completed books on the http://www.spearfishlaketales.com website out in hardcopy on a fairly rapid schedule. Like a lot of things about Spearfish Lake Tales, "We'll see how it goes," is how a lot of things get done.

One of the things that's up in the air is the book that I'll be putting out next, so here's your chance for some input! The next book just about is going to have to come from Snowplow Extra, The Next Generation or Busted Axle Road, but I'm not sure which one I want. So, I'm accepting votes, from now until I make up my mind. Just reply to this e-mail with the one you would like -- you can get to my e-mail by clicking on my name in the upper left hand corner of this message.

Even though I'm putting Rocinante into print, Spearfish Lake Tales is still a donation website. I really appreciate all the donations and download orders I've received over the last several months. Donations are sort of the writer's version of a dude playing a guitar on the street corner. They're what keeps the site going and new stuff coming -- and after all, it's not like you've spent money on a book only to be disappointed in it. You can donate by clicking on the dude with the guitar on the website, or the "Donation" button.

Downloads of all completed books, including Rocinante will still be available at $5.00 apiece. Just click on "Store" on the Spearfish Lake Tales website to make your order.

If you haven't visited Spearfish Lake Tales recently, a new story started Monday -- Dawnwalker. "College and the years just afterwards are pivotal for many people, having adventures and establishing their lives. It was especially true for Randy Clark and his three girl friends. They are very different people facing very different futures. Can their special friendship survive the problems and distances of the real world?" I think you will like Dawnwalker. It is a long book and it will be updated for a while, but we're not so far into it that you can't catch up quickly.

Happy reading!

-- Wes
Subject: Dawnwalker starts


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 16:34:17 05/25/08 Sun

What with getting "Dawnwalker" started posting tonight, I've been thinking for a few days that it's time to get to work on a new project. Actually, I've got a major project that's maybe three quarters done, but I just haven't felt like working on it. I've had a couple ideas for other things, but really haven't been able to get a handle on them.

Being Memorial Day weekend (in parts of the US, anyway) you would figure that I would have a little extra time to develop these kinds of things, but it's not happening this weekend. Friday night, Kathy and I went to a School Bus figure 8 race. She and I like to watch racing, and watching school buses in a figure 8 race is a hoot, to say the least. You may not realize it but school buses are pretty tough -- they're not made of aluminum foil. We watched a similar race last fall in which two buses were turned on their sides. They came out with this great big front loader, rolled the buses back on their wheels, and they finished second and third. There was a bit more destruction on Friday night but it was still fun.

Then yesterday, Kathy had a number of errands for us to do in a nearby town, followed by a retirement party for some woman she'd worked with. "If we're going to that I think we ought to go to the races while we're up there." So, guess what, there we were, doing local short track races the second night in a row.

Now, today we have the Indianapolis 500 and the Whatever the heck it is 600 in Charlotte. I doubt that I'm going to get much done today. And I won't get much done tomorrow morning -- the local American Legion would send out a hit squad if I missed the local Memorial Day activities. Then I've got a guy coming to work on the satellite dish tomorrow afternoon. So, whatever happens, getting anything useful done this weekend is pretty unlikely.

One good thing out of this is that on the way back from the race last night I happened to mentally re-examine one angle on a story I'd been kicking around a while back, and thought of a way to make it work on its own, rather than as a part of the story I had been considering. At least now I have a bright idea to kick around.

Dawnwalker, the story that starts tonight, started something like that. It started as a short story of about 8,000 words, which is an awkward size, but at least got me writing after a dry spell. That turned out to be a false start but helped me to define who the story was going to be about. Within days, I'd blocked out a few chapters of a new start, and got going.

When I started Dawnwalker, I didn't have any idea where I was going. Well, I shouldn't say that; I knew where it was ending up but I didn't have much idea of how I was going to get there. About all I knew was that I wanted to write a big, complicated doorstopper of a novel. Well, I did; it was 383,000 words at the end of the first draft, although I've done quite a bit of trimming and honing on it since; it's currently about 340,000.

The heck of it was that when I finished, there were several places where there were loose ends that cried to be cleaned up. Before the winter was over with, I had one of those loose ends crying for attention, so I finally went ahead and wrote the story. That wasn't even the most glaring loose end; it took me some thinking before I worked out how I wanted to take care of that. And so on . . . there are currently five books in what I've taken to calling the "Dawnwalker Cycle", and a sixth one needs to be written. I've made a couple false starts at that, but there is so much backstory needed that I've having trouble with it. The Dawnwalker Cycle is now over a million words and it isn't done yet.

I don't plan on posting the Dawnwalker Cycle consecutively, for a number of reasons. While I consider it a separate story line, the Dawnwalker Cycle is still more or less a Spearfish Lake story. Major parts of three of the six books (including the tentative story line for the sixth book) are set in Spearfish Lake to a greater or lesser degree; Spearfish Lake people play important parts in two of the others. I will admit that in one of the six Spearfish Lake isn't even mentioned, but I don't think you'll notice it much. But the Dawnwalker Cycle books tend to intermingle with story lines of the "regular" Spearfish Lake stories, so I want to let those stories develop in order without laying out many spoilers. For example, Jennifer Evachevski plays an important part in one of the books, but we haven't met her since Busted Axle Road and there are things that have to happen with her in another book first. I've got it figured out how to do it, but we have to do it in proper order.

I have to admit that setting a portion of the book at Northern Michigan University reflects the fact that my daughter went there for a while, so it was a handy place to reach out to for color. However, persons or events related there are fictional (like everything else in this book), and bear no relationship to the truth. The same thing holds true for the Grand Canyon, which plays a part in all of the Dawnwalker Cycle books. The geography of the Grand Canyon is real (except for one key place which I made up), but all persons, companies, events, and the like are fictional, except where clearly stated as accepted history.

"Dawnwalker" proved to be the most expensive book I've ever written, mostly because while I was writing it, I got hooked on the Grand Canyon. I spent a lot of time researching the canyon, but online research proved to be not enough, so not long after I finished the first draft I signed up for a $2500 trip down the canyon. I never imagined I would ever take a vacation that expensive and not take my wife along. Let me tell you, that's the most awesome scenery on the face of the earth. My Grand Canyon trip experience showed up quite a bit in the revisions of Dawnwalker, and in the follow-up books. It was worth the money; I'd like to do it again some time.

Anyway, since I'm losing the evening to NASCAR, I'm going to put the first post up a little early tonight. I hope you all enjoy Dawnwalker. I've enjoyed it a lot so far.

-- Wes
Replies:
Subject: source of a quote?


Author:
bobp
[Edit]

Date Posted: 14:57:54 05/23/08 Fri

Hi, I'm new here, so sorry if this question has been asked. Can someone tell me the source of the quote in TNG Ch 9

"And one day we must begin our own great explorations. No longer will we find a hand to hold us, or a voice to call us back."

It sounds familiar but I can't place it.

Thanks
Replies:
Subject: A tough week


Author:
Wes
[Edit]

Date Posted: 23:40:15 05/15/08 Thu

This has been one heckuva week.

It started early Monday, when the phone went off about oh-dark-thirty with a call from my daughter. "Mom, Dad, I figured I'd better call before you got up and turned the TV on. We've had a little earthquake here but Dan and I are all right, there's nothing to worry about."

My daughter teaches English at the university level in Chengdu, China. Knowing her, if she called us like she did, things were a little worse than she let on.

So there was no chance of any more sleep, so my wife and I got up with the intention of flipping on CNN, rather than the local news. Since we live out in the country, this means satellite. So, we turned on the satellite box to discover it was on the fritz. Lovely timing, that. I got around and headed into town for breakfast, while my wife called the satellite company to complain.

I had my usual hectic Monday and Tuesday at work. In the process I got further word from the daughter and her English boy friend. It appears that they were fairly lucky in that they're in a newer part of the city, which wasn't beat up as bad as several of the surrounding smaller towns. Still, the Chinese have a major mess on their hands and I'm grateful that my daughter wasn't more affected than she was.

I got home Tuesday evening to discover that the guys from the satellite company were there. These bozos said the problems wasn't the receiver, but the wiring in the house, which I thought was so much BS. However, since the satellite wiring was their problem, they decided they'd rewire the place. I had a great deal of trouble getting through to these boneheads, since their idea of wiring was to just lay the wires right across the floor, and I was not about to deal with that. It turned out that I had to stand over them continually to keep them from doing an unacceptable job, and they still managed to louse up the terminal wiring on four out of four TVs. So finally everything got done, and we checked out the system. Sure enough, one satellite receiver was on the fritz, the one we'd told them about in the beginning. Now they're supposed to bring another one tomorrow. Cripe, I hope they send someone else, but I'm not holding my breath.

