Dear Friends:

What a summer! June was spent on the road, logging over six thousand miles on the BMW as we rode from Wyoming, through Canada, to Maine, where we attended the Gear Family Association’s tri-annual meeting and gave a presentation on writing about prehistory. From there we rode to Washington D.C. for the American Library Association meeting, then home to Wyoming just in time to catch a plane to New York. Yeah, we know. We had just been there. The tickets, however, were non-refundable.

Hi Everybody!

We hope you’re all having a wonderful summer. It’s been an interesting few months for us.

Firstly, for those of you who’ve been having problems getting PEOPLE OF THE LONGHOUSE—which was just released—at Amazon, we apologize. We’re working with the great people there to get the problem fixed. The book was selling quickly and apparently they couldn’t keep up with the demand and had to backorder some copies. They should be shipping very soon. In the meantime, we know there are many of you who collect the first editions. If you’re afraid Amazon’s delay may result in you’re getting second or third editions, we recommend you go to your local bookstore, Barnes and Noble.com, Borders, Hastings, Books-A-Million, or other places where books are sold. We understand many retailers still have the first edition available.

Dear Readers:

We know that most of you are aware that Coming of the Storm will be published in February of 2010.  The good folks at Pocket Books asked us for a short marketing piece.  Since we have been receiving numerous questions about the new series, we thought you might be interested in a preview.  So, here it is, just like we sent to New York.

CONTACT: THE BATTLE FOR AMERICA—THE COMING OF THE STORM.

Coming of the Storm important because one out of five Americans claims Indian ancestry--from the mythical to full-blood. If you are one of that 20% this novel is about your heritage. But then without the first white guys, the rest of us wouldn’t be here either, so the novel has relevance for all of us.

Happy New Year to All!

On the personal side, Michael judged the Western Bison Association show and sale on December 3-5 and had a great time with co-judge Bill Rogers.  At the WBA fun auction two autographed advance reading copies of Coming of the Storm brought $1,000 each! How’s that for anticipation?  Thanks to everyone who attended the show and sale, and came to support the organization at the fun auction.

Between January 23-25 Kathleen will be judging buffalo at the National Bison Association’s Gold Trophy Show and Sale, which occurs every year at the National Western Stock Show in Denver. We’re honored that she has been chosen as a judge for the National Bison Association’s ultimate competition. Mike will watch from the sidelines and help at the NBA tent by giving public tours of the buffalo pens.  If you’re in Denver, do stop by. Anyone in the city can give you directions to the stockyards. Tours run from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Hello all:

In an attempt to actually keep up with events, we’re sending the July newsletter in July!

The biggest news, of course, is the publication of CHILDREN OF THE DAWNLAND in the United States and Canada. This is our first children’s book written for ages 8-12. That doesn’t mean that adults can’t read it, too. A teacher’s guide is available and can be downloaded online from the publisher. We set the novel at the end of the last ice age, during a time archaeologists call “Clovis culture.” Clovis apparently only lasts for a period of 250 years, spanning all of the U.S., most of Canada, and some of Northern Mexico. The highest site density, however, is in the eastern United States. Then, like shutting off a light, Clovis is gone from the archaeological record at approximately 12,900 years ago.

Dear Friends:

Yes, we’ve been remiss about the newsletter. The past six months have been like living inside a tornado, but we’ve made some major changes in our lives. Most notably, we now only own five buffalo, and have leased the ranch to our long-time manager and friend, John Gerrells. Disentangling and shutting down the buffalo business has been a long and involved process, and distracted us from the newsletter, for which we beg forgiveness. But we found a wonderful home for the animals we’ve loved for sixteen years. They’re being well cared for, and have about thirty times as much land to roam.