A Friendship FireAuthor’s note of 5/20/09 : This story, written eight years ago in 2001, is one of my favorites. It is especially poignant because our son Terry, who the story revolves around, gets married in three days.At the end of this, I’ve added a postscript about a very special friendship fire we had last night. A Friendship Fire It’s a beautiful March night. During...

School’s out for summer… nearly Mrs. Shirley’s English class at DeRidder High As an author, I’m always involved with three (3) books at a time. 1. Marketing my latest published book. In this case, The Wayfaring Stranger. 2. Finishing up with my latest manuscript. In this case, A Good Place. 3. And beginning on a new novel. In this case, A Spent Bullet. Today, I was at...

Epilogue: “Happy and Sad” This is the final chapter from Wind in the Pines. It contains a wonderful fable about gathering memories and friends. I hope you enjoy it. As we conclude this journey together at the end of another book, I want to thank you for walking along beside me. The fact that you’ve made it to the end of this book tells me these words and stories must have...

“A Father’s Love” From the Curt Iles book, Wind in the Pines. The story below always gets two strong reactions when I tell it. First, laughter. That is a good thing. Secondly, many times this story brings tears. Last year, I told it at Delta Downs (in Vinton) to a group of (seemingly) hardened race track workers. It was the same reaction: smiles, laughter, and then the blinking...

BrandedA lesson on keeping your mouth shut I came of age in the 1960’s and early 70’s. It was a time of great upheaval and change in America. I saw the events of this time one by one on TV – the assassinations and an unpopular war that brought down one president followed by the political underhandedness that brought down another. We always laughed that in Southwestern...