I was just lucky to remember that I had an upload when I got those jokers out of here Tuesday evening.

Things have slowed down a little the rest of the week, but there have been plenty of other things going wrong. Then, this morning, just to cap things off I had a dentist appointment. Some weeks it just doesn't pay to get out of bed Monday morning, and this was one. Somehow I've got to get my mind back on writing.

This weekend I've got to do a little messing around with the website to get set up for the new book. "Absent Friend" ends on Monday. At the moment, I plan on putting up a short story on Wednesday as a filler -- it's actually a chapter that was cut from Busted Axle Road. I'm not planning on archiving this story at the moment, so you'll have to catch it while it's up. However, to give you a little better chance I won't be making any update on Friday, May 23.

Then, on Monday, May 26, the new story will start -- "Dawnwalker". I think you're going to like this book -- it's one of my favorites. It's set partly in Spearfish Lake, but with a mostly new cast of characters. It's mostly a "coming of age" story about a guy and his three girlfriends getting through college and established in their very different lives. It's a long story, and we'll be with it for months. At that, it's the first of six inter-related books, the last of which hasn't been completed yet.

I want to take the time to thank all of you that have stuck with me through "Absent Friend". Readership and response have been down on this book, as have donations. I think I understand why; it's a little different than some of my other books, which tend to be pretty upbeat, but apparently I didn't manage that as well as I thought I had. Of course, the whole Vietnam experience is still a sensitive issue with a lot of people, and especially so in recent years -- and the book is, if anything -- about getting over it. Oh, well, live and learn.

-- Wes
Replies:
Subject: Absent Friend


Author:
Tucson
[Edit]

Date Posted: 00:04:28 05/16/08 Fri

Damn this story brings chills, tears and memories. My dog tags hang next to the mirror where I shave every morning. The P38 is still with them and I supose still would open a can of those wonderful eggs. I live very close to the Bell helicopter plant and when I hear several of them fly over together my stomach does a flip.
Wonderful story
Tucson
Subject: AF Download


Author:
Allen
[Edit]

Date Posted: 06:09:20 05/13/08 Tue

Wes - WOW WOW WOW

Your complete down load of AF was waiting for me when I woke up this morning, thank you for the fast service. You completly destroyed my morning! Lucky I didn't have to teach this morning.

I was really wondering how you were going to end it and you did it so beautifully! I find in most fiction on the net the ending is what most authors have problems with, but not you.

Thanks for a wonderful body of work in Spearfish Tales, please keep it up as long as you can.

What's next?

Allen
Replies:
Subject: Argh


Author:
Lisa
[Edit]

Date Posted: 10:21:05 05/14/08 Wed

What a cliff hanger. I got to the end of this chapter and nearly banged my head against the desk in frustration...

Super post Wes. Can't wait for Fri to see the next. I considered getting the download to assuage my curiosity but decided that a little anticipation won't be a bad thing.

Oh boy oh boy, can't wait for Friday.
Replies:
Subject: comment


Author:
The Mage
[Edit]

Date Posted: 00:55:16 05/14/08 Wed

Hey Wes,

I have to admit that this story started slowly for me but NOW I'm hooked! It is a good story and I await each new installment eagerly.

Thanks and keep up the good work.

The Mage
Subject: Chaps 45, 46


Author:
Lew
[Edit]

Date Posted: 22:29:48 05/11/08 Sun

It just keeps getting better and better!!!

Steve seems to excell at thinking outside the box, for sure.


Lew
Subject: Enjoyment


Author:
Lisa
[Edit]

Date Posted: 09:46:44 05/11/08 Sun

Wes, Just wanted to say thank you for another enjoyable read. The journey from Rocinate to this has provided many hours of enjoyment for this avid reader.

Thanks for all your hard work.
Subject: Wes' Books


Author:
GComyn
[Edit]

Date Posted: 12:57:41 05/06/08 Tue

I've only read 'Busted Axel Road', but I really liked it, and have started 'Runner's Moon'... now that I've found the other books, I intend to read them as well...

Wes, you are a very good writer, and although it is not in the genre that I usually read (SF/Fan), it is a delightful read.

GComyn
Subject: Chapter 40 + Story as a whole


Author:
John L.
[Edit]

Date Posted: 14:09:30 05/05/08 Mon

Excellent story! One I would have never seen in "dead tree format," 'cause they would have shelved in a part of the bookstore or library my shadow is unlikely to darken. . .

The last line of chapter 40 with Binky promising to not only think about going but to pray about it, was a masterstroke fully in keeping with both her Catholic and Baptist connections. Made my eyes go all leaky. . .

Wes is a very good writer: The "auto-editor" in my head hardly ever kicks in revising an awkward phrase or whatever, which is a rare thing indeed in on-line literature. I guess a lot of that is that way fewer people get their fingers in the text than in the dead-tree world.

I suppose what hooked me is Mike: He is about my age, and, if I hadn't been seduced by computers (rare in the early '70s, I'll admit) I would have gone to Journalism school. . .
Subject: Chap 35 & 36


Author:
Lew
[Edit]

Date Posted: 10:43:55 04/30/08 Wed

Getting into the meat of things now. While not haveing served in the Armed Forces (Due to Medical deferment), I remember talking to my brother-in-law who was in-country all of 1963, and the images you show of Saigon matches those he talked of. Keep it coming, I look forward to my thrice a week fix.

Lew
Subject: Absent Friend Ch27


Author:
jayess
[Edit]

Date Posted: 08:58:31 04/21/08 Mon

Don't be too concerned about the lack of response so far. You seem to be mainly filling in the gaps of what we know from other stories - mainly Busted Axle Road - and we know where its going.

There may be more response once we get to unknown territory - ie. past the end of Busted Axle Road and into the hole in the middle of Runner's Moon.
Replies:
Subject: Absent Friend ch. 5


Author:
Greg B.
[Edit]

Date Posted: 14:51:54 03/22/08 Sat

I think the description of the "welcome home" was one of the most moving passages you've ever written. It was the perfect hook into the Henry Toivo story, who was little more than a complication in the Kirsten/Mike story up until this point.
Replies:
Subject: Story time periods


Author:
Tucson
[Edit]

Date Posted: 00:07:32 04/09/08 Wed

I have been trying to get an idea of each story and the dates that each story covers. Some of the stories have dates that the story spans but not all. Perhaps you can help me with dates.
Love the stories
Replies:
Subject: Made me think of Tiffany taking the dogs to school


Author:
Lisa
[Edit]

Date Posted: 20:14:50 03/12/08 Wed

Saw this in the newspaper today and immediately thought of Tiffany.

Thanks so much for your stories. They have brought a huge amount of pleasure to this reader.

http://www.reformer.com/headlines/ci_8542117
Replies:
Subject: Absent Friend


Author:
count Florida
[Edit]

Date Posted: 23:41:55 04/02/08 Wed

Great story, exceptionally well written, which is to be expected if, as I suspect, you are a newsman/woman. Added to my library.
Subject: 4/1/08: "The Next Generation" ends on SOL


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 22:00:50 04/01/08 Tue

"The Next Generation" ended on SOL today. I have had a huge response, all of it positive. Thanks all for your support!

A new story (to SOL) starts Friday "Runner's Moon". Of course, it's already been posted on http://www.spearfishlaketales.com so readers hopping over here from the blog button on SOL are welcome to come check it out, along with the story that's currently running on the web site! Come on over, and welcome aboard!

-- Wes
Subject: Hope you all enjoy this. It seems to fit.


Author:
Lisa
[Edit]

Date Posted: 09:58:33 03/27/08 Thu


http://watsonrules. com/reveille/ reveille. html
Replies:
Subject: March 14, 2008: Runner's Moon Completed


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 23:20:31 03/13/08 Thu

I just uploaded the last chapter of Runner's Moon. I hope you enjoyed the book. I've had a number of people write and ask if I was going to continue with Josh and Tiffany. The answer is yes and no. We will meet them again in the future, but other than some cameos, not right away.

But there are other stories to tell, and I might as well tell them without too many spoilers getting involved.

I want to take this opportunity to again thank everyone that have made donations to Spearfish Lake Tales, and to those that have purchased book downloads of Runner's Moon and the other stories. Your generosity is appreciated. I really am warmed by knowing that people enjoy my work enough to donate or make purchases, and I hope you will continue to enjoy the stories that will come in the future.

The new story, "Absent Friends", starts Monday. There are a couple stories behind the story about that, but I'll post them after the first upload has been made. See you then!

-- Wes
Replies:
Subject: March 17, 2007


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 00:11:35 03/17/08 Mon

I just uploaded the first take of "Absent Friend." This is, as I indicated earlier, the Henry Toivo story.

