The guy who wrote “Dances With Wolves” died last week. To quote the Hollywood Reporter, “Michael Blake, who won an Academy Award for adapting the screenplay for Dances With Wolves from his own novel, has died. He was 69. Blake died peacefully after a lengthy illness on Saturday in Tuscon, Ariz.

Say what you will of the somewhat PC-softened portrayal of the Sioux, it was a damned enjoyable film (which became one of the more worthy Director’s Cuts I’ve ever seen), and I hope Mr. Blake was justly pleased with having been able to offer that to the world.

But the occasion of his passing reminds me of the time I realized, fully and personally, that Liberals are insane. …

Some of you may not know I live in a little mountain town (which I used to refer to as “Mayberry on the Mountain“).  I’ve lived here 14 years now, the longest I’ve ever been in the same home in my life.

As happens in any community, the service people and other folks will start to recognize you (even in big cities, people will get to know you, if you have any sort of routine).  Anyway, I was dropping by our small local library to return another book I hadn’t had time to read (“The Watchers,” about the first Queen Elizabeth’s spy ring...looked fascinating) and one of the younger librarians hurried over.  “We ordered your book…

Gonna take a break from the novel and the other efforts (Right-Wing Riot, ahem) to share the important work someone is doing.  Elephants hold a special place in my heart and this short video gives just a taste of the contributions a very kind and loving woman has been making for over 25 years in Nairobi, caring for orphaned elephants.

You can learn more about her work here, and the on-going efforts of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, the foundation that helps support what she does.  Had I riches, I’d give a lot of them to these folks.  They are, in fact, doing God’s work.

 …

With a Conservative Book Club!

If, like me, you believe that to change the culture we need to change the story that culture tells itself, then here’s an opportunity to make the change real right now.

Sponsored by the Salem Media Group, this free service wants to be “Your Home for Great Conservative Books.”  Their new site “will allow you to create your own conservative bookshelf, rate books, post comments, and share your favorite books with your friends!”

An important part of their launch is that for the first time, the Conservative Book Club is featuring fiction.  Novels, with a conservative point of view.  It’s an experiment, and if we want them to continue to showcase great fiction …

Here I am, talking about writing, the magic and power of stories, and the world of my novel, “The Big Bang.”

As you know, the book is available in paperback at Amazon,Barnes & Noble, and other brick n’ mortar sites.  You can get the ebook at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, and over 20 other sites, and it’s an audio book from Audible!  Something about that last part is just pretty damn cool.

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This was lovely and wholly unexpected.  TheBlaze.com ran an excerpt from the opening of Volume One of the Lonesome George Chronicles, The Big Bang.    One major reason it was so nice was because it really excited my Mom.  She’s a fan of Glenn Beck, and after having to read my stuff ever since I was a wee annoying lad of seven, she was thrill to see all of her decades of patience and encouragement pay off with my appearance in the virtual pages of The Blaze.   (Love ya, Mom!)

“Last year we wrote about Liberty Island, a publishing house created by longtime industry executive Adam Bellow to help independent authors see their conservative and libertarian-themed fiction titles come to …

…while kind of whacked out on Nyquil?  Yeah, I came back from New York City with good memories, great pix, and a cold.  Or the flu.  The jury is out on the origin of the attacker, but I had scheduled and rescheduled an interview with Daria Anne DiGiovanni of Writestream Radio so I decided to press on ahead with a little chemical assistance.

I thought I was a bit spacey, but Daria, as always, was a great interviewer and she did her best to keep me on track.  You can listen by clicking here or download it below for future listening at your convenience.

Interviewed by Daria for WriteStream!…