An Englishman's travels on the Great Plains (vol. iii)

I am pleased to announce that Between the Rockies and a Hard Place is now out in hard copy and as an e-book, and available via http://amzn.to/1U1YTgh and http://amzn.to/1UAhUoL

I need to point out that a version of this originally appeared in 2012 - only as an e-book  (Toad's Road-Kill Café).  I was never really happy with that, having taken advice from an agent who demanded more of the stand-up comedian and less of the ruminative travel writer. It was at his instigation that I boosted an 80,000-word narrative to about 100,000 with a few ribald tales. I have now had a thorough, professional copy-edit, taken out 12,000 words and have ended up with a far leaner, more punchy narrative. Sometimes 'less' really does equal 'more'.

I'm pleased to have this book out now. In a few days' time I fly out to Nebraska on a promotional tour. You will be able to read all about that day by day via my Facebook page, entitled 'Nebraska. Seriously.' (https://www.facebook.com/seriousaboutnebraska/) although I dare say I'll be posting on here as well.

These last few days I've been frantically mapping all the small-town bookstores and libraries in the state, seeing whether I can fit in visits to them all. The bookstores I can probably tick off: there are fewer than I hoped. As for libraries - blimey, they're all over the place, but my plan is to repay the many acts of kindness I've received through these local branches over the years (information, wifi, email services, introductions and local gossip) by giving them free copies. Might help spread the word too.

Time, however, is ticking by, and it looks as though, as so often, I'll be writing my talks on that plane. Fortunately I still have the flash-cards I made for last year's gig at the Bean Broker in Chadron. That will give me a head start.