I first came up with the Henry Toivo story back in the early days of the Spearfish Lake tales, just as a complication for another story I was working on -- one that I probably will never post. Because it was part of Kirsten's background, I had to mention it when I discussed her in later books, but I didn't know what happened, either, and just let it go at that over the course of several books. I knew someday I was going to have to tell that story, but there were pieces of it that I couldn't work out.

I was working on another book that didn't pan out a good ten years after I dreamt up Henry, when once again I came to the question of Mike and Kirsten not being married, and I knew that I had to tell the story again. It clearly wanted to be a bigger part of the story than I'd let it be in earlier works, but I still didn't know what happened.

I honestly don't know if it came to me in a dream, or whether I was laying awake thinking about it, but all of a sudden, about four in the morning, the whole thing snapped into place. I threw on some clothes, headed down to the little hole in the corner of the shop where I do most of my writing and started typing out notes as fast as I could go. Yeah, I realized. This works!

I have two writing speeds: on and off. Sometimes it takes me a while to get the switch to on, but not this time. I threw the rough draft together in 19 days of working on it every second I could manage. At that I could have done it a little faster except for some irrelevancies, like work, an ice storm that took out power for two days, getting dragged off to a church dinner when I was right in the middle of the most dramatic scene in the book. Though the rough draft was indeed rough, I've cleaned it up over the years, and I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. I hope you will be, too.

Assuming nothing goes wrong, it'll take two months to get it all posted -- the last update is set for May 19. In case you're wondering, we'll move right on to the next book, which I've been reviewing today.

Once again, I want to thank everyone that donated to Spearfish Lake Tales through "Runner's Moon", purchased downloads, or just sent words of encouragement. Your thoughts are appreciated. When I wrote most of this stuff I mostly wrote it for my own pleasure, and it's heartwarming to know that other people enjoy it as well. Thanks, everybody.

-- Wes
Replies:
Subject: thank u


Author:
j
[Edit]

Date Posted: 06:33:31 03/17/08 Mon

Oh happy day u started a new story boy I'm glad please eat more brain food and give us the stories there remember don't hold back give us what we all want

j
Subject: Interestin article from Anchorage paper


Author:
Lew
[Edit]

Date Posted: 14:05:59 03/14/08 Fri

Here is an interesting article about the youngest woman to run in the Iditarod (Sound familiar) and her 30th place finish.


http://www.adn.com/iditarod/2008/story/344722.html


Lew
Subject: Intertwined


Author:
Jonathan
[Edit]

Date Posted: 16:39:03 03/10/08 Mon

From Chapter 3:
"Though she'd been living with Mike for fifteen years, they'd never married"

From Chapter 17:
"she and dad got married after living together for sixteen years"

From a Feb 29 Forum post by Wes:
"and then I'll be rolling over into the next book, 'Absent Friend.'"

Coincidence? Is he just enjoying dropping hints?
Wes - Was AF written before or after RM?
Replies:
Subject: Life imitates art?


Author:
Lew
[Edit]

Date Posted: 13:55:25 03/08/08 Sat

Milissa Owens running in this years Iditarod.

Owens, who turned 18 on Feb. 18, will be the youngest girl to run the Iditarod. Born and raised in Nome, she's still in high school there. She won the 2005 Jr. Iditarod. "Mushing is in my blood," she says.

Shows Wes isn't blowing smoke when he has an 18 Yr old girl (Tiff) run in the Iditarod

Lew
Subject: Ch.16


Author:
Kevin MacNeil
[Edit]

Date Posted: 00:13:32 03/07/08 Fri

Up goes my BP again. Great chapter Wes. BTW There was a dog sled race here in Canada a week or so ago with a team from Jamaica running. Were you responsible for the Southern interest or did they confuse it with Bobsledding? Once again great story telling. Thanks for sharing your talent.
Kevin
Subject: "Runner's Moon" Chap 16


Author:
Lew
[Edit]

Date Posted: 23:24:35 03/06/08 Thu

I don't know... Seems even to me .

Lew
Subject: Runners Moon Feedback


Author:
Richard Atwater
[Edit]

Date Posted: 19:32:26 03/05/08 Wed

Wes -

Just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying your Spearfish Lake Tales. The characters are recognizable, real people, and I look forward to the next installment(s).

Thank You,

Richard
Subject: "Runners Moon" Chap 15


Author:
Lew
[Edit]

Date Posted: 00:09:20 03/05/08 Wed

What an ending of the race. As usual, your word imagery carries the reader deep into the story and puts him right there on the trail.

As an aside, how many more chapters of "Runner's Moon" will there be? If it went on forever, it would end too soon for me!!!

Lew
Replies:
Subject: Runner's Moon


Author:
Ron Kelly
[Edit]

Date Posted: 12:34:50 03/03/08 Mon

This article is in the Minneapolis Star Tribune today March 3rd. http://www.startribune.com/local/east/16167767.html
It's a short article about a St Paul native running his first Iditarod.
Replies:
Subject: Runner's Moon - Chapter 14


Author:
Ralph (New Zealand)
[Edit]

Date Posted: 12:00:51 03/03/08 Mon

Wes

First, I've been following the Iditarod. The high tech GPS transmitters that 19 of the competitors are using really makes the race exciting, tracking it through an Internet browser. At the time of writing Lance Mackey, 2007 winner, has not been listed at the Finger Lake yet the GPS shows him considerably ahead of that checkpoint. Official results are not always completely accurate. I noticed that at the previous Skwentna checkpoint.
Try this link, http://race.ionearth.com/iditarod/ for the GPS positions and this, http://www.iditarod.com/race/race/currentstandings.html for the official standings. The Blog site is useful for some background, too - http://www.iditablog.com/. And if you want to know all, about dog sledding - apart from Wes Boyd's wonderful stories, try the Ultimate Iditarod for Kids and Teachers at http://www.ultimateiditarod.com/teachers.htm . Do take time to read about Susan Butcher at http://www.iditarod.com/learn/susanbutcher.html if you're interested. Wes has referred to her in "Runner's Moon" or was it "Busted Axle Road"?

Now to the story...
NB May be spoilers.

Chapter 14 was all about the 4 hour stopover at Warsaw and the planning that Josh initiated for an informal Spearfish Lake 200 miler. So this reader has to wait for chapter 15! I think Wes is a bit of a tease. So with Tiffany just a few minutes ahead of Josh on time and Phil not far behind in 4th place things are looking good for the "Run-8" Kennel dogs and mushers.

Is Josh going to break Tiffany's heart on this one?

Thanks for the great story, Wes. The second leg to the finish line should an exciting read. I just have to wait for it.
Subject: February 29, 2008: Running Dogs


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 23:55:10 02/28/08 Thu

I just posted Chapter 13. That, along with the two chapters to follow, are some of my all-time favorite writing. I hope you will enjoy it.

Just as a reminder to those that know, and an item of curiosity to those that don't, the "Official" Iditarod start is Saturday at 10:00 AM Alaska Time. The "Restart" at Willow (which is the real start) is Sunday at 2:00 PM. You can follow the race at http://www.iditarod.com/. In the past, I've found that the Anchorage Daily News -- www.adn.com -- has some excellent coverage as well. If you're really into "Runner's Moon" then you may enjoy spending some time there.

As the first month of the website draws to a close, I want to thank everyone that has checked out the site, sent donations, read stories, and offered support. The donations are especially appreciated, as are the people buying downloads of the full book and the people clicking on ads.

It really is going a lot better than I expected for the first month. That was proved today, when I got a notice that I'd exceeded the one-gig bandwidth limit that I figured would be plenty to hold me for a long time to come. Needless to say, I got right on the phone and upped the limit.

We've got another couple weeks left on "Runner's Moon", and then I'll be rolling over into the next book, "Absent Friend." I'm not going to say a lot about it right now, but I think most of you will enjoy it.

Again, thanks!

-- Wes
Replies:
Subject: Busted Axle Road


Author:
Jim
[Edit]

Date Posted: 03:11:55 02/28/08 Thu

Hi Wes,

Just finished Busted Axle Road. Read Rocinante and Snowplow Extra a while back. I wanted to thank you for the great stories and the connections between the three books. It's nice to revisit old friends, like Mark and Jackie, all grown up and married in Busted Axle Road.

You are a fine writer and I appreciate the time and effort you've put into these stories. A map of Spearfish Lake was mentioned on your blog... that would be a nice touch and provide one more connection for all the stories to come (I hope). Again, thanks for the great reading.

BTW, don't know if anyone mentioned it before or not, but the fifth "Beatle" was Pete Best, the drummer before Ringo. Don't know of anyone named David that was a part of the group.

