tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3159130118986792632024-03-14T09:10:11.336-07:00BLOGGINCURLYSimple, straight-forward Western material and other outpourings.Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.comBlogger730125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-12570094988192134232019-06-17T14:14:00.001-07:002019-06-17T14:14:38.119-07:00Once a Marshal by Peter Brandvold<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Once A Marshal </i>is the first in the Sheriff Ben Stillman Series published by Wolfpack Publishing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">An old friend of Stillman's, Bill Harmon, has been killed and Harmon's son contacts Stillman to find his killer. The son, Steve Harmon, is a half-breed and is in love with a Crystal Johnson, daughter of Warren Johnson, an alcoholic, widowed, old white man who does not approve of this relationship.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Stillman shows up and begins his search for the killer of Harmon and runs into Donovan Hobbs who is gradually taking over all the public property where men and families have settled. Hobbs is a British citizen and he and his ranch manager, Weed Cole, and his ranch hands (read outlaws) are raiding and getting rid of the settlers to expand his Montana empire. Stillman also finds out his former girlfriend/lover is now married to Hobbs and can't understand why. Fay Beaumont wasn't the type of woman to marry somebody like that and she had enough money to take care of herself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, the plot thickens and Stillman is caught in the middle. It takes a lot of luck and brains to get through it. A lot of action and chasing and hiding and waiting and searching goes on, enough that I give it five stars. It's a well developed novel with lots of tricks and shooting and twists. This series should be a barn burner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-22936460835415663202019-02-28T14:17:00.000-08:002019-02-28T14:17:18.433-08:00Review of The Battle for the Alamo Taqueria by Nick Iuppa and John Pesqueira <i>The Battle for the Alamo Taqueria</i> is supposed to be a comical story based on today's news, and I'm not saying it isn't funny. I didn't enjoy it too well. A group of Mexicans plan a raid on the real Alamo to make a statement against the border wall. It comes about because an immigrant gets shot crossing the border illegally in South Texas.<br />
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Claudia Madero plans the invasion along with Emilio (the son of the King of Beans), as Claudia is the niece of the man who was shot. The message gets mixed up and while Claudio and Emilio head for The Alamo in San Antonio, the remainder of the invaders end up at the Alamo Taqueria a few miles on the outside of San Antonio in the midst of a wedding party. Nacho (Francisco Alfredo Gonzalez Gonzalez Gonzalez) and Britney Fleming, a singer and Nacho's girlfriend) are in the group heading to the Alamo Taqueria. The place is surrounded by the U.S. Marines and the President of the U.S. and El Presidente of Mexico land there and try to straighten out the mess.<br />
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Clayton Bailey, a Texan, is the culprit who shot Claudia's uncle and he also shows up at the Taqueria, (The Best Tacos in the U.S.) to finish off Nacho who stole his girlfriend (Britney).<br />
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You can see where this novel has great potential to be funny and the authors do a good job of working on it, but it didn't hit my funny bone. I'm sure most readers would enjoy it and find it comical, but I can only muster up Three Stars for it, partly because it needed a better proofing. It moves along at a brisk pace and is easy to read, though.<br />
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Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-80568474293703203662019-02-12T14:00:00.000-08:002019-02-12T14:00:16.455-08:00To the Far Blue Mountains by Louis L'AmourThis novel read like it was first in the Sackett series, being about half or more of the life of Barnabas Sackett in England. Barnabas is wanted for stealing the Queen's pile of gold that was lost in the "fens" along the coast of England. Barnabas found a few coins, but nowhere near the amount that everyone is looking for and all the robbers and the Queen's men are looking for him. He has made a couple of trips to the New Land and is anxious to get back to it and avoid the people after him. He swashbuckles himself into command of a Dutch <i>flyyt</i> (a small sailing ship) and he sets out for the far blue mountains with his girlfriend and friends who helped him escape from prison.<br />
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After an adventure on the Newfoundland coast where he managed to take over the <i>flyyt, </i>they find themselves on the beach in Virginia or nearby and build a fort to keep the Indians and others out.<i> </i>Before setting out for the Far Blue Mountains, they must return to England for supplies and trade. With them is a Catawba Indian they rescued who is planning to show them where the Catawbas live and the way to the mountains. In between attacks by Indians and pirates, on their return there fort is destroyed. Rather than rebuild they head for the mountains.<br />
