What's Coming Next
![What's Coming Next What's Coming Next](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/galleries/Blog%20Images/proportion/EJB%20-%20Coming%20Soon_w140_h140/EJB%20-%20Coming%20Soon_09121206.png)
It's the right time to discuss the next Kelly Can Series book. My publisher and I met this past weekend and put some final ideas and touches on the manuscript for book two. We are using "A Cowboy's Gusher" as the working title. I am pretty happy with it, so it'll likely be what we use. As my readers know, near the end of "Destiny" Charlie takes a job as George L. Miller's sidekick, working with E. W. Marland's oil company, supporting the growing oil business on the 101 Ranch. Charlie also marries Susan Kramer-Blackaby. I hope I'm not spoiling it for those who still need to finish Destiny. In book two, the oil business becomes a more significant part of Charlie and Susan's life.
Joe. How Do You Do It?
![Joe. How Do You Do It? Joe. How Do You Do It?](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/galleries/Blog%20Images/proportion/ELB%20Blog%20082823_w140_h140/ELB%20Blog%20082823_08281008.jpg)
I get asked this question a lot - "Joe, how do you do it?"
People who already know me seem especially puzzled about how I get my writer's time completed. I am busy because of my involvement with several organizations. My writing is number one though and I'll share what I do to protect enough of my time to continue to grow and improve as a writer. It starts with getting to bed (most nights) at an hour, allowing me to get around seven hours of sleep. You may need more or less. Protect whatever you need so that when you awake, you feel good. Maybe groggy, but good.
Tulsa, Oklahoma, the “Oil Capital of the World” and the Hotel Tulsa
![Tulsa, Oklahoma, the “Oil Capital of the World” and the Hotel Tulsa Tulsa, Oklahoma, the “Oil Capital of the World” and the Hotel Tulsa](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/galleries/Blog%20Images/proportion/Hotel%20Tulsa_w140_h140/Hotel%20Tulsa_08150225.jpg)
Historically, the energy industry, primarily oil, has fueled Tulsa's economy over the years. Still, today the city has diversified, and now its economy has added other segments such as finance, aviation, and several technology areas. For most of the 20th century, the city was called the “Oil Capital of the World” and played a significant role as one of the most important hubs for the American oil industry.
National Day of the Cowboy
![National Day of the Cowboy National Day of the Cowboy](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/proportion/imagejpeg_0%20(4)_w140_h140/imagejpeg_0%20(4)_07310942.jpg)
I'm excited to share my experience a few days ago at the Chisolm Trail Heritage Center (CTHC) in Duncan, Oklahoma, supporting their National Day of the Cowboy celebration. I was honored when Edie Stewart, the Center’s education director, asked me to be part of the event.
Here is a little background for those who don't know about this annual celebration:
In 2005, National Day of the Cowboy (NDOC) sponsored a bill in the Wyoming House and Senate to preserve and celebrate cowboy culture and history in that state, naming a holiday to be observed on the fourth Saturday in July.
Rapid City Conference - Part II
![Rapid City Conference - Part II Rapid City Conference - Part II](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/galleries/Blog%20Images/proportion/imagejpeg_0%20(2)_w140_h140/imagejpeg_0%20(2)_07161141.jpg)
I hope you enjoyed Part One of the Rapid City Conference adventure. Maybe that's too strong a term, but it was fun for Linda and me. We love taking the old US or State highways when we can, which lets us drive through the small towns you miss when you use the Interstates. That said, we did use I-90 across South Dakota on Sunday, the 25th. We wanted to stop at Wall Drug on I-90, about fifty miles east of Rapid City. While we were there I met with the bookstore manager and they purchased six copies of A Cowboy's Destiny for their shelves. YAHOO! That was a great start to our trip home.
Conference in Rapid City
![Conference in Rapid City Conference in Rapid City](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/galleries/Blog%20Images/proportion/output_image1688400936444_w140_h140/output_image1688400936444_07030832.jpg)
Meet Chester Abrams
![Meet Chester Abrams Meet Chester Abrams](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/galleries/Blog%20Images/proportion/C%20R%20Anthony_w140_h140/C%20R%20Anthony_06150501.jpg)
The Million Dollar Elm
![The Million Dollar Elm The Million Dollar Elm](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/galleries/Blog%20Images/proportion/Million%20Dollar%20Elm_w140_h140/Million%20Dollar%20Elm_06050340.jpg)
Today this famous tree would be located east of the Osage Nation Tribal Museum in Pawhuska, Osage County, Oklahoma. The Million Dollar Elm was the site of public oil and natural gas lease auctions starting in November 1912. Colonel Ellsworth Walters, who lived in Skedee in Pawnee County, Oklahoma, was the official auctioneer for the Osage Nation beginning in 1916.