Jim
Replies:
Subject: Runner's Moon - Chapter 13


Author:
Ralph
[Edit]

Date Posted: 16:31:48 03/01/08 Sat

Wes

The Warsaw Run, through Josh's eyes, has been great. The descriptions of the dogs, the atmosphere, the night, the other handlers and Josh's helpers has been great. Might it be possible that Run-8 Kennels have a chance of finishing 1, 2, and 3...

You got this reader so caught up in the race that I can hardly wait for the second half. It's a blast!

Ralph
Replies:
Subject: "Runner's Moon" Chapter 13


Author:
Lew
[Edit]

Date Posted: 00:06:37 02/29/08 Fri

Out-F******-Standing!!!! Your 'wordsmanship' is great and makes you feel like you are there with Josh.

Now we have to wait for Sunday night /Monday morning to read more :-( .


Lew
Replies:
Subject: Runner's Moon - Chapter 12


Author:
Ralph
[Edit]

Date Posted: 22:08:11 02/28/08 Thu

Wes

That was some training run. Josh and the 17 dogs with Switchblade in the front averaging close to 20mph for 20 miles was impressive. I enjoyed the description.

Phil is playing an important part in the story. I have to say I'm looking forward to the Warsaw run with Tiffany and Josh competing - and now Phil. Greg Mears is going to have his work cut out.

Yep, I like it!
Replies:
Subject: Henry Toivo


Author:
Lew
[Edit]

Date Posted: 16:28:13 02/22/08 Fri

Something else I was wondering about. Did they ever go to VN and search for Henry Toivo? If so, what was the result? Is Kirsten still waiting and hopeing?

Lew
Replies:
Subject: Elmer Sorensen


Author:
Lew
[Edit]

Date Posted: 23:33:23 02/25/08 Mon

Wes;

I was re-reading "Busted Axle Road" and was wondering about something. Is the Elmer Sorensen Jenny Easton (Jennifer Evachevski) bought the house from any relation to Ken Sorenson's family, or is the name just a coincidence?

Lew
Replies:
Subject: "Runners Moon" Chap 11


Author:
Lew
[Edit]

Date Posted: 00:08:12 02/25/08 Mon

I keep wondering if Judy Sorenson is going to have more than a cameo role in "Runners Moon". It will be interesting to see what develops.

Wes, I have enjoyed all of your works posted so far, and look forward to seeing more. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to read the stories.

Lew
Subject: Sled dogs need some help to move caboose


Author:
Lew
[Edit]

Date Posted: 17:23:49 02/18/08 Mon

Thought this tied into both "Runner's Moon" & "Snowplow Extra". and Josh's job.

From "Trains" magazine News Wire

Sled dogs need some help to move caboose

February 18, 2008 DULUTH, Minn. - Twenty-two sled dogs needed some help to pull a 40-ton Soo Line caboose at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum Saturday, the Duluth News-Tribune reported. The attempt was part of a fundraiser to send the dogs and their owner, John Stetson, to the Iditarod dogsled race in Anchorage, Alaska.

Stetson let out a "Hup!" and the dogs lunged forward in an attempt to budge the caboose. They weren't able to make it budge, so after a few lunges, a group of Stetson's colleagues and some onlookers pushed on the back of the caboose to help get it rolling. In all, the caboose moved a few hundred feet.

Stetson will depart for Alaska tomorrow.


LLew
Replies:
Subject: Another "I wonder what happened to..."


Author:
Steve
[Edit]

Date Posted: 10:58:04 02/22/08 Fri

As a follow-on to Lew's question about Judy's mom....

In the early chapters of _Rocinate_, Jackie has a little brother, Johnnie, she has to babysit for. At first, I thought he'd morphed into Josh, but in Chapter 9, we found out that Josh was born after the plane trip.

Will we ever hear of Johnnie again?

BTW, it was fun to realize that the shy little Judith in _Rocinate_ was Judy Sorensen.

Steve
Replies:
Subject: "Runner's Moon" Chap 10


Author:
Lew
[Edit]

Date Posted: 00:00:37 02/22/08 Fri

I wonder what happened to Judy's Mom(or did I miss it?)?

Another great chapter; now i gotta wait till sunda night or monday to get me next fix.


Lew
Replies:
Subject: Runner's Moon - Chapter 9


Author:
Ralph
[Edit]

Date Posted: 03:36:32 02/20/08 Wed

This chapter is full of surprises - not just the gap in time either. I guess there's a little bit of shock value with some convergence from other stories that Wes has written.

It's not what I would have expected but it could be a wild ride - like with Josh and his team starting out on a run.

I look forward to more.

Thanks Wes.

Ralph (New Zealand)
Subject: "Runner's Moon" Chap 9


Author:
Lew
[Edit]

Date Posted: 23:20:40 02/19/08 Tue

Boy, a new curve thrown in. I won't spoil it for people who may not have read it yeT, but I gotta wonder what happened and where it's gonna go.

Lew
Subject: Runner's Moon - Chapter 8


Author:
Ralph
[Edit]

Date Posted: 14:11:59 02/18/08 Mon

I'm like Lew - I just can't wait to see these chapters posted and chapter 8 was full of good news for the dog teams. The new sprinter "Switchstand" looks full of potential and the two breeding bitches that Phil got for Tiffany and Josh will really add to their options.

This says it all:

"Tiffany was the first to speak in less than pure awe. 'Josh, Mark, let's not tell anybody about this," she said. "They won't be much help the winter after next, but the year after that... .'"

With Josh set up at his own place the story has gained a whole new momentum.

Thanks for the story Wes.

Ralph (New Zealand)
Subject: "Runner's Moon" Chapter 8


Author:
Lew
[Edit]

Date Posted: 23:38:53 02/17/08 Sun

Another great chapter! The dogs keep coming ans going. and the Alaska Bitches will surly be a major part as the story goes on. The only problem I have is waiting for each chapter to be posted.


Lew
Subject: Runner's Moon - Chapter 7


Author:
Ralph
[Edit]

Date Posted: 23:43:49 02/14/08 Thu

I thought Wes hit the jackpot with this chapter (7) of Runner's Moon. The story really took off with the telling of Tiffany's experience with the fire, the little boy and the dog-team training that got caught up in it all. Skosh is an endearing pup. I guess we'll hear more of Jimmy and his family.

It was a great read. Just keep those chapters coming!

Ralph (New Zealand)
Subject: Runners Moon


Author:
Ralph
[Edit]

Date Posted: 02:08:45 02/13/08 Wed

Wes

I'm enjoying the story. I find, as you said earlier, that it's a little more serious than "Busted Axle Road" but it's shaping up well and it's still early days.

Josh and Tiffany could make an awesome team. I think they should combine their dog teams for the bigger challenges.

Thanks for writing.

Ralph
Replies:
Subject: the next generation


Author:
andy
[Edit]

Date Posted: 16:31:43 02/09/08 Sat

just finished reading the story kept me entertained all afternoon the story really grabbed me and drew me in I dont have a farm based background so the small explanation about what a particular machine did was most informative especially as I am a brit I understand it is an older story bur of course to me it is brand new already I wonder what happens next on the farm how judy manages with the next generation of sorensen and how irene could come to the fore and assist her daughter when she would need her it seems to me if they cannot knock every problem down then their friends will be there to help the only fly in the ointment will be the funeral of their friend sylvia now thats a nice name for a baby regards yorkshire
Subject: February 6, 2008: A few Spearfish Lake Tales announcements


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 12:35:01 02/06/08 Wed

Just a few bits of business to take up about Spearfish Lake Tales: http://spearfishlaketales.com

1. Over the weekend I was asked if I could put up a map of the Spearfish Lake area. I have a scan of the sketch map that I used when I wrote "Snowplow Extra", so put it up on the "Snowplow Extra" page, along with a railroad glossary. The link is toward the top of the left hand column on the "Snowplow Extra" page.

2. I've been asked if I would e-mail notices when the page is updated. Normally that's going to be Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but if you would like e-mail notification, I guess it's no great trick to do it. E-mail me with a request for it; you can click on my name in the left hand column of this page to get you to the forum's e-mail page.

3. I've had several requests for the ability to download the stories in a single file. I'm a little reluctant to do it as a free download, because part of the income for the site comes from payments on page hits. So, I've decided to make the complete files available, but at what I feel is a nominal price of $5.00 per file. You can click on "Store" for details. Sorry that this isn't going to involve instant gratification, but until I see what the demand is I don't feel I can go to the expense to set it up to be automatic. Like a lot about this site, it's on a "We'll see what happens" basis.

4. Tell your friends about Spearfish Lake Tales! Spread the word on the blogs, message boards and whatever else you may frequent! If the hit levels and the donation levels increase to a reasonable amount, I might consider more frequent updates.