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My view of the novel is that it was mighty interesting and kept my attention. The descriptions of English life is well done and so is the sword fighting along the way with plenty of action and entertainment. Ditto for the life in the New Land and the Indian fights. It covers twenty or more years and Barnabas is married and having kids along the way, who soon grow into adulthood, all well written. This and all the other things I haven't mentioned make it a good read, and I give it FIVE STARS.<br />
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<br />Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-60860861683659994262019-01-10T13:38:00.001-08:002019-01-10T13:38:34.394-08:00"Powerr Up for Profits" by Kathleen GageI purchased <i>Power Up for Profits </i>by Kathleen Gage with the idea that it would get my small business up to speed. The book is chock-a-block with instructions and ideas for running an on-line business, It covered about everything including the use of the media, videos, and what do and how to do it in many cases. The Chapter Titles give you a clue to what's inside, e.g., Your Business is Your Expression, Your Marketing Strategy, Create Information Products, Blogging for Fame and Fortune, The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread - Social Media, and one more example - Teleseminars and Webinars. There are more titles than those mentioned, but it gives you an idea of the scope of the book.<br />
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The Subtitle of the book is <i>The Smart Woman's Guide to On-line Marketing - Internet Marketing for Today's Entrepreneur. </i>The great thing is, it's no just for women. Men can make great use of it, too<br />
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My small business is stagnated in a pothole of mud and I'm at a standstill. But now that I've read this book, I understand why and what to do about it. I hope to use some of the information to get out of the pothole and make a little money. All I must do is follow Ms. Gage's instructions, not all of them, but enough to get me started.<br />
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I give <i>Power Up for Profits </i>FIVE STARS for it's writing, usefulness, and instructions.Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-34084872318278195502018-11-04T11:03:00.000-08:002018-11-04T11:03:16.478-08:00New Book ReleasedVolume 2 of <i>The</i> <i>Sorry Life of Bobby Chase-the-Lord </i>is now available at Amazon (https://www.amazoncom/dp/1726838803) for paperback. The Kindle version is at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J4BS4W5.<br />
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Volume 1 is available for FREE on Nov 7, 8, and 9 at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K2JS39J.<br />
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That's what I've been working on for the last couple of months and they were just posted on Amazon within the last few days. Look in the store if those sites above don't take you to the books.Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-28767992987533561512018-08-01T14:13:00.000-07:002018-08-01T14:18:21.357-07:00Pretty Polly by Duane Spurlock Duane Spurlock is one of my favorite writing people and runs the Spur and Lock Blog. Pretty Polly is one of his short stories and I have to say it is a good one.<br />
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Griswold Bear, aka Grizzly Bear, is a terrible bad person as shown by the cowboy hanging from a tree upside down. Grizzly's work, and he gets worse in the story and decides to visit the town of Wicket. Grizzly gets into town and meets the sheriff, Sheriff Shoat. Shoat recognizes him, but since he's leaving town for a couple of days, tells Grizzly to visit Pretty Polly and enjoy a good time.<br />
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Grizzly pays a visit to Pretty Polly who works in the local saloon and ........ I have to leave off there before I tell too much, but if you want a good time, get ahold of this short story and laugh your ___ off. It's a well written, fun bit of writing.Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-66192383050310710492018-07-29T14:31:00.000-07:002018-07-29T14:31:30.996-07:00The X-Troop by Clay DavisThis book has some minor editing issues, but other than that it was a compelling read with action and suspense. The U.S. President Grant must take steps to prevent the country from being overthrown by a ruthless gang that uses technology to overpower their enemies. So Grant tells General Sheridan he must come up with a plan to defeat these revolutionaries. Sheridan sends for Colonel Orsen Ritter and gives him orders to do just that.<br />
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This gang is using a new instrument to defeat anything that prevents them from overthrowing the government. This new strategy includes heavy tank-like artillery that has never been used in a war and is a formidable object to destroy.<br />
