Status Updates From Deadwood City (Choose Your ...

I wonder if I find a good life in Silver Springs. I guess the answer is up to me, and how much work I want to put into building the future I desire.

I'm escaping the Indians, though that wasn't my first choice.

Tomorrow morning the Newberys are announced! :-)

I wonder every time I read this book if Red Creek Ranch is the same one your character's uncle owns a hundred years later in The Cave of Time.

Kurt Malloy, at last! His physical appearance is brilliantly scary. His teeth are like knives filed to the sharpest point humanly possible.

It's fascinating, the parallels between the dramatic effect on American commerce in this book because of major railways finally reaching the Old West, and similar opportunities that A.I. is on the cusp of bringing today's world. That jumps right out at me as I read some of these endings.

I love what Putney says in this ending about the cattle ranchers threatening you both: "We don't need to chase them...If we just defend our rights, we'll survive." The key to thriving in life seems to be resisting temptation to overextend yourself and engage in unnecessary battles. By following Putney's advice in this ending, you wind up leading a rewarding life in the Old West.

I've run into several nub endings in a row. Let's see if Jim Putney at Sunrise Ranch can offer a more in-depth and exciting career adventure, now that I've safely left Kurt Malloy's gang in the rearview mirror.

My instinct in life is to skirt around trouble as best I can. For now I'm going to check into the hotel and avoid trouble hotspots such as the sheriff's office and saloon.

Another reread for me prior to the Newberys announcement Monday. This is one of my favorite Choose Your Own Adventures, among Edward Packard's best. I love Paul Granger's illustrations, particularly of the barbaric outlaw Kurt Malloy, and George Wilson's cover art for this edition is fitting.

You've got to know when to...fold 'em.

Who knows what I can use my poker winnings to bankroll? As we learn over and over in these pages, the world is bursting with opportunities.

I guess I needed to set my sights higher than cleaning up at a saloon.

I may have bungled the Deadwood Dispatch, but there's always another opportunity to catch hold of down the road. My favorite thing about this book is its reflection of that.

This new approach you develop to writing editorials for the paper is exactly right. No wonder the paper becomes a smash hit.

Cleaning up Deadwood City one unflinching newspaper editorial at a time. I dig it.

The Deadwood Dispatch needs to be a fair-minded newspaper, so I'll interview some sheep ranchers.

Yes! The newspaper business absolutely is right for me. And all my startup costs are covered.

I don't wish to work in a saloon, so...Mrs. Megan it is.

Another classic Paul Granger illustration, of our card game in the saloon. His Choose Your Own Adventure pieces are so memorable.

Let's try a while more to find gold. In for a penny, in for a pound.

Why not give Lefty and Jake a chance to prove themselves valuable partners as we hunt gold?

No way am I playing cards to see who fights Kurt Malloy! Now's the time to take my leave of the saloon.

Let's accrue some social capital at the saloon.

I survived. Given the bad situation I recklessly barged into, I'm lucky.

I used my brain to bring Kurt Malloy down, rather than allowing pride to push me into a deadly blunder.

Why would I be any more ready for a gunfight after getting shot? I'm going for the U.S. marshal.

Let's tread the path of vengeance against Kurt Malloy...

Revenge against a villain like Kurt Malloy is enticing, but leading a peaceful, fulfilling life is so much sweeter.

There were far worse outcomes of exchanging gunfire with Kurt Malloy than a bullet to the leg.

We made a bad choice, but it didn't scuttle the whole venture.