Three years ago….whew, I finished the book that is now The Esau Emergence. While I was writing, I took that big step and joined a critique group through Northern Colorado Writers. Like many writers, my work took place in a vacuum. Apologies to my daughter Lillie, she did read the book chapter by chapter as I finished them. (The first time a book has come to me in a linear fashion.) Lillie is a passionate reader as we all are in this tribe, so she did give me input and critique. Taking my writing public was the necessary scary step. I’m happy to say that I fell into a group of incredibly talented writers who helped me with strong insight and effective critique. There wasn’t any ego stroking going on with us. Writers out there….you know this is very important. Not every thing we write is wonderful. People who are willing to be honest are beyond value. As all good things do, our little group was whittled away by life and circumstance, but not before I received critical help and support to improve my writing. I’m thrilled to report that my colleague, Steve Linstrom‘s book The Last Ram, is now available on Amazon. It’s a novel about the 1903 Badlands hunt for the last Audubon Sheep in the world that for two young men, one white and one Lakota, heralds the end of their childhood, the time of the free Lakota, and the West that they know. This is a powerful depiction of the startling shift between the Wild West and the encroaching twentieth century civilization. Congratulations Steve!