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Colonel Rittter devises a new branch of the armed forces, which he names the X-Troop to overcome these thugs. He contacts old army friends he can trust to be quiet about the X-Troop and work hard to defeat this new enemy. They engage in battle and suffer losses, but can't subdue the tanks.<br />
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I liked the story and enjoyed the descriptions of the battles and give it four stars for being interesting and fun as Ritter and his men go to war, part science fiction and part old west. A fun novel. Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-83185329015036759062018-06-16T10:27:00.002-07:002018-06-16T10:27:54.036-07:00Our American West by Gary McCarthyThe series<i> Our American West</i> by Gary McCarthy is a non-alphabetized compilation of the various heroes and villains and subjects like Mules and Camels and Railroads, just plain people, etc., that makes up the history of the West. There are a few typos and formatting problems throughout the four books but it was minor enough not to distract me from the narrative. Mister McCarthy covered many characters and subjects, some not well-known and others, very well-known among western writers in general.<br />
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From the Earps to the James brothers and Chisholm and Goodnight to Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill, I found the books a wealth of information and reference material and enjoyed them. There were short biographies and essays on various aspects of the West much to my liking and easy to read. Gary McCarthy is a fine writer and researches his material diligently and thoroughly. I give the series my best five-star rating and recommend them to all Western readers.Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-72144195499732887182018-05-07T14:15:00.002-07:002018-05-07T14:15:50.881-07:00Silver Shot by Gary McCarthyHow time flies. April shot by like it was only a figment of my imagination and here it is almost the middle of May and past time to give my thoughts on<i> Silver Shot, </i>a novel by Gary McCarthy.<br />
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I met Mister McCarthy at the Wickenburg Book Festival on April 7th and he explained how he began writing his series of novels about the "Derby Man." I found it interesting and traded him a couple of my books for an autographed Derby Man book. He gave me two of them.<br />
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Anyway, I started with<i> Silver Shot </i>and liked it. Darby Buckingham is the name of the Derby Man, a writer who writes the old-fashioned shoot-'em-ups and he is just putting the finishing touches on his latest called <i>The Pony Express War.</i> in Silver City, Nevada. He hears a ruckus outside his hotel window and before he knows it, he's mixed up with Conrad Trent, a big mining stock manipulator. He and Trent get on opposite sides in the argument when Trent shoots a young Irishman who has stock in the Emerald Mine. Buckingham and Trent are both boxing enthusiasts, Darby, an ex-heavyweight champion, and Trent considers himself to be just as good. Neither would cheat in a match, would they? They soon are engaged in the manly art of fisticuffs under the Marquis of Queensbury Rules, which rules were practically foreign to Darby.<br />
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Darby writes a long letter to his girlfriend, Dolly Beavers, inviting her to come to Silver City, and you can guess where this is going. Dolly comes to town and finds out that Darby is mixed up with a Julie Bulette, a prominent lady of the night. Darby has a heckuva time getting out of the predicament he's in with Dolly and Conrad Trent. They all have or buy stock in the Emerald mine and are afraid of losing their money the way Trent is manipulating the stock. <br />
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Darby must take things in hand as soon as he and the Bulette woman get out of the mineshaft they have been tossed in to get them out of the way.<br />
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I enjoyed reading about the Comstock silver mine and the descriptions of Silver City as the protagonist digs out of the hole. Filled with action and suspense, it is an awesome story to behold and I look forward to reading more of the Derby Man.<br />
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I enjoyed meeting and chatting with Gary McCarthy, too, who lives in Arizona, a National Award Winner and Spur Award Winner. <br />
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<i></i><br />Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-8519226295998260212018-03-31T14:21:00.000-07:002018-03-31T14:21:00.909-07:00U.S. Marshal Shorty Thompson by Paul L. ThompsonThis episode of the Marshal Shorty Thompson series is<i> Killing of Outlaws. </i><br />
