Welcome! Thanks for checking out my web page. I'm happy to be a long time member of Brainerd Writers Alliance and the Western Writers of America. My freelance work appears in publications like Lake Country Journal, FiftySomething and Pizza Today. In addition, I do a significant amount of commercial / industrial writing for printers and other clients in central Minnesota.
My true love is the story of our American West. Native American cultures are of great interest, but admittedly my writing focuses on European Americans and their settling of the land west of the Mississippi River. I am drawn to the human drama and conflict and do not see general evil in any parties involved.
Specific characters were intrinsically evil, and there were plenty of them to go around, whether they slept inside tepees constructed from lodge poles covered by stretched buffalo hides or spent their nights inside sod shanties or log buildings complete with leather door hinges and translucent glass.
My first western novel, "The Burning Hills", was written under the pen name Will Garret and published in 2003 by PublishAmerica. The book sold well for a title not heavily promoted and received several excellent reviews. It was nominated for the Western Writers of America Spur Award, but unfortunately was not a finalist. I recently obtained future rights to the book and plan to have it published in a second edition with a minor plot change, new cover design and additional author notes regarding the time period, locale and historical setting. It's the "traditional" western I promised myself I would write. Please check back because when it's released again, I will post excerpts and ordering information on this page.
In addition to my writing, I serve as President of Brainerd Writers Alliance. So when you email us, I'm the guy you're talking with. And I'm happy to hear from you. Here's the email link:
From "Old Crow Wing" Lake Country Journal March / April 2008
Perhaps Crow Wing did not die in vain after all. Perhaps through its enthralling, occasionally revolting history we recognize ourselves. Perhaps Crow Wing’s experience infuses us with clarity of purpose and renewed determination to make our collective desires for a better future into reality.
From "Kathio Trails" Lake Country Journal May / June 2008
Mille Lacs (French for 1,000 lakes) Lake, specifically the area around Kathio State Park, was home to the Mdewakanton (Water of the Great Spirit) Dakota. According to Ojibwe tradition, around 1750, during a three-day action dubbed “The Battle of Kathio”, invading Ojibwe warriors unceremoniously convinced the Dakota to relocate. Scholars debate causes and timing of their departure, but one fact is clear: The Mdewakanton Dakota headed for Minnesota prairie lands, leaving Kathio to the Ojibwe.
