E. Joe Brown

Don't you love the Holidays? I sure do. The final three or four months of every year are always hectic for me, but I love it. The week before last was the International Western Music Association's (IWMA) annual convention or conference here in Albuquerque. I always enjoy the music, workshops, and especially seeing old friends again. I heard all of us attending using the word "family" a lot. At first, I thought, what? Are they discussing a cousin, aunt, or sibling? Then it hit me. Of course. We in the IWMA are a big family (by choice), not by blood.
 

My next novel in the Kelly Can Saga Series, "A Cowboy's Fortune," will launch in January 2024. I'm excited about this! It will continue the story following Charlie and Susan Kelly as they create their future together. My native state, Oklahoma, will continue to be where the action is, and several counties are featured. Two mean a lot to me. I lived in Payne and Pottawatomie counties from pre-school to college in Shawnee and Cushing; both towns have important scenes in Fortune. I couldn't stop thinking about how great it was to be a kid back in the 50s and 60s in those two small cities.

I hope you've read Part One. If not, stop and find it, and you'll get the whole picture of an action-packed twenty-one-day book signing tour. We left off having spent the night of Saturday, September 23rd, at Devil's Lake, ND. We got up the next morning and drove to Grand Foks, ND. Outside of Grand Forks is Grand Forks Air Force Base. We went onto the Base to see what it was like. As a retired Air Force couple, this is what we do. We were very impressed with the Base, and if I had stayed in my original career field, I could have been assigned there.

Boy, did I try to pack ten pounds in a five-pound sack! My wife Linda and I drove off from our New Mexico home on Thursday, September 14th, heading toward Cheyenne, WY. We would spend time with our grandkids before my first stop on Saturday at Blue Mountain Book Store in Laramie. Our visit was great, and I could take the rest of this blog bragging about how well Jordan, Tina, and Darian are doing, but I won't. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.