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In this wild story, the father of Betty Sue Gains is killed by the outlaw Bob Eaves and his gang of marauders and killers. Some mysterious and unknown person or persons are behind this killing and others, as Eaves and his men attempt to drive all the farmers out of the Mesilla Valley in New Mexico and Texas. The man wants all the land to plant cotton.<br />
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Betty Sue, a 14-15-year-old, is upset, to put it mildly, that her father was killed. She is going to kill every one of those marauders and outlaws so they can't do more harm to anyone. She needs to find out who is behind it and go get him or them, too. She checks in with the local sheriff in Mesilla and they work together to find out the bigwigs behind all the killing. In no short order, the outlaws start losing men and they can't figure out who the shooter is, thinking it may be a bounty hunter collecting the rewards on all the bad ones.<br />
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Sheriff Cole soon sends for Shorty for help. Betty Sue moves in with her friend's family (the Carters) now that she is home alone. She and Jody, the friend and teen-aged boy, spend time together and are familiar with each other, having grown up as close neighbors. Jody helps her out as much as he can, but doesn't really know what she is up to and can't connect the dead men with her. Shorty gets into Mesilla and learns what the situation is and thinks Betty Sue is in the way, always hanging around the sheriff and him.<br />
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She makes trips to Las Cruces to see the sheriff and hears about a gent named Glassman. She thinks Glassman is running the outlaws and soon shoots him and several of his men and the sheriff of Las Cruces. Glassman and the sheriff are only wounded.<br />
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As Shorty and the law begin to close in on the "big" man, named Jordan, Betty Sue has wiped out the Eaves gang. Glassman goes to El Paso to heal up and hire more gunmen. A trap is set for the new men and Glassman and Jordan as the story begins to wind down.<br />
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This is an action-packed novel that kept me interested all the way to the end and that, too. The only thing that I didn't like about it was the misspellings and not paying close attention to the narrative (missing/adding words,etc.). The cowboy dialect was used off and on throughout, which covered over some mistakes and POV was not always clear. Overall, I enjoyed the story that had me on edge throughout to see what happens next. I give it four stars and will read more of the Shorty Thompson books as time allows. Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-49000581207258831402018-03-04T12:11:00.002-08:002018-03-04T12:11:55.731-08:00Events Coming UpThe annual Parada del Sol Rodeo will run from MARCH 8 TO 11, THIS MONTH IN SCOTTSDALE, AZ.There will be horses, steers, dances, concerts, live Western Music and other activities. Y'all come and have a great time.<br />
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St. Patrick's Day Parade and Irish Family Faire will take place on March 17th. Parade begins at 10:00 AM and ends up at Margaret Hance Park in downtown Phoenix.<br />
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Scottsdale Arts Festival, March 9-11. One of the top festivals in the nation with artists from the US and Canada, continuous live music and food (woops!) culinary arts. In Scottsdale, yep.<br />
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Spring training baseball all over the valley continues this month. Flip a coin on where to see a game, Peoria? Surprise? Phoenix? Maryvale? or Scottsdale and Glendale? Beer and hot dogs galore! Fifteen teams to choose from!<br />
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Ain't Spring Grand?Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-89176908219379258162018-01-18T14:38:00.000-08:002018-01-18T14:38:43.172-08:00Slow John by C. J. Petit<i>Slow John </i>by C. J. Petit is a fine story, somewhat long, but well told. It starts with a Prologue that sets up the whole thing, in which John Flynn (Slow John) is fighting in the Civil War, but the Army sends his Ma and Pa a telegram that he had been killed unbeknownst to John. John continues fighting and is transferred to the frontier to fight the Indians in Nebraska and the Dakotas. There is a girl, Kate, who gets defiled by John's brother, Jack, introduced in the Prologue.<br />
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The story gets underway as John is ready to get mustered out of the Army in Omaha, not far from his home in Bellevue, which he hadn't visited in the years of the War. He makes a short visit to his old hometown where most of the people he had known are now gone including his family. He was hoping he might get a clue to where they had moved by talking to anyone he used to know. "They went west" was about all he could glean. At the hardware store, he runs into an old acquaintance Melissa and scares her husband to death, literally.<br />
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He heads west to find his family and makes a camp on the south side of the Platte River where he runs across a sod house sitting by itself. In the house is a girl, Kate, the one defiled by his brother. She is being kept captive by three men (father and two sons) for their own gratification. Slow John kills them and leaves with Kate.<br />
