August 2, 2005
Woke up at four, worried about hangouts in CGII. Stumbled out to the studio and inked a scratchboard of Wyatt Earp and other lawmen backing down the street with Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce in custody. Had great photo reference of Dave Daiss as a horseback Wyatt which I shot way back on January 6. Miners are charging into the street to try and get at the prisoner who is in a hack. Earp is wheeling his horse and pointing his shotgun at the mob. The OK Corral is in the background (hey, it was on the route, why not?). Took too long on it. Worked until 7:30 and went for a bike ride with the dogs. Went into work.

Sales staff is in record territory. Trish Brink and her crew are really cranking it out. Crystal sold the back cover to El Paso. Going to be a big issue. Last night Meghan and I met with the guys who are going to run the Tombstone forum (how to save the historical designation). Smart guys. They have already done similiar plans for Winslow and Jerome. More later.

This morning, Meghan and I went through the final proofs of the book. Had maybe 35 niggling details to fix, and a couple big ones. We couldn’t finish though because her computer froze (brand new). She and Robert Ray had to reinstall Quark Xpress, so I went home and worked on a Curly Bill on horseback painting, then switched gears and whipped out a Clanton cattle drive scratchboard. Cool effects of dust.

Here’s a book deadline phenomenon for me. Every time I try to do a final hit list, it keeps landing at ten. Two weeks ago I had a must have list of ten. I’ve done on average two or three illustrations a day, and the list is still at ten! It’s because as we correct pages, take out type, move stuff around, holes open up. It’s a cool thing in an artistic sense, but it’s maddening to my staff. Still Robert Ray is quite cool under fire, and we just called the printer and asked them if they’d like 30 pages to start chewing on (and to make sure our crossovers and other technical details are correct). Book goes out the door on Monday.

We’ve got a new poll up: Do you believe the United States "stole" Texas, New Mexico and Arizona from Mexico?

For those of you counting, this is blog posting number 986. As I approach the millennium of bloggerville pioneer status, here is some of the feedback I’m getting:

"I started reading the blog a few years ago, after I logged on to the True West homepage. First, as a curiosity, then, after I purchased and read ‘The Artist's Way’ on your recommendation and started doing the Morning Pages I read it as a reminder that journal writing isn't rocket science. It's more putting your head down and doing it. By the way, thank you for the recommendation. Since I began the Morning Pages, I've become much more productive in many areas of my life, including much better use of my leisure time. Really enjoy the magazine. TW Maniac #1"
—John Hinrichs

How long have you been reading the blog?
For at least two years, if not longer. It's just a part of my daily routine, I log in and see what you are up to.

How did you find it?
Just by surfing the True West site.

What do you love about it?
That someone else keeps getting kicked in the teeth, doing something they love, and they keep doing it anyway.

What do you hate?
When you don't post every day. Profanity. Appropriate in a quote, but...
—Alan C. Huffines (Alan was one of the historical consultants on the recent movie The Alamo)

You can also give me your thoughts on this blog by clicking here and emailing me.

"If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people."
—Virginia Woolf