Supercell
THE GLAMOUR OF STORM CHASING
I’m writing this as our chase team presses through an electric night bound for Wichita, Kansas, from the Texas Panhandle. We won’t arrive in Wichita until the wee hours of Tuesday. Then, after a few hours of sleep, we’ll push even farther north, hoping to capitalize on what should be a turbulent day along and…
Read MoreBIRTH OF A HIGH PLAINS MONSTER
With other members of my chase group, I’m standing on the high plains of the Texas Panhandle, west of Lubbock. A stiff wind, inflow to a supercell aborning, slams into my back as I snap pictures of the strengthening storm. I struggle to stay upright; to hold the camera steady. Daggers of lightning lance into…
Read MoreCOYOTES, CULVERTS AND COUNTY ROADS
It’s dark as a coal mine as we pull off a deserted county road just south of the Red River. In the distance, maybe 20 miles off, twin thunderstorms launch volleys of lightning at each other. A duel in the night. I’m nearest the door in the Silver Lining Tours van, so I’m first out,…
Read MoreYELLOW BRICK ROADKILL?
Friday I leave for Oklahoma City where my week-long quest for the wily, or sometimes not so wily, tornado will begin. My wife is absolutely convinced I’m a dead man walking; certain I’ll get swept up like Dorothy and end up as road kill on the Yellow Brick Freeway. More likely, if conditions ripe for…
Read MoreA QUICK AND DEADLY START
The tornado season is off to a quick and deadly start this year. Devastating storms hammered parts of mid-America over the past couple of days. And although there’s a bit of a lull today, already another significant threat looms for tomorrow. The Storm Prediction Center warns that numerous fast-moving supercell storms as well as a…
Read MoreWHAT DOES AN AUTHOR DO BETWEEN BOOKS?
So what does an author do between books? Well, to be blunt, there is no such thing as “between” books. “Among” books maybe, or “all done” with books perhaps, but no “between.” At the moment, I’m still dealing with Eyewall; plotting strategy for the release of ______ (yes, sad to report, there’s still no official…
Read MoreSTAND BACK, MY HEAD MAY EXPLODE
Before I became a published novelist, authors who had broken trail ahead of me warned that I, as a writer of fiction, would probably always have three books in my head: the one most recently published, the one currently being written, and the one after that. I didn’t quite believe that, or at least thought…
Read MoreYOU KNOW IT’S GOING TO BE A BAD DAY WHEN…
You know it’s going to be a bad day when… Your wife tells you you’ve got your shirt on backwards. Well, look, it was early. I wasn’t totally awake when I got dressed. And I thought it was just a high-necked tee shirt. Ironically, however, it’s turning out to be a good day. Thanks to…
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