Michael Watson's Blog

I enjoy reading and writing novels in a variety of genres. This includes action, adventure, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, thriller, and western. In short story form I even include science fiction and horror. Recently I began my first science fiction novel. I believe its going rather well. To give you a rough idea of the story, it takes place on earth in perhaps the not so distant future. The planet is almost uninhabitable due to wars and pollution. An air mask is required in and around Triterra, the last city on earth. Crops will no longer grow in the sterile soil. A ship arrives, sent by the Alliance of Worlds, to relocate a cross-section of the population in order to save earth's humanity. Is it too good to be true? Beware of the helping hand!

I'm what is called a 'pantser,' writing by the seat of my pants rather than from an outline. I like to be as surprised as the reader as I write. Predictability is not an option. So, right now I think I'm about midway through the book, but we'll see.

This was our third Oklahoma lodge to stay at last week, and our favorite. The lodge was built in 2017, replacing the old one. There are a total of thirty-two rooms, two buildings (two-story) of eight rooms each and a 16-plex, all looking out on the lake. Our building had a working ice machine and vending machines. It's located in south central Oklahoma near Ardmore.

We were pleasantly surprised to find our room was only a few feet from the lake with a terrific view. As we've learned from other places, an advertised lake view may not be quite as expected. This one was. The room came with a microwave and mini-frig, neither provided at the other two lodges(Roman Nose and Qtz Mtn). 

The Blue Heron Restaurant was next to our building. The restaurant was open from 7 am to 8 pm every day, so we didn't have to drive into town to eat as we did at the other lodge locations. Another plus. 

Even though this was the off-season, this location was the only one to have miniature golf and water sports available. We didn't have time, but they offered an evening dinner cruise (2 hrs). Across the road was a large swimming pool.

Of the three lodges where we stayed, this was the best. I can definitely recommend the Lake Murray Lodge as a getaway destination. 5 stars. I suggest staying more than just one night.

My wife and I stayed at three Oklahoma resorts last week. This is a little about the second one, Quartz Mountain Resort.

Our trip was considered off-season, which was evident from the lack of people. The lodge and room were nice, apparently remodeled in recent years. Our room was located on the first floor and had a lake view of sorts. There was a patio, but so small (~2' x 2') it wasn't big enough to accommodate a chair. We went to the restaurant for supper at 6, but found it empty without a hostess or wait staff. Waited a respectable amount of time and then drove to town to eat. The next morning we tried the restaurant again. Two other people were there. Menu simple. Waitress was courteous. 

This place has a terrific reputation. That was a reason for paying a little extra for the experience. I was extremely disappointed. There weren't even any benches around the lodge or near the lake to sit and relax. Nearby was a miniature golf course that was closed, hadn't been mowed in a long time, and course structures were falling apart. Very sad. Two stars is all this place rates. Not recommended. 

Last week, my wife and I stayed at three lodges in Oklahoma. This entry is about the first one, Roman Nose State Park, located in the northwest region of the state.

We made reservations to stay before schools got out. There were both pros and cons to doing this. One pro was that it was very quiet, good for relaxing and reading. The room was very nice, appeared to have been recently remodeled. The cons were that since it was considered to be in the off-season the restaurant was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. So, Monday night we had to drive into town. Only place open - Sonic. Brought hamburgers back and ate in empty restaurant. They offered a continental breakfast Tuesday morning - quarter-sized week-old muffins, banana bread in 1" x 1" pieces on a plate, just as dry, and a bowl of batter next to a waffle maker. No butter for the waffles. No microwave. One small carafe of coffee. Sad.

Also, since it was off-season, the miniature golf course, the paddle boats, and the grocery store were closed. If a person just wanted to sit in the quiet and read, it was perfect.

All things considered, I would probably go there again, when the restaurant and activities are open. But for this trip, I can't give it more than two stars. Guests should receive the same consideration regardless of the time of year.

A final note: They have what appears to be a very challenging golf course which was open. The holes alternate from one side of a deep chasm to the other. No walking this course.

We just returned from spending a couple days at a couple state parks in Arkansas, Mt. Magazine Lodge and Mather Lodge. It was a nice trip with beautiful landscape all around us. We enjoyed it in spite of the unrelenting rain and fog. I can only imagine how much better it would have been if the sun had been shining. 

Mather Lodge is a historical site, the lodge built as a CCC project in the early 1900's. Considering how old it is, it is in very good condition. It's rooms are small and minus some of the amenities we had at Mt. Magazine. We paid $85/night. Two double beds. We actually saw more of the landscape from here. It was overcast and rainy, but not as much fog.

Mt. Magazine Lodge is a relatively new facility. Very nice. Until the fog rolled in, we had a terrific view of the valley from our room, and elsewhere. We paid $120/night with two queens.

Both lodges had restaurants with similar items on the menu. Not great, but passable. With the accommodations and the views we did get to see, the trip was well worth it.