-- Wes
Replies:
Subject: The Next Generation


Author:
Don
[Edit]

Date Posted: 13:29:14 02/04/08 Mon

Just finished "The Next Generation" and it joins the others as a complete winner. I like your stories because they tell a very good story about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances without a lot of smut that it seems some writers feel must be used to make their material readable. You are an author that does not need that. I see that you say this is another of your old stories. If that is the case, please dig up at least a dozen more.

Thanks much.
Replies:
Subject: Snowplow extra


Author:
Chris Bradley
[Edit]

Date Posted: 01:40:45 02/01/08 Fri

I really enjoy these stories As a Railroader of 45 years standing I apreciate that aspect of the stories. I did find though with Snowplow extra a little difficult to get a handle on the geography. Any chance of a little sketch map showing the road names and the area concerned.
Replies:
Subject: February 1, 2008: Off to a good start


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 13:37:45 02/01/08 Fri

"The Next Generation" started today on SOL.

This is another one of my very old ones, written in 1985 or 1986 -- I'm not sure when, now. This is what I have come to call a "Write me, daddy, write me!" story that popped into my head and demanded to be written. I knocked it out in about three weeks, while working 12-14 hour days at the time. It's especially memorable to me in that it was the first story that I wrote on a computer -- a Tandy Color Computer 2. Anybody remember those? Boy, those were the days -- I never DREAMED of the boxes we have today!

Anyway, the full text of "The Next Generation" has been uploaded to the SOL queue, and will update Tuesday and Fridays. The last update will be April 1, and that's no April Fool's joke.

Updates to "Runners Moon" start Monday on the website, http://www.spearfishlaketales.com

The reason that it has taken me so long to start updates on Spearfish Lake Tales is that I wound up putting the site up a week earlier than I originally intended. I decided to do it so I could deal with some administrative issues and have a chance to stomp on bugs. I have had a few of both, but I think they're getting worked out now.

I'm going to try to get the Monday, Wednesday and Friday updates up late the night preceding, but I'm having some connectivity problems at home and there may be some occasions that I'll have to wait and do it at my office the next day. We'll just have to see what happens.

Thanks to the many people from SOL that have written and told me how much they liked Busted Axle Road, and thanks to those that have commented on the new site. Special thanks to those that have already made donations!Things are off to a good start, which is good since there are some great stories coming!

Thanks again, everybody!

-- Wes
Subject: Thanks for the Invite


Author:
Johnswoodshed
[Edit]

Date Posted: 06:46:20 01/31/08 Thu

Wes; thank you for inviting me to your new site, I've been following all of your postings at SOL and will follow them here as well.
I enjoy your stories very much and I think you are a very good storu teller, a unique talent indeed.
I wish you great success with this endevor.
JohnP
Replies:
Subject: Announcing Spearfish Lake Tales


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 12:07:49 01/26/08 Sat

If you've visited this message board in the past,you'll know that I've been talking about putting up a website for my stories. It's up now:


http://www.spearfishlaketales.com


You can click on the link at the top of the page.


At the moment, there are four complete novels on thesite:

Rocinante

Snowplow Extra

The Next Generation

Busted Axle Road


There is also the first chapter of the next novel -- Runner's Moon. This is follow-on to Busted Axle Road, focusing on Josh and Tiffany's adventures.



Two kids, a dream, and acres of dogs . . . Josh and Tiffany want to become dogsled racers.
They just have to grow up first -- and learn about what they're doing along the way.


I'll be updating this Monday, Wednesday and Friday starting February 4. I'm going to try to get the
updates up a little before Midnight on each of those days, but since I'm doing this by hand for now they may have to wait for the next morning. If I know I'm oing to have to miss an update, like from being out of town, I'll mention it on the newsbox of the main page. Runner's Moon is not real long, and we should get through it in about six weeks.

So what am I going to do about updates on SOL and BTFH?

I will continue updating stories on both those sites -- just not concurrently. The Next Generation will start on Stories Online on February 1, and I will follow it with Runner's Moon when The Next Generation is complete there. For the moment, I plan on updating on Tuesdays and Fridays on SOL but that could change in the future. I will start Runner's Moon on Beyond the Far Horizon at the same time it starts on SOL.

I'm running "Spearfish Lake Tales" as a donation website. I've been writing for many years for my own enjoyment, and I'd like to share that enjoyment with others. The site is not totally free; the ads will be on there for a purpose, and that's hopefully to cover the server costs. Beyond that, it's kind of like a dude playing a guitar on the street -- if you enjoy it, you are welcome to throw something in the gig bag. You don't have to; it's kind of an honor system. If you're too broke or too cheap to make a donation, that's fine -- you might click on a couple of the links in the ad boxes, because that adds to the kitty in a roundabout way. If you don't like what you've read, fine. It's your choice. It's not like you've spent money on a book only to be disappointed in it.

So, we'll see how this works.

You are, of course, welcome to comment here, or at my e-mail: spearfishlaketales {at} gmail {dot} com. In fact, I'd like to hear the comments.

-- Wes
Subject: Welcome aboard Pages Unbound, Wes.


Author:
Alexandra Erin
[Edit]

Date Posted: 17:12:15 01/25/08 Fri

Hi, thanks for submitting your finished novels to Pages Unbound... people love ongoing stories but we can always use more complete reads.

I've just been poking around your site and I'm very excited by what I see there. As for your little (I'm guessing partly tongue-in-cheek) comment about publishers contacting you, I'll bet as you attract more attention people will line up to tell you that's not how it works... but I've already started attracting nibbles based on my online writing. You never know.

For right now, I wonder if you've considered the Print On Demand options? Offering your books through Lulu.com might make a nice supplement to your donations, and will allow people who enjoy the stories the warm, fuzzy feeling that only comes from having a physical copy in their hands. In my experience--and that of the webcomics community, which you make reference to--there's no real conflict between giving your stuff away and offering it for sale. People support art that they enjoy.

Anyway, I've went ahead and plugged you on my blog. I'd love to see your site really take off.
Replies:
Subject: November 27, 2007: NaNoWriMo


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 14:28:43 11/28/07 Wed

I’m sure by now that most of my readers understand that the stories posted on SOL were written years ago. In general, I’m starting with older stuff since newer stuff involves spoilers by the ton – you can probably see that in “Busted Axle Road” where I’m dredging up Mark and Jackie from “Rocinante”. There’s another book in existence, “The West Turtle Lake Club” that explores the founding of the club, and the reactions of the community, along with introducing us to Mike and Kirsten; I should probably have posted it before “Busted Axle Road”, but it has some elements that I no longer consider canon, so I’m questioning whether I should post it at all. If I do, it’ll probably come after “Busted Axle Road” comes to an end in January.

If you get the impression that I write a lot, I do. Some years go by with nothing much produced; other years are busy. Going into November I had produced nothing but false starts and fragments for over two years, which is why I don’t post this stuff as I write it. Some of the fragments are good and I may return to them; others are unfinishable, or head off into areas where I don’t want to go, since I’ve already explored them more than I ever needed to. In other words, maybe someday I’ll get back to them,

The inability to finish anything was getting rather frustrating for me as this year got into the autumn months. In an effort to break the cycle of starting but not finishing, I decided to take on a challenge in November: National Novel Writing Month. I’ve shyed away from NaNoWriMo in the past, partly since it has an aura of “Amateur Night” to it. In case you’re not familiar with it, NaNoWriMo challenges people to write a 50,000 word (or more) novel in a month. Thousands of people attempt it, and a good percentage finish. I’d imagine that most of what gets written is unpublishable drivel, but at least it gets people writing, and sooner or later they may produce something worth reading.

To a lot of people, 50,000 words is a heck of a lot. There are a number of forums associated with NaNoWriMo, and most are filled with people crying about how impossible the challenge is, how they can never, ever manage to knock out 50,000 words, and so forth. There are, however, a new people that are pushing the other end of the envelope – as I write this, there are three gals that are making an all-out effort to crack half a million words for the month. One or more may make it. Just for proportion, “War and Peace” is 556,000 words. “Snowplow Extra”, my most recently completed novel on SOL, is 142,000 words. The longest novel I’ve written, not posted yet, is 343,000; and Frank Downey’s “Dance of A Lifetime,” in my opinion the best of the long books on SOL, is 409,000.

The point I’m making is that 50,000 words is a warmup. I usually don’t target books to come out much less that 100,000 words although a couple have done so. Also, I’m a fast writer – when I get the bit in my teeth I like to get done with things. That 343,000 word novel mentioned in the last paragraph was 384,000 words in the first draft, and I wrote it in about two months. I’ve got several in the 150,000 word range written in two to three weeks, and I once did a 250,000 word novel in less than a month. In other words, if I have something to write about, an average of 10,000 words a day is not out of line for me. Yet the agony of writing a mere 1,667 words per day on the lips of some of these people is heartrending, to say the least.