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You can see where this is going, I think, as John falls in love with Kate and has a couple more run-ins with bad "hombres". I won't belabor you with the ending, which you may find exciting because I want you, the reader, to discover what happens. I would give the story four stars, but the book itself, I would have to give it three stars for the misspelled words and words left out, which another proofreading would probably clear up. Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-65075728331918944212017-12-22T10:04:00.000-08:002017-12-22T10:04:19.255-08:00Seasons GreetingsMerry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.<br />
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I've been on a "Sabbatical" for the last few months (how time flies) and will probably stay on it for a while longer. I've had so much running around to do that I just turn on the computer to check my email or work on Part 2 of Bobby Chase-the-Lord. It's coming along fairly good and am looking to finish it summer of 2018.<br />
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That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.<br />
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ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS and look here for an occasional post. Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-13330957644384666352017-09-28T15:25:00.000-07:002017-09-28T15:25:44.998-07:00National Poets' DayThanks to Charles Gramlich for the news of this being Poetry Day. I'm an amateur poet but don't know it, so here's is my contribution. It has been posted before but not on National Poet's Day and I can't vouch for its authenticity as a poem.<br />
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A Warm Spring Day<br />
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It was a warm Spring day in 1940.<br />
I was in the second grade and feeling sporty.<br />
The horses, cows and pigs were content<br />
In the fields where they were sent.<br />
The birds were tweedle-dumming and tweedle-deeing,<br />
The dogs and cats were lying and sleeping.<br />
The boys and girls were in the schoolhouse,<br />
Some were dozing and dreaming.<br />
The lunch recess had come and gone,<br />
When we ran and played so long.<br />
The sun was passing through the sky,<br />
Causing the heat in the rooms to be high.<br />
My old gym shoes were ragged and torn,<br />
And on my sockless feet, were worn.<br />
The odors were building in the room so close,<br />
The teacher looked at me and was morose.<br />
From those sockless feet came a stink,<br />
So bad it made some eyes blink.<br />
Teacher raised her arm, pointed her finger, and said<br />
"OSCAR, GO HOME AND WASH YOUR FEET,<br />
AND PUT ON SOME SOCKS,<br />
BEFORE YOU TAKE YOUR SEAT!!<br />
I was taken aback and completely dejected,<br />
But went home and did what was expected.<br />
I'll never forget that awful day,<br />
When the teacher had her way.<br />
Now, I wash my feet,<br />
Before taking my seat,<br />
On a warm Spring day in May!Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-29519897969889466842017-09-16T12:48:00.001-07:002017-09-16T12:48:34.614-07:00Coffin for Cash by Nik MortonThis novel is another in the Cash Laramie series and I enjoyed the read. It starts with a Prologue with Cash Laramie buried in a coffin and uses the back story to tell how he got there. He was helping a lady, Berenice Rohmer, look for her brother who came up missing after withdrawing $50,000 from the bank. His partner Miles is also working on a case. He was taking a prisoner to Cheyenne for trial but suspects that the fellow was not guilty of murder.<br />
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Miles and Cash each follow their separate trails and end up practically with each other, except Cash was buried under two feet of soil in a coffin by a couple who had owned the hotel near the Lenore Casino. It was named after the wife of Baron Hans von Kempelen, the owner.<br />
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This was an interesting story and how it comes out is rewarding to me, the reader. There are many twists and turns which makes it even more exciting and kept my attention to the end. I will award it five stars.Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-75350921943828974052017-08-26T15:38:00.003-07:002017-08-26T15:38:35.417-07:00Life at the Dakota by Stephen BirminghamToo bad this book isn't about the Dakotas of the West and Deadwood, South Dakota, but it's the Old New York version of the Old West. The Dakota (Apartments) was named after the Old West because at the time news about the Wild West was a popular subject and The Dakota was built outside of New York City about 30 miles away from downtown New York City. It had a bad name because it was on the West Side where the working people lived. It was actually on the west side of Central Park with a view of the park across the street from the upper floors and roof. It was built by Edward S. Clark and Isaac Merritt Singer, the inventor of Singer Sewing Machines. Both were millionaires and the Dakota was built for rich people.<br />
