Somewhere Down In Texas

CLIPPINGS FROM THE VINE consists of selections from the author's seven published books, and concludes with a series of contemporary personal essays, observations and opinions as we enter the Obama Era of hopefully positive change. Ranging from Coast to Coast, all over the Inter-mountain West, and covering a period of almost sixty years, the author deftly chronicles his experiences and the characters he has encountered (such as desert rat "Mr. James," featured on the cover). He does so with wit, insight and frequent discontent. These selections can be read as a cross section of a greatly changing America. Whether for the best or not is always on the author's mind. Clippings From The Vine is "solid America," of a type we shall see little or any of in the future "instant media society." And, the author asks you not to judge him, until you've walked the streets of Victor, Colorado...

STATES OF MIND is a collection of the author's letters from Santa Fe, New Mexico, and St David's, Pennsylvania, to a very literate and old-fashioned gentleman in San Francisco. Written between 1993 and 2000, they are insightful, humorous and sometimes grouchy. They reflect two very diverse places in the American landscape-some would say no two places could be more different!-and the author deftly switches roles with changes in locale.

With opinions and personal testimonies from the artists themselves, this book takes a detailed look at the huge impact that Mexican music and culture has had--and continues to have--on Country music in its various forms. This very American form of cultural expression has changed over the last few years, but Mexico--with its bordertowns, beaches, colonial architecture and ancient ruins conjuring up a range of powerful images--has remained an influential presence in Nashville, Texas, and even places like Australia and South Africa. Featuring contributions from Merle Haggard, Jimmy Buffett, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Jessi Colter, Johnny Rodriguez and Flaco Jimenez, this book reveals the unique and largely undocumented relationship between "America's Music" and Mexico.

Deadwood, Dakota Territory, was filled with luckless miners and diggers, as well as more than its share of lawlessness, and more often than not, there was nothing Marshal Fred Nolan and his two deputy marshals, Wentworth and Grubb, could do. So when a teen hustler, known as Gitalong because of his crippled leg, was hoorawed by a trio of Texas drovers, the law wasn’t called in. Besides, two strangers had come to Gitalong’s aid, confronting the drovers and forcing them to give Gitalong three silver dollars. While it was the most money the teenager had ever had, he knew it would only bring him trouble. He was right. The three Texans returned with even more men, and another confrontation with the two strangers takes place that ends in one of the Texans being killed, and Gitalong trying unsuccessfully to give the money back. This time, though, Marshal Fred Nolan and his two deputies see the fight and order the Texans out of town, but not before Grubb recognizes Tevis Blankenship, a trail driver with a tough reputation. Still afraid, Gitalong heeds the advice of others and leaves town on a coach, which ends up crashing and injuring Gitalong badly. Meanwhile, Marshal Nolan’s job just got harder, because he needs to be ready to escort a bullion coach through his area, always a dangerous job.

If you had complete freedom from all obligations, both personal and financial, and thousands of options lying ahead of you, how would you decide which one to pursue? This is the position Chris Coupland finds himself in on a frigid New Year's morning, when his relationship with Hope ends abruptly. From loss and confusion through success and reconciliation, his choices and the resulting journey may surprise you. Avoiding demons and chasing dreams, his search for Hope or even just hope will be the catalyst for the change he never knew he needed. His challenge now is to decide which path to take, and whether to take that path alone or with someone.

A Sportsman's Journey lyrically and spiritually connects readers with the natural world. Donald C. Jackson explores the rhythms and ways of hunting and fishing, particularly in America’s Deep South, and in so doing helps readers understand and find meaning in why hunters and anglers venture far afield. Journeying alongside the author, readers will savor the magic of sunrises and the mystery of twilight. Hearts will quicken as deer drift from shadows and ducks circle a woodland pond. The ocean will challenge them as they fight large fish from the deck of a wave-tossed boat far out at sea. Restless winds will whisper messages during a spring squirrel hunt on a Mississippi farm. Bird dogs, old guns, old friends, and times shared with loved ones will remind anglers and hunters of those special, shared memories. Ancient forests and powerful rivers remind us of our fragile, ephemeral state. Quail hunts strengthen cherished relationships with companions. Encounters with a mountain man will take us into a world thought to have vanished generations ago. A gathering of anglers on a Gulf Coast fishing pier at night reminds us of those hidden communities that exist around us, and are often unrecognized or perhaps even unknown. Jackson reveals how all of us depend on the natural world and share very personal interactions with it and with each other. This book reminds us that rediscovering, resurrecting, and celebrating these primal linkages are the real reasons we explore the world.

After more than twenty years, Clay Walker still looks like the sexy surfer dude Maizie married. But lately their relationship has been getting a little stale. It's time to shake things up and get the old juices goin'. Maizie's solution? Some harmless flirting with the studly new tennis pro to make Clay pea-green jealous. But when the plan backfires—and Clay moves out—Maizie and her gal pals mount an all-out campaign to win him back. Between her aiding and abetting mother, a potentially dangerous admirer and one unforgettable karaoke serenade, this Southern belle needs nothing short of a miracle. The one constant is her enduring passion for Clay. Can Maizie find what she's looking for without losing the only man she's ever loved?