So, anyway, I took on NaNoWriMo. I did some planning on a book I’d been kicking around a little that had some potential. I’ve been wanting to try to write a “Young Adult” story and one that was totally clean – in other words, no violence, no drugs, no drinking, no swearing, no especially not THAT! It was harder than you might think – while I’m not known for writing sexy stories, having a couple teenagers doing nothing but some innocent kissing and not going farther was hard indeed. Keeping from using the occasional four-letter word wasn’t easy, especially in some stressy situations. The book came out all right even if it wasn’t one of my better efforts – the villan was weak and would have been better if I’d allowed a little sex, drugs and rock’n’roll to slip in. But it accomplished what I intended, which was to finish a Young Adult book. “Finish” is the operative word there, after two years of failures.

Incidently, I’m not planning on posting that book, entitled “My Little Pony” on SOL. I may put it on some other site, possibly even my own site sometime (I don’t have one yet but am considering it), but not until it’s had time to sit on the shelf for a while before I go through and edit it.

So there I was on November 16, with a completed 156,000 word novel in hand and half the month to go. What to do? Hey, when you’re on a roll . . .

Now, I’m not noted for posting erotica, on SOL or anywhere else. But I’ve read a fair share of it, and thought I might as well see if I could write a more “typical” SOL story – in other words, lots of sex and characterization, with only a relatively minor thread of plot tacking it together. Beyond that, I had virtually no plan. I had two likely characters, one reasonably good premise, and zero plot, outline or planning of any kind.

Let me tell you, folks, it’s harder to write sex scenes than it looks. The first one is easy, but about the sixth time the guy hops the girls bones it’s very tempting to copy a scene from earlier and change a few words to make it look new instead of actually coming up with something new. It gets dull for the reader, too – I find that if I’m reading a story on SOL, I sort of skim the sex scenes until the plot picks up again. Undoubtedly there are people reading SOL for the sex scenes but I’m not one of them.

All in all, it went pretty well. I had a couple crappy days where I only kicked out 5000 words or so due to having to work in the evenings, but I was up in the mid-teens other days which made up for it. The end result, 93,000 words in eight days. “Reunion With An Airhead” still does not have much of a plot, but it does have some interesting characters having lots of sex.

So, now I’ve got all of you anxious to read it, right? Well, sorry about that. Something unexpected happened – along toward the end of the book an unexpected plot development showed up as I was typing. Without getting into much detail, it opened a door to a story that I’ve long wanted to write but have not known how to tell. Rip out most of the sex and some of the filler, and it’s a launch pad into a serious novel involving rape, murder, and evil religious fundamentalists. It’s one that it’s going to take some time to get right. It will take a lot of work and much more plotting, research and contemplation. So, I’m only counting it as a finished novel for NaNoWriMo purposes, and will not post it unless I absolutely give up on the follow-up project. That might not happen for years.

So, NaNoWriMo was a success for me, although a quarter million words in less than a month means that my arms are about falling off. It did not help that I had some minor but irritating health problems during the month, too, an abcessed tooth leading the list. Now, I’m going to take a few days off, play with my model railroad, and make a first pass edit through the two books to fix a couple obvious problems, like in “Pony” the girl starts out as a seventh grader and becomes an eighth grader without my noticing, or where a boy I had originally figured to be fourteen works out better if he’s eighteen. In other words, nothing major but the kind of thing that would get e-mails if I were to post it on SOL like it sits.

Along in the next little bit, I also need to make up my mind whether the next book to be posted on SOL is “The West Turtle Lake Club”, or “Runner’s Moon”, which is the follow-up to “Busted Axle Road” focusing on Josh and Tiffany – there’s a problem in the first part of it that has long irritated me, and I want to take one last crack at fixing it before I post it. It shouldn’t take much time to fix it once I figure out how.

Also, in the next month or two, I think I want to get around to rigging a message board to replace this blog. The blog is all right, but I think it would be better with a public comment and reply. And, I want to think about putting up a website for my own work, but I have to figure out how I want to do it – just be a simple story site, or get more complex and maybe invite some other writers to participate.

And, oh yeah, I’ve identified five stories that I need to go back and finish . . .
Replies:
Subject: January 11, 2008: Staying Busy


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 15:07:52 01/11/08 Fri

I'm sorry that I haven't posted much here in the last few weeks, but I've been busy with some other things.

The primary thing that I have been working on is a new novel. This one is a little different for me, and it's hard, so I haven't been making the progress that I normally make. I had an exceptionally good weekend last weekend, and knocked out 18,000 words, but usually it's two or three thousand at a time.

One of the things that makes it hard for me is that I'm writing this as a first person reminiscence. I've never tried to do that before, and it's not as easy as it might seem to be, since it limits the angles from which a story can be told. Having some limitations there is fun, because they force me to think and work harder at my writing. Another thing that makes it difficult is that it's set in the early fifties, and while I have some vague memories of the era it's really before my time. This makes research fun, even if I find I'm having to do an awful lot of it. Right at the moment I'm having some subplot difficulties, but I'll keep plugging away at it.

How long before it gets posted? It'll be a while. This book is the first of a planned pair of books, so even though I'm somewhere between a third and half the way done on the first book there are only notes for the second. I don't want to post it until the second book gets done -- it may get folded into the first book, depending on how it goes, and I just won't know until I get there. I've been picking away at this one off and on since last summer, and it could take a while to get through it, but I think it's going to come out better than average. I've stopped work on this project to work on several other things already and might well do it again. I sometimes sit down at a project and batter my way right through it, but sometimes stop and start -- which is why I don't post as I go along. In December, I finally finished a project that I'd started and stopped on several times stretching it out over just short of three years. It's now in the process of just sitting there so I'm not too familiar with it when I go back to edit it.

Besides the holidays and work stuff, I've had some other irons in the fire, too. I have to do something to get through winter and the ongoing bleak gray skies. Spring seems far away, but I have hopes that it will be here eventually.
Subject: Comments on Charles in Delaware's post


Author:
Rob In Pennsylvania
[Edit]

Date Posted: 09:07:02 01/05/08 Sat

Unlike Charles I have no problem following multiple story lines within a novel. To me they improve the overall feel of a book. The side stories of Broken Axle Lake give me more insight to the primary characters in the book. They give background to the entire story. At the moment I feel like I am reading the books out of order though and catching up. I found Broken Axle Road first. I am rapidly catching up though.

I also enjoy stories with little or no sex or implied sex as well as full on erotica. I actually find myself reading more of these lately. I search them out. Yours were a great find.
Thanks
Rob
Subject: A reader's viewpoint


Author:
Charles in Delaware
[Edit]

Date Posted: 21:00:25 12/14/07 Fri

To: Wes Boyd
Comments on:
Rocinate
The Next Generation
Snowplow Extra
Busted Axle Road
I am a reader, Wes, not a writer, so please try to bare with me as I try to explain my viewpoint of your stories. It is difficult to find new stories on the internet. I have read most of the old classics several times. I check SOL first because usually a dozen or so stories are posted each day and it is easy to navigate and backtrack. Fortunately there are quite a few ‘no sex’ or ‘some sex’ indexed. I wish more authors like you would post there. I did, by accident find ‘The Next Generation’ posted on BtFH, but most stories there have appeared on SOL days or weeks earlier.
Both ‘Rocinate’ and ‘The Next Generation’ are good internet serial stories because, for lack of a betted word, they are linier. Some other authors who write ‘linier’ internet stories are Will Baily, Tony Stevens and my personal favorite Argon, even though I skim through some of the more explicit sex.. I’ll try to explain what I mean. When individual chapters are posted, it is easy to pick up the plot from the previous chapter and continue reading.
On the other hand, ‘Snowplow Extra’ as a serial, with one or two postings a week was a disaster. My goodness, Wes! How many plot lines and how many dozens and dozens of characters are in this book. It may be a very good print novel. With a book in hand, all it would require from a reader is to flip back a few pages once in a while to see who is who and how they relate to the overall plot. That is almost impossible when trying to read an online novel. ‘Busted Axle Road’ seems to be going in the same direction. I think I see five plot lines already. The snake, the movie star, the dog sled, the teenage nudists and the railroad. I know they will all tie in together at the end.
I nearly always reread a good internet serial story from beginning to end when it is completed. I did, however, have to backtrack ‘Snowplow Extra’ several times when I read it the second time. Perhaps it will be clear in my mind after the third rereading! I understand and appreciate your subject matter. I was a radioman on Navy B24 (PB4Y and PB4Y-2) bombers and I am a model railroader. I am probably one of the few readers who knows the difference between a GP9 and a dash-9 and probably one of the very few who is older than you.
As I said, I am a reader, not a writer, so I hope you understand my ramblings are meant to encourage you to post more of your work..
Best regards,
Charles in Delaware
Replies:
Subject: A New Paradigm?