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Some of the residents are/were the Steinways (the Piano people), Boris Karloff, Lauren Bacall, John and Yoko Lennon, Robert Ryan, Roberta Flack, Candace Bergen, Leonard Bernstein, Earl Blackwell, Henry Blanchard, Mrs. Winifred Cecil Blanchard, The Browning Sisters, etc., etc., and etc., all millionaires or had the money to live there. Mister Birmingham tells the history from the time it was built to present day, the structure, the layout, the services, and ll the esoteric plumbing and electricity when it came into being, the elevators, the rooms available, size and decorations, and so on.<br />
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The first years it was all rentals until it was bought out and the new owner threatened to tear it down and put up a commercial building of some type. It was finally worked out to be a cooperative where the apartments had to be bought and managed by the co-op itself. A lot of the services were covered by the Clarks in a haphazard fashion, but now the owners must pay for everything and the prices went up.<br />
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Some of the tenants were not happy with the arrangements and some moved out, making the apartments available for others to purchase and some lived there free. Miser Birmingham does a fine job explaining all this in the book and I found it very interesting as it still stands today. He tells about the uptown and downtown rich people that you can be right there with him.<br />
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I give the book five stars for enjoyment and it is well written. Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-52698977096056595062017-08-18T10:58:00.002-07:002017-08-18T10:58:35.070-07:00Manhunter by Matt BraunLuke Starbuck, the private detective, is at it again in <i>Manhunter. </i>He is hired to find the James boys and kill them, especially Jesse. He puts on disguises as needed as usual and travels to Clay County, Missouri, where he thinks he may find the James boys. He passes time with a floozie named Alvina in a brothel where the Younger brothers hang out and occasionally Frank and Jesse visit. He plans to infiltrate the gang acting as a horse thief but doesn't quite make it.<br />
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He hears about the plan to rob a bank in Northfield, Minnesota, and Starbuck makes tracks there to thwart the robbery. As we know it was a mess and the bank was saved and the robbers get away. Starbuck doesn't get a clear shot of Jesse and has to follow them out of town where the Youngers brothers are wiped out, at least one of them.<br />
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Starbuck tries another tactic after the Northfield failure and catches up with Jesse in St. Joseph, Missouri, but his plan to get Jesse fails with the killing of Jesse by Bob Ford. He goes after Frank who is a different type and captures him.<br />
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I thought this was an entertaining rendition of the end of Jesse and Frank James and give it a solid four stars. Matt Braun is a fine writer and brings satisfaction to the reader. Recommended. Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-31444883712902171122017-08-10T11:49:00.000-07:002017-08-10T11:49:38.130-07:00Jolly Old EnglandDeviating from my usual Western books, I've taken a diversion to England via Bill Bryson's book, <i>The Road to Little Dribbling. </i>I really like books with comedy in them and this is one of the finest in my estimation. This is strictly, well almost, all non-fiction, but Bryson throws in some asides that could be either in this travel exposition. He travels a route from one end of the country to the other, ending in Cape Wrath in Scotland.<br />
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Along the way, he expounds on the railroads, the people, the towns and villages, the countryside and the museums. Bryson became a British citizen after he realized that it was better than the U.S. where he was born. He is a journalist and lived in London for some years, marrying an English woman and having a couple of kids there. He rattles on about the shabbiness of some towns since he was last there and how the people had changed and their sense of humor. Bryson spends time commenting on the railroad system and how the UK government has screwed up some of it and reduced the tracks to about half what they used to be. He spends a lot of time in Museums, explaining their exhibitions and how brilliant the English are in comparison to everyone else in certain fields. His descriptions of the countryside around these various towns and the beach resorts are really interesting. He doesn't include many sports, except walking. There are thousands of miles of trails through the countryside and along the seaside and he does quite a bit of it.<br />
