Essays
A Note on Character and Voice
Michael talks about the development of his characters' voices, including favorites like Lincoln Perry and Adam Austin as well as LAST WORDS' Markus Novak in this latest blog post.
Bounce Across The Beartooths, September 2010
Repost from Michael:
Below is a short, personal parody I wrote of a camping trip I took with friends almost five years ago. We hiked across the Beartooths (they're plural, and it is tooths, don't argue with me) in Montana, a truly incredible trip and great experience. Along the way was a friend named Bob Bley, and in my parody account I captured something close to the reality -- he was in far better shape than any of us, with far better poise and trail skills and every quality you'd want in a fellow outdoorsman. He'd crossed the Atlantic in a two-man sailboat, biked the Canadian Rockies, hiked the Alps twice. You know, little things. He was planning more adventures. Then came a spring bike ride near his home, a slip in wet sand, an impact so powerful it shattered his helmet.
And left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Return to the scene of the crimes…
Now this is what a book tour should be like! I’m sitting at a table outside of the Bearclaw Bakery in Cooke City, MT (year-round population 110 at last census, it is a CDP or “census-designated place”) and a friend I met last year, Cathy Pate, (whose son, Nick,...
Farewell to a great friend
I lost a great friend this week named George Juergens. A retired professor emeritus of history at Indiana University, George was introduced to me years ago by my writing mentor, Bob Hammel. We had regular lunches for years, first in my days at the newspaper in...
A personal request
Below is a short, personal parody I wrote of a camping trip I took with friends a year and a half ago. We hiked across the Beartooths (they're plural, and it is tooths, don't argue with me) in Montana, a truly incredible trip and great experience. Along the way was...
An enormous loss — Bill Cook
Bill Cook, who with his wife Gayle financed and oversaw the incredible restoration of the West Baden Springs Hotel and French Lick Springs Hotel, brought Pete Dye in to create a one-of-a-kind golf course, and generally restored the beauty and life to an area that...