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 16:10:37 12/03/07 Mon

I was laying awake the other night, thinking about things like online publishing as we know it when the thought crossed my mind: "Are we being constricted by an old paradigm of story telling in terms of novels?"

Specifically speaking, a novel has a beginning and an end. It has to be finite, almost by definition. A novel is a batch operation, rather than an ongoing process, and that's pretty much how it's always been.

But not always. My thinking was set back to the days maybe a hundred or a hundred and fifty years ago when one popular form of storytelling was ongoing serials in daily or weekly papers. Alexandre Dumas came to mind -- "The Three Musketeers" and the follow-up stories were published in newspapers at a thousand words or something a day and they went on for years; that is but one example among many.

From there my thoughts went to soap operas as we've known them on TV since close to day one. Each segment is of a defined size, allowing for commericals but the stories have gone on for decades!

When we're talking publishing in terms of dead trees, a novel has to be of some finite length. What that length is doesn't matter, but it has to exist so it's possible to go to press. However, since publishing on the internet is a totally different matter, does a story have to be of a finite length? Can it go on indefinitely?

I made a post the other day about web comics, and cartoons in general. There are daily gag comics, but there story comics that have story lines that go on for months, even years. There are more of these on the internet than in the papers any more. Some you can drop into and follow almost immediately, like "Questionable Content"; others have story arcs but with complicated backgrounds, such as "Sluggy Freelance" and some are just plain hard to figure out like "Megatokyo". But they bear one thing in common: there is no end in sight.

All this is background to my question: I have a series of interrelated books that I've been working on for some time -- not the Spearfish Lake series as you've seen it so far, but a new series with different characters, part of which is set in Spearfish Lake, but mostly elsewhere. I'm starting to run out of the Spearfish Lake series of books and have been trying to figure out how to get into the new series. The problem here is that the books are so interrelated that once you get past the first one you're either going over the same ground from a different viewpoint or you're buried in spoilers. These books were mostly written for my own enjoyment, so I didn't worry about those angles much.

The thought crossed my mind: it would be no great trick to go back, take these books, and integrate them into a single story. True, from time to time there would be digressions from the main story line to investigate side stories or back stories, but it all comes back to affect the three main characters of the story sooner or later. As far as that goes, there are several story angles I'd like to investigate that I haven't bothered to do because of the redundancy/spoiler issues.

The heck of it is that it would be a heckuva doorstopper. The five novels today are slightly over a million words in total. Redundancy/spoiler removal might knock out fifty or a hundred thousand words, but there are outtakes and side stories that could be added back in that could wipe away the loss in a flash. Yes, there are points where it would be possible to come up for air and declare a new story arc, but the multiple story lines make those points not real obvious. Finally, I've got several future story lines thought out and would like to investigate them more. In other words, the story as it exists is not finite and easily could become a soap opera.

So, I guess the question I have is: what's the optimum rate for posting such a story? Five thousand words a week? Ten thousand? More or less? For that matter, using ten thousand words a week as an example, would it be best done in one upload of 10,000 words, two of 5,000 words each, or five of 2,000 words each? Or something else? Bearing in mind that I have a million words in the pocket already and can write more, this sucker could go on for several years.

On top of that, I can't help but wonder: In considering this am I breaking a paradigm that shouldn't be broken? Or does it need to be broken anyway?

Your thoughts, please.
Subject: November 29, 2007: E-Books Are Changing Things


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 09:45:35 11/30/07 Fri

This rant of mine was originally posted on Beyond the Far Horizon, in response to a poster talking aboutthe way that online e-books are cutting into author profits:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is no doubt that the world of publishing is changing rapidly. It isn’t the only place that the Internet has brought change to the way things are done, and, if anything, it’s come more slowly in publishing than it has in other places.

The end result is that there is going to be a major shakeup in the way things are done in the next few years, and it’s already under way. Has anyone noticed what’s happened to the music industry lately? The old business model of large record companies having a corner on the distribution network, and thus sales, is breaking down. The big companies are throwing out every sandbag they can find to keep the dikes from collapsing around them and it’s not working. The end result is that artists can now market their recordings directly to the consumer. They may not be making much money, they may not be making more than if they had a recording contract – but they are making more than if they’re sitting back listening to the radio and wishing they could get some agent to listen to their demo cut.

The process isn’t as far along in publishing as it could be, but anyone can see it coming. The holdup with e-books has alway been that people prefer to read on paper. Hell, I prefer to read on paper, but I’m comfortable reading on a computer screen. Of course, I stare at a computer screen for many hours each day, so I’m used to it.

But, you know what? I think e-publishing is still the wave of the future. Consider a couple stories:

-- I don’t think I’m one of the last holdouts, but I smoke. I enjoy smoking and don’t plan to quit. The wife has ruled out smoking in the house, so in the warmer months I like to sit out on the back porch and read while I balance my blood nicotine level. Last spring I realized that I had a number of books I wanted to read that only existed as e-books. So, as an experiment, I messed around on line and wound up buying a Palm Z-22 PDA. This is pretty small, about the size of a small cell phone, about the size but thinner than a pack of cigarettes, and has 20 megs of memory. 20 meg may sound like a lot in this day and age, but “War and Peace” is only a little over 3 meg in Gutenberg text. Unless you’re a fast reader, 20 meg will keep you going for a long, long time. Although the screen is tiny, I can read it pretty well, and it goes just about everywhere I go. I’d say that under most cases I’d just about as soon read a book on the Palm as on paper. I can read it one-handed, and if I want to go do something else I just shut it off; it saves my place. I wouldn’t mind having a larger screen and I know they’re available, but I like being able to shove a small library in my shirt pocket.

-- Last spring my daughter was getting set to head for China in the Peace Corps. Now, she’s a reader (I wonder where she got that from?) and she was busy making a list of all of her books that she wanted us to ship to her while she was overseas. Do you have any idea how much it costs to mail something to China? About 50 bucks per ten pounds, according to my wife. Not wanting to remortgage the house to support my daughter’s reading habit, I suggested, “Why don’t you just download the books you want and put them on your laptop? Maybe make a CD to back them up?” She complained that there wasn’t that much online, and I told her she was wrong, go and see. Well, I found a couple gigs of stuff for her, but she went hunting on her own with a much faster university connection. End result – the little twerp left for China with 35 GIGS of reading on her laptop!! Granted, some of it was in PDFs, which are a pretty inefficient way to transfer files, but do you have any idea of how large a building would be needed for 35 freaking gigs of books? If an average book is around one meg, that’s 1,000 books per gig. Just out of curiosity, I just checked with the librarian of the city library up the street – she says they have about 40,000 books, which includes kid’s books. I don’t think my daughter is going to have any problems finding something to read in the next couple years!!

A lot of the costs of books we see today reflect printing and publishing overhead. Let me tell you from the perspective of someone who is in the newspaper business, the costs of paper are going up rapidly, along with green issues. When I was a kid, I could take five bucks, head into the bookstore and come out with a stack of paperbacks that would keep me for a long time. I can’t tell you the last time I bought a new paperback at a bookstore for less than five bucks but it’s been a while. Gresham’s Law goes, “The cheap drives out the dear,” and it’s as true an axiom as you’re likely to find.

So the publishing companies don’t like the way the world is changing on them? Tough! Many of you who are reading this have read “Snowplow Extra”, and most of you have liked it, from the e-mails I have gotten. I shopped that damn book around for close to a decade before giving up on it, and never got one freaking nibble from a publishing company. If they’re going to be that picky I say the hell with them. Thanks to this site (along with QSO and SOL), more people have enjoyed that book in the past six months than the publishing companies allowed to enjoy it over a quarter century. It would be nice to make a potload of money as a writer and I guess a few people do – but that’s not why I write. I write for the enjoyment of it, and to bring people enjoyment. The e-mails and comments I’ve received justify the work that I put into it. That much said, I wouldn’t turn up my nose at, oh, a nickel or a quarter a download, if nothing more than to offset my expenses, but I’ll go on writing for free because writing is what I do.

The bottom line, then, is that the world is changing. That includes the publishing world. I for one think that it’s changing for the better, because as more stuff becomes available online, my selection becomes better, and my reading isn’t filtered through what some joker in New York thinks I ought to be reading because of how it affects his profit margin. I don’t even want to guess whether it’ll be good for everyone all around, or not so good. But we’re riding this tiger; all we can do is hang onto his ears and see where he takes us.
Replies:
Subject: October 12, 2007: Snowplow Extra ended -- Thanks, All!


