From the upcoming e-book, A Pineywoods Manifesto: Field Notes on the Full Life by Curt Iles.   “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” -Solomon in Ecclesiastes 9:10   An Honest Day’s Pay for an Honest Day’s Work In the Louisiana Pineywoods, we believe in working. Many of my friends work in various aspects of …

  We’re (yes, you’re part of this project) writing an e-book entitled, A Pineywoods Manifesto: Field Notes to the Full Life. It’s written to my grandsons as well as those young men who haven’t had a male role model to teach the basics of life.   Yesterday, we talked about how to shake hands like a man.  You can read …

  A Pineywoods Manifesto: Thoughts on the Full Life I’m writing an e-book for my four grandsons. It’s also for young men who have no male role model to teach them these simple but essential life skills. Today’s chapter is entitled “Shake Like a Man.” Shake like a Man When I was a young teenager, Tubby and Agnes King moved to …

A Word from Curt We’re on a journey and our map is: To stay curious. Continue to be amazed at life. Share Remarkable* Stories with our friends and readers.   *A remarkable sound: a dueling duet between a Cardinal and Mockingbird in our backyard. I wonder how we’d react if we’d never heard the songs of these classic Southern songsters? In …

A Word from Curt Last night when the Astros won an improbable 1-0 10 inning victory over the Padres, I wanted to call my Dad and discuss the bizarre ending of the game. But I can’t.  Today, April 8, marks fifteen years since his death. I still miss him. I still think, “I can’t wait to tell that story to …

A word from Curt This afternoon my oldest grandson Noah and I will slip into the edge of Kisatchie National Forest near Woodworth. We won’t have our guns. Turkey season doesn’t open until tomorrow. We’ll be there (rain or not) to look and listen. I’m taking him to the area where I encountered a herd of wild horses last month. …

A word from Curt curt@creekbank.net ___________________________________ Today’s post is brief, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t significant. It concerns what I believe to believe the most important word spoken in history. Telestai. I’m no Greek scholar, so I’m not even sure how to pronounce it, but in that language it means, “paid in full.” It’s the final words of Jesus and …

A word from Curt  My calling: Stay Curious Never Cease to be Amazed. Share Remarkable Stories.   The following story, from our second book, The Old House, always moves me when I read it again. It really happened and I was there to see it.  Read it and help celebrate a birthday. A Remarkable Story: The Corporal and the Colonel …

The best part of writing about Pineywoods Louisiana is how my books open the door for others to tell me their stories. Most of my historical fiction comes from actual stories told by my friends, both old and new. This is especially true with A Spent Bullet, my 1941 Louisiana Maneuvers book. My cousin, Harold Iles, who was a Sugartown …

  I’d like you to have a first listen to what is going to be a special project: the Audible version of our latest novel, As the Crow Flies. Listen to the first 15 minutes of the novel.  I believe you’ll agree that narrator Whitney Ann Jenkins “nails” Missouri Cotton. I’d love your feedback. Have a great day! Curt   …

You can order Deep Roots in various formats including ebook and Amazon. Learn more here.  92 Dry Holes   A Story on Perseverance and Resolve Once my wife, DeDe, and I visited Ft. Worth, Texas where our son Clay and his family lived. One of the places they took us was the Amon Carter Museum of Art. It featured wonderful …

As the Crow Flies is available at Amazon in paperback, large print, and ebook. No shipping charge if you’re a Prime Member.   A Word from Curt And the word is Louisiana. I’ve heard it pronounced probably four different ways. In As the Crow Flies,  Unk Dyal always calls it “Louisianer.” How would you phonetically pronounce Louisiana the way we say it? …

              Many of you took part in our Kickstarter campaign in May. By pre-ordering copies of As the Crow Flies, you received discounted copies and helped fund the book. I’ll be forever grateful for the sixty people who backed us for $4800.00. (Our goal was $4000). One of our reward packages was a special …

Wow!  I wrote my first book, Stories from the Creekbank, in 2000. Not only is it still in print, but it’s a steady seller. I’m so grateful for friends and readers like you who’ve kept my thirteen books “evergreen.” Evergreen is the book-selling term for a title that continues to sell long after its publication. We’ve been blessed in this. …