Saturday, September 17, 2016

Fired-Up Friday


A Book and a Drive through the Canyon

 When earlier this summer I made up my mind to finish my book Will O’ the Wisp before we went on vacation in September, I decided I needed a carrot to dangle in front of me as additional motivation. A great weakness of mine, and one that often keeps me from writing, is reading other people’s books. So as a prize for writing The End on my book, and not a minute before, I promised myself I could read a book I’d recently bought that was by a favorite author.

I became a fan of the TV show Longmire when it first aired four years ago. When I discovered the show was based on books by Wyoming author Craig Johnson, I started reading the series about the sheriff whose jurisdiction is the fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming. I started with the first book and have been reading them in order, but Mr. Johnson also writes stand-alone titles, and the book I’d bought this spring was one of them, called The Highwayman. It proved a good carrot to keep me writing and finishing my book. Then I decided to save The Highwayman as a vacation read, so I could enjoy it while I was actually in the setting.

That played out even better than I thought it would. The book takes place in and around the Wind River Canyon, and the highway running through the canyon is a scenic byway in the state. We’re always big on driving scenic routes, so this time we changed our plan to drive through Yellowstone (which turned out to be a lucky choice, since fire closed the south entrance and snow the northern pass) and took the road through the canyon, a way we’ve never gone before.

The Highwayman has a supernatural, Native American theme to it, as do many of the Longmire books, and the opportunity to read it before and after driving through the canyon certainly gave an extra edge to both the story and the drive. I can’t say I’ve ever read a book while I was in the real setting. The canyon is beautiful if a bit scary, because traffic, including semi-trucks, fly through it as though they’re on a six lane highway, and there isn’t much room to get out of the way. That ties into the Highwayman story, too, but I won’t give anything away. It’s a good book to read while the moon is high and full and the beginning of the autumn season is just a few days away. You might enjoy it, too, even if you can’t drive through the haunted Wind River Canyon.    

 
 
 
 



9 comments:

Elizabeth Meyette said...

We love watching Longmire, too, Lucy. Thanks for suggesting Craig Johnson as an author - I will be looking for his books - especially The Highwayman. You had me at supernatural lol. Your trip sounds like it was amazing!

Margo Hoornstra said...

So glad you're enjoying your vacation, Lucy. The canyon shots are beautiful. Breathtaking,

Lucy Naylor Kubash said...

Thanks for stopping by Betty and Margo. Yes, once you get hooked on Craig Johnson's books, you will be addicted!

Loralee said...

Lucy, I've heard good things about Longmire, but don't have cable service out this way. Now I think I need to read the books or maybe I'LL get The Highwayman first. Your trip out west sounds fantastic. So glad you were able to go. The photos were breathtaking.

Loralee said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Loralee said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Diane Burton said...

Lucy, great pictures and terrific post. So glad you got to go. Congrats again for finishing your book. Loved Longmire and was very disappointed when it didn't return. Like the other commenters, I'll check out Johnson's books, esp. The Highwayman. Back in 1989 (our last family vacation) we drove through Wind River Canyon. Now I'm looking forward to reading a tale about it.

Patricia Kiyono said...

What a beautiful trip! Love your photos. Thanks for sharing them, as well as your vacation read. The Highwayman sounds like my kind of book - to read. I need to check those out.

Lucy Naylor Kubash said...

Longmire the TV show is now available on Netflix, if anyone is a subscriber. I signed up for Netflix just to watch it when A&E canceled the show. What's cool about Netflix is that it releases all the episodes at once (new season starts this Friday) and all the seasons are available all the time. The first four seasons (maybe five now) are also available on DVD on Amazon. The problem is you can sit and just watch one episode after another all day!