For those that follow my writing, I'm very close to publishing BORDERS, book three in the Aftershock Series. Please watch for it on Amazon or here on my website. Thanks.

  

Last weekend I attended a writers conference in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It was a great conference as well a beautiful drive. Below are some of the writers I spoke with. First, Mike and Kathy Gear, who are both archaeologists and are international bestselling authors of two series of prehistoric North America. Second, is Max McCoy, a professor at Emporia State University in Kansas and an author of a variety of books such as Indiana Jones stories for George Lucas and a story of the west for Spielberg. Third, was Dusty Richards, a western writer of over one hundred books and short stories. Dusty had his most recent book made into a movie last summer, Painted Woman.

The conference was small, allowing for one on one time with the authors. It was time well spent. It was also a good time to meet other authors. One lived only about 30 minutes from me in Kansas.

We recently went on a tour of a converted missile bunker near Dover, Kansas. It was the home of an Atlas E intercontinental ballistic missile with a four megaton warhead. I thought it would be good research for the post-apocalyptic series I'm writing.

The facility was constructed in the early 1960's during the Cuban Missile Crisis at a cost of $3 million. It's not what you typically visualize. It is not a vertical silo as you may have seen on TV. In this one the rocket laid horizontally, an overhead door was slid to the side, and then the rocket was raised into a vertical position and pumped full of fuel. The objective was to perform the entire launch sequence in thirty minutes. They never met the time constraint. The facility was decommissioned in 1965.

It sat empty until about 1984. According to the current owners, who have lived there since 1994, it had eight foot of water in it at the time of purchase which was for forty eight thousand dollars.  Below are a few photos I took. It was an interesting tour. The owner did mention it was for sale at an asking price of $3.2 million. If you are interested in learning more, it's also listed as Subterra online. 

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For the authors who have written a series, did it start out that way? Was it planned from the beginning that there were going to be three or more books, or did it just develop? 
I am writing the Aftershock series, planned from the beginning to be at least three books. I didn't see how I could include everything in one book. When I pitched the first book to an agent at a writer's conference, she thought it could develop into a five book series. Well, what do you do when its difficult to find readers for that first book? Do you continue with the series? Or change course?
I love the story myself, but is that enough? I don't write to follow trends, I write for myself, what interests me at the time. You may see from my book page that I have written action/adventure/thriller types as well as a biographical western and now post-apocalyptic. 
Give me your thoughts.
Thanks,
​Mike

I would like to have your comments about my newest book , Paradise, book one of the Aftershock series. It was published in September of 2016. Since then I've received four reviews, all good.  And no, they weren't from family.
My problem is that I can't seem to get anyone to read this book. I don't have bad reviews, I essentially have no reviews. Is the problem the subject matter? Many others have been successful with dystopian/post-apocalyptic stories. Is it the cover? Does it lack something? Do I need a new cover? Does the blurb on Amazon need to be changed? Do I need to change my profile picture?
I market on twitter mostly. I try not to over tweet my book and I retweet others a lot. I do use Facebook too, but not very often. I've tried reducing the price and even had giveaways. I attend writers conferences and online webinars, but the advise is always the same, lots of info with no application. 
Even though this is the first in a series, and not selling, I intend to complete the series. I personally like the story and the characters. Book #2 will be coming out sometime this Summer or early Fall. Book #3 has been started. So, I hope I can get a handle on what to do and what not to do in the near future.
I know there are many others out there who are in the same situation. We put all our effort into writing what we believe is a great story, only to be disappointed, not by negative comments, but by avoidance.  
I would appreciate your help. Thanks. Mike.
The Amazon link is goo.gl/vsDbci if you're interested. 

Yesterday, we took a two hour drive to Pawhuska, Oklahoma to visit The Mercantile, a new place opened by Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman. Maybe you've seen her on the Food Channel. It has an area offering souvenirs, kitchen items, cookbooks, and some clothing. The other side of the main floor offers meals in a dining room setting. The line outside the door and down the block had an estimated wait time of one and a half hours. We passed on that. They open at 6 a.m. and close at 6 p.m., serving breakfast and lunch.

​We decided to pickup up a few items on the merchandise side, including a coffee cup with the store logo, my wife got a T-shirt, and I bought one of Ree's children's books. Upstairs was a coffee bar and bakery with cookies, candy, and rolls. Lots of seating space to sit and relax.​
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We found out there was a second dining option that they called Grab-N-Go that allowed us to go to the head of the line and walk along a deli case to choose sandwiches, side dishes and pastries for dessert. We got a chicken panini sandwich with a spinach and white sauce(very good), a cucumber and tomato side salad, and a multi-berry pastry. They do require the meal to be taken out. Luckily the temperature was close to 70, though windy.

It was a great day trip. Wish I had taken more pictures. We plan to go back, earlier. Would love to try her chicken fried steak.