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Bill Bryson is a funny writer and I enjoyed the book. I'll even give it five stars to show how much I liked it and if you like travel writing, I recommend it highly.Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-79851400269193313932017-08-03T14:08:00.000-07:002017-08-03T14:08:43.825-07:00A Bundle of IndiffereneThis week has been nothing but one thing after another, almost from A to Z. I managed to work on Vol. 2 of the trilogy some though, so it wasn't all a loss. The thing with computers is, it's easy to find yourself in a bind by scheduling videos and canceling other things. I schedule some so-called training videos and the time passes before you know it, and I've missed them. I try to catch up on the replays, but the same thing happens. I don't pay for the training, but it's over before I think of it. Yesterday morning at 9 AM one came on, but I was out to breakfast after reminding myself that I had something to do. It must be old age. Yesterday was my 85th birthday and I was pre-occupied anyway. All I can say is Thank the Lord for continuing life!<br />
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I try to keep things straight, but there doesn't seem to be enough time in the day. So from now on, I'll do things by the week and maybe it'll straighten itself out. Maybe a large calendar with Notes and Reminders on the wall. I don't have enough wall space to do it right and proper in my "Office." Maybe I'll move outside and paint the Notes on the wall in contrasting color paint on the patio. I can see it now, the HOA will send me a bunch of letters threatening legal action and telling me I can't do this. AndI'll tell them, do what? Old age is fun.<br />
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<br />Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-16048761313948518892017-07-27T14:19:00.000-07:002017-07-27T14:19:02.495-07:00Kindle Edition Out<div style="background-color: #a6d684; box-sizing: inherit; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.75em;">
The Kindle Edition of The Sorry Life of Bobby Chase-the-Lord is now available. I’ve bee working all week to get this out, but even using Kindle Creator, there are some spacing errors for which I apologize. I’ll be working on them, but right now I don’t have any time for it. The novel reads continuously from begging to end, so you shouldn’t have any trouble with it. For $2.99 you can’t beat it! Order your copy today!</div>
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https://www.amazon.com/Sorry-Life-Bobby-Chase-Lord-ebook/dp/B0748Z73L3/ref=sr_1_7_twi_kin_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1501189466&sr=1-7&keywords=by+Oscar+Case</div>
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Y’all have a great weekend!</div>
Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-64181785636476216442017-07-13T14:39:00.000-07:002017-07-13T14:39:23.136-07:00Sand River by James VaughanJames Vaughan is a pseudonym for a writer in the UK. His novel, <i>Sand River,</i> is a terrific western of 395 pages. Telling the story is an old man relating some of the more interesting and life-changing events that he lived through.<br />
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Jack Grice heads west at a young age and wants to be a cowboy. In Texas, he finally finds a job working on a ranch at sixteen years old as a gofer doing anything that his boss thinks needs to be done. He helps the cook prepare meals for the Cowboys and has already learned the leather trade, saddlery, harness, etc., in a local shop. He picks up on horses and cattle, and using a .44 Colt revolver. After a fall roundup he is assigned to trail the cattle in a cattle drive to Kansas. Later on, one of his friends sets him up as a horse thief and he must go to prison. The descriptions of his time in prison are really good and action filled; how he gets out is exciting, too. Grice returns to being a cowboy in Wyoming, getting a job on the ranch of Mr. Marques and his wife Kate of the gentry class.<br />
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But trouble comes his way again by getting mixed up in the cattle rustling mess at that time in history. Well trained and fast using a gun, he is forced to kill too many people and that get him arrested and he must face trial. Grice has a difficult time and finally faces his adversary in a do or die situation.<br />
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I really enjoyed this book and give it five stars. It is well written, plotted and structurally complete. I look forward to reading more from this author. Keeping my interest for almost 400 pages, it was extremely satisfying. Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-18587180343636251542017-07-02T11:57:00.001-07:002017-07-02T11:57:40.958-07:00Cover for Latest bookHere is a pic of my latest cover for the novel <i>The Sorry Life of Bobby Chase-the-Lord. </i>Does it look all right to you?<br />
