Novels underway

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Here is a rundown of the novels I've written:

1. The Altaveel Chronicle - No it's not a story about a newspaper, but about a lawman running into trouble in the small town of Altaveel, as everybody calls it. He is on a special mission to award something to someone (read book), but some citizens think he's there for other things. It's around 57,000 words as it stands now.

2. Trouble at the Sagrado Ranch - Pete and Thad Hawkins return to Texas from the Civil War to find the rest of the family has moved to New Mexico where the father now manages a cattle ranch, which is being attacked by the Apaches and some of their own hired help. 43,000 words.

3. The Long Time Posse - The bank in High Bench is partly blown up and robbed of the money. Sheriff hires a Ute deputy after one is killed and with some other members chase the outlaws in to the Uintahs near Brown's Park. About 50,000 words.

4. Tom Anderson - Being rewritten. Currently about 70-80,000 words, reducing to around 50,000. It's about one-third rewritten, being on page 60 something and shouldn't take more than a month or two to finish.

5. The Upamona Gold Claim Wrangle - A Marshal is sent to Upamona to capture two escaped outlaws and protect his cousins' gold claim. Nearly 45,000 words. Submitted to publisher, waiting result.

I like to let a book sit around for awhile and then give it a fresh re-read, then tackle the story line again to freshen it up and move it along. And this is why I haven't had time to start anything new, although I have an idea or two for at least another couple stories.

And I like to work on more than one at a time. Tom Anderson and Trouble at the Sagrado Ranch are my present projects. "Trouble..." is in that waiting stage right now. I've revised it once, but it needs one more go-over.