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 14:26:30 11/28/07 Wed

Snowplow Extra wrapped up a few days ago. I've received a number of compliments on it. I want to thank everyone that wrote me with comments, questions, or just to chat a bit.

I've commented elsewhere that Snowplow Extra is not a new story, but in fact is the oldest of my fiction that I consider readable. I first wrote it in the early '80s, tried to sell it for a bit, and got depressed with nothing but rejections, so quit sending it out and just let it sit. Perhaps half a dozen people had read it over the years, until I put it on line starting last summer.

So, to have hundreds of people reading it, to have a good many people writing to give me their thanks on it means a lot to me. It means that to a large extent I successfully managed to accomplish what I had set out to do all those years ago -- to tell a story that brought enjoyment to people.

While watching the downloads add up has been enjoyable, the e-mails have been more so. I have really enjoyed getting them and have tried to reply to most -- a few have got lost in the shuffle, and I hit the wrong button this morning and deleted one before I had the chance to answer it, but for the most part I've tried to reply to those that have taken the time to write to me, at least to those that have an e-mail address to reply to.

I've written a good deal over the years and have something like about 20 novels laying around that could get posted. Some of these need some touching up, like one that I finished, decided I didn't like the ending, rewrote several chapters and still haven't managed to get to the new ending. I know what's got to happen, it's just going to take the getting around to it.

I've made several false starts on a new story in the last few months, mostly running aground at a point five to fifty thousand words along -- which is why I don't want to post a story as it is written. Maybe now that winter is approaching I can put some time into writing and get something going.

In any case, thanks again to all that have written and commented, good, bad, or indifferent. I like the ego massage that a positive compliment gives me. The critical comments give food for thought and are appreciated as much, if not more.

-- Wes
Subject: October 1, 2007: Busted Axle Road


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 14:24:10 11/28/07 Wed

Busted Axle Road is another story drawn from my files. It's also set in the Spearfish Lake universe, but it's a considerably different story from the tenderhearted adventure/romance of Rocinante and the nonstop action and drama of Snowplow Extra. This is a lighthearted tale, a semi-serious romp with what I hope you will find to be some funny spots.

As with other posted stories, Busted Axle Road is long finished, so I won't leave the reader hanging. I don't have all the chapters loaded into the queue yet, but will have them done in the next few days.

I hope you enjoy the story, and vote your feelings on it. I also appreciate your letters and comments, and try to answer all that I can. I also especially appreciate constructive criticism.

Enjoy!
Subject: July 11, 2007: Rocinante Ended -- Thanks, All!


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 14:20:07 11/28/07 Wed

The final chapters of Rocinante went up this morning. When I finally got to check my e-mail, I found a ton of mail in my in-box, all of it supportive. This is very gratifying for a story that until now few people had ever read.

I will be the first to admit that I was reluctant to post a story like this on SOL. While it touches on sex a few times, it's in no way a sex story, so I questioned it's appropriateness here. However, the feedback and scoring system works well enough that I thought it was worthy of a trial. I guess I was proved right.

Thanks, everyone that enjoyed the story!
Subject: July 6, 2007: Snowplow Extra


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 14:18:20 11/28/07 Wed

I had planned on holding off starting the upload of Snowplow Extra for a few days, but I've got a slow morning today and decided to get it out of the way. The whole thing has been uploaded, queued to add a chapter every four days. There are 24 chapters in all.

Snowplow Extra is another book from my files. In fact, it's the oldest one I consider readable by my standards today, and it's always been a real favorite of mine. It was written partially in response to a complaint from my wife that action-adventure stories always seem to have sex and violence in them. I told her that it didn't have to be that way and wrote this book to prove it. There is some rough language in spots -- you can't have men working under stress without the occasional "shit" or "Goddamn" coming out, but otherwise this book is G-rated.

The original version was written in 1981 on an old (1936) Royal manual typewriter -- no computers in those days, no siree bob! I revised it a year or two later, still on the Royal, and tried to sell it, but without much luck. Finally I threw it back in the file and occasionally reread it. As time grew on, there were some things that irritated me, like some scenes that I'd thought of after I wrote it, so in 1995 I decided to rekeyboard it again. I added several scenes, tightened up the timeline, and things like that. It definitely improved the story.

If I were to open it up again, there are still a few scenes that I would add in light of later Spearfish Lake stories -- some characters that I invented later played small parts in the fire, told in retrospect, and I should make note of them. But, I won't; I'll just let the story stand.

If the last paragraph left you wondering: yes, I have written other books set in Spearfish Lake. I'll probably upload some of them in the future, but there's no point in overwhelming SOL all at once. When I upload a non-Spearfish Lake book, I'll concentrate the Spearfish Lake books into a series on SOL.

In case you were wondering about new stuff: I haven't completed a book in a couple years, and there's something about the texture of the last one that I'm not totally thrilled with. I made a couple false starts for further books, and then decided to take some time off -- buying and setting up a new house had something to do with that. But I'm currently wrestling with a new start to a fresh story that doesn't connect with anything else. I'm only about 12,000 words into the new one, and while the plot is going all right it's just not snappy enough, and it starts very slowly. On my way to work this morning I decided to back off all the way and make a new start in telling it. It's a long way from being done, if it ever is.

If it does get done, it'll still be a long time before it gets posted. I'm not going to post anything that hasn't been completed and had time to stand for a while -- you see all sorts of goofs when you come back to a book after you've had it out of your head for a while.

But, we'll see. Maybe it's just that I have to get back into the hang of things.

By the way, thanks to everyone that read, sent me e-mails on, and/or voted on Rocinante. I really appreciate it. One of the tough things for a recreational writer like me to swallow is the lack of feedback. Only a handful of people had ever read Rocinante until I posted it on SOL and Beyond the Far Horizon, and I had very little educated and usable comment. Your comments, quibbles, and compliments make it all worthwhile. Thanks again.

NOTE TO RAILBUFFS: This story is set back in the early '80s, just after the Rock Island went belly up and when Conrail still looked like it could be a going proposition. Everything is fictional and I probably have taken a few writer's liberties with railroad standards and practices.
Subject: July 6, 2007: An End and A Beginning


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 14:13:58 11/28/07 Wed

Rocinante is winding down -- there's one more batch to be posted and that will be the end of that. I've been very pleased and surprised at the positive response I've gotten. Virtually everyone has liked the story a lot, so I guess I did a good job of selecting the first one to yank out of the files and post.

Since the response has been so positive, in the next few days I will start posting another book. It's quite a bit different as I was trying to explore another genre at the time. It's also the oldest of the books that I consider post-able, but it's one of my favorites.

So, in a few days we'll start to see how you like it.
Subject: June 13, 2007: So Far, So Good


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 14:11:54 11/28/07 Wed

I've been pleased with the positive response I've gotten for "Rocinante" so far, especially since this really isn't the kind of story that most of SOL seems to be. Thank you to all of you that have responded -- your warm words have done me good. I've been writing for many years but only a few people have ever read any of my writings, and mostly they don't know enough about story telling or writing to be able to give me any useful critical comments. So, it's nice to feel appreciated, and thank you again.

Since "Rocinante" is a file story from several years back, I really hadn't thought much about it recently. Since I've had it up I've been kicking around the idea of a follow-up story with these same characters, but as they approach retirement 35 years later. Since they've appeared as secondary characters in other stories (not yet posted) I have a pretty good idea of who they are and where they are in their lives -- but at the moment I only have some vague notions about a plot, although a couple of the ideas seem to be worth pursuing a little more.

It's good to be thinking about writing again. I have done almost nothing in the past year and was not pleased with the way the last major project came out, I had three other attempts in the last couple years that ground to a halt after a while and are still sitting there waiting. Maybe a return to my roots and Mark and Jackie would be a way to get back in the groove. I've got to think about it some more.
Subject: June 7, 2007: Rocinante


Author:
Wes Boyd
[Edit]

Date Posted: 14:09:38 11/28/07 Wed

I just finished uploading "Rocinante", which is set in the early '70s. The first version was completed in 1993, and is one of my oldest stories that I consider readable. Not a lot of cliffhangers, no violence, almost no sex, but a fun story of two kids getting to know each other. Some, but not all stories here are adaptations of things that I experienced in that period; some places are real and others are imaginary.

The story is in seven segments, one to come every five days; all segments have been queued for posting. If I continue posting on SOL, I will not ever be posting a story that isn't complete before I post the first word. I really hate getting into a good story to find that it ends at a good cliffhanger and there's no apparent evidence that the author intends to finish it.
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