The Creation of the Kelly Oil Company
![The Creation of the Kelly Oil Company The Creation of the Kelly Oil Company](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/authors/proportion/Skelly%20Oil%20in%201920s_w140_h140/Skelly%20Oil%20in%201920s_05230245.jpg)
Kansas City a Hundred Years Ago
![Kansas City a Hundred Years Ago Kansas City a Hundred Years Ago](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/authors/proportion/KC%20Central%20Business%20District_w140_h140/KC%20Central%20Business%20District_05090358.jpg)
Kansas City is a central hub of the Kelly Can Saga in and around the time of Book Two "A Cowboy's Gusher", and beyond that, I think we need to understand what was happening there post-World War I and into the Roaring 20s. Although today Kansas City is considered a moderate and family-oriented place to live, a hundred years ago, it was a wide-open rip-roaring town.
Kansas City in 1920
![Kansas City in 1920 Kansas City in 1920](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/galleries/Blog%20Images/proportion/download_w140_h140/download_03290241.png)
Marjorie Merriweather Post: A New Friend for Susan
![Marjorie Merriweather Post: A New Friend for Susan Marjorie Merriweather Post: A New Friend for Susan](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/proportion/Marjorie%20Merriweather%20Post%201928_w140_h140/Marjorie%20Merriweather%20Post%201928_03150138.jpg)
Some of you might be wondering who is Marjorie Merriweather Post and why you should care. That’s fair, and I’ll be happy to tell you.
Marjorie was born in Springfield, Illinois on March 15, 1887. She was the daughter and only child of C. W. Post and Ella Letitia Merriweather. His father founded the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. At age twenty-seven, upon the death of her father Marjorie became the sole owner of the company and at the same time the wealthiest woman in America. She was worth $20 million (equivalent to over $500 million today). She was known as a tremendous businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist.
The Jekyll Island Club - Jekyll Island, Georgia
![The Jekyll Island Club - Jekyll Island, Georgia The Jekyll Island Club - Jekyll Island, Georgia](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/proportion/Historic%20_Clubhouse%20on_Jekyll%20Island_w140_h140/Historic%20_Clubhouse%20on_Jekyll%20Island_03010338.jpg)
Welcome Back!
![Welcome Back! Welcome Back!](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/proportion/EJB%20Edmond_w140_h140/EJB%20Edmond_02080151.jpeg)
November 3rd, I was on the Rendezvous With A Writer radio program on LA Talk Radio hosted by Jim and Bobbi Bell. That was a wonderful experience. On November 5th, I did a book signing at Best of Books in Edmond, Oklahoma. That is one of the top independent bookstores in Oklahoma. On November 6th, I did a solo program sharing the Kelly Can story for the Cowley County Historical Museum at the Winfield, Kansas Public Library. The attendance was excellent for the event. And I made many new friends.
Where Have You Been Joe?
![Where Have You Been Joe? Where Have You Been Joe?](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/authors/proportion/308521436_529462689180158_452174267457283990_n_w140_h140/308521436_529462689180158_452174267457283990_n_10310443.jpg)
Let’s get you caught up on some of what’s been happening. I’ll start with the launch of “A Cowboy’s Destiny” back on August 27th.
Book Launch and First Tour
![Book Launch and First Tour Book Launch and First Tour](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/proportion/Blog%201%20Sep%202022_w140_h140/Blog%201%20Sep%202022_09080458.jpg)
The Big Day is Here! “A Cowboy’s Destiny” is Released!
Cushing, Oklahoma at the Time of “A Cowboy's Destiny”
Real Places in A Cowboy’s Destiny
Real People in A Cowboy’s Destiny
![Real People in A Cowboy’s Destiny Real People in A Cowboy’s Destiny](images/ejoebrown/cache/images/ejoebrown/galleries/Blog%20Images/proportion/Millers_w140_h140/Millers_05250335.jpg)
In a previous blog, we talked about the actual 101 Ranch. It plays a pivotal part in the story of Charlie Kelly and "A Cowboy's Destiny." The ranch existed, and the Millers also truly owned the ranch. The Miller brothers, Joe, George, and Zack are characters in the story. So is the person E. W. Marland. I wanted a genuine feel of realism in the story even though it absolutely is a work of fiction.