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<br />Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-5969265633479968712017-07-01T12:14:00.000-07:002017-07-01T12:14:44.291-07:00The Ghost Dance by Neil A. WaringThis novel, <i>The Ghost Dance, </i>is the second Blade Holmes story. In this one, Holmes is out on assignment in Wyoming and gets a message to investigate the Ghost Dancers, which puts him in the middle of the U. S. Government and the Indians. Someone from one of those organizations, or maybe both, is trying to kill him and so far haven't hit him with a bullet. They have come terribly close, though,. mistaking somebody on the trail for him.<br />
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He meets with Wovoka, the initiator of the Ghost Dance who is in Nevada and doesn't get any results in the way of terminating the dances, which supposedly inspired the Indians to go to war with the Whites. Holmes continues his investigation by meeting with Sitting Bull and Man of Many Years on the Sioux Reservation later on. Parson Christie warns Blade to be careful in his travels because whoever is trying to kill him wants him dead. Blade runs into an old friend, Calamity Jane, who has also been watching over him in a fashion and helps in his investigation.<br />
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All in all, I liked Blade Holmes and his story of preventing a war between the Indians and Whites. It had enough action to keep the story moving and make it interesting and I give it four stars. The story contains some valuable history, too, about the Ghost Dancers and their place in Indian society and the disruption they caused among the Indians and Whites. A good summer read. Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-83825188382478754852017-06-15T11:03:00.000-07:002017-06-15T11:03:24.325-07:00UpdateI haven't been blogging or reading blogs for the last couple of weeks because of my writing and other things. Publishing on Creat Space has turned into a nightmare for this latest project. I thought I had it made when I compiled on Scrivener and submitted the PDF. It went smoothly until I got the message that it wasn't exactly formatted correctly in Creat Space's view. I went to correct it, but it had so many things wrong with it, I gave up. I re-compiled and submitted it as a Word doc. rtf and had the same thing happen. I tried submitting it again using Scrivener and had the same results. I'm a slow learner, I guess. I gave up and started re-typing it into a Creat Space unformatted template. I'm about half-way through it for the umpteenth time and will try it again upon finishing the typing.<br />
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I drew a cover and thought that was okay, but I have to submit it again, too. Only the back came out. That might be all right for some, but it certainly doesn't meet the requirements, so I'll be working on that for a while.<br />
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I've been able to squeeze in some research, etc., on marketing while this is going on. Whether it will do me any good or not remains to be seen. And my reading is coming along slow, real slow, but I am reading a couple of Westerns which I'll blog on when finished.<br />
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My newsletter is still in the early stages, but sign up to receive it. It will improve.<br />
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Thanks, and enjoy the summer. It's predicted to hit 120 degrees in Phoenix next week.<br />
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<br />Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315913011898679263.post-1210037479199272017-05-11T11:01:00.001-07:002017-05-11T11:01:45.941-07:00Deadwood by Max Braun<i>Deadwood </i>is part of a double-novel paperback published by St. Martin's Press. The other story is <i>Manhunter</i>, both by Max Braun.<br />
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Private detective Luke Starbuck is on the trail hunting for an accused killer, Mike Cassidy. Starbuck was hired by William Dexter on behalf of a mysterious mine owner in Montana to locate and kill Cassidy. He finds out that Cassidy is holed up in the Hole in the Wall, Wyoming, and he puts on a disguise and finds Cassidy there after an attempt or two on his life. Luke is over-powered by Cassidy and his young friend who turns out to be Butch Cassidy - no relation. Mike beats the tar out of him trying to find out who he is and what he's after and almost kills him while Butch holds a gun on him.<br />
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After recuperating, they become friends and decide the character they want is the person who hired Dexter. Luke finds out that the attempts on his life are related to a man he killed earlier, Dutch John Henry. He heads off to find out everything he can about Dutch John, and ends up in Deadwood, where this mysterious Ira Lloyd, owner of the Grubstake Mining Company and the man who hired Dexter, makes his headquarters. Luke continues on to settle the case in an exciting and dangerous way.<br />
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I really enjoyed reading <i>Deadwood </i>and the surprise ending. I give it five stars for action and suspense and look forward to reading <i>Manhunter, </i>another Starbuck story<i>.</i>Oscar Casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328166606910469945noreply@blogger.com8