A Real American Cowboy

The Horse Lover: A Cowboy’s Quest to Save the Wild Mustangs. I first heard of Alan’s book when I got a request from his agent and co-author Lynn Wiese Sneyd to be on my podcast, Ron’s Amazing Stories. I liked the concept so I immediately went to Amazon and downloaded the sample. I was hooked! I knew that I had to finish the book and then book him on the show. As for the interview Alan turned out to be just what he presents in his story. He is a full-fledged American Cowboy who is a born story teller.

The book is a work of art. There is no better way to describe it. The depiction of the ranch, the horses and people Alan works with is so clear, that you feel like you are standing right there. The laid back writing style feels more like sitting around the ole’ campfire than reading about it. You can almost hear Alan ride up on Clyde, dismount and ask for beans and coffee (not part of the story by the way).

The book covers Alan’s struggles, joys, heartaches and dreams of creating home for the homeless. The displaced are a herd of 1500 wild mustangs left to rot due to overpopulation. The thought that kept going through my mind as I read this book was the love and patience that it took to win over these wild creatures and show them not all of humankind is evil. Alan takes you into his world. One that is different, new and exciting with each turning of the page.

Who would I recommend this book to? Everyone! It has passion, it has excitement, it has humor and best of all it gives you a view into the heart of a true American Cowboy.

Spotlight: Anthony James

Ron’s Amazing Stories had the pleasure of having Actor, Author and Artist Anthony James on the show. (RAS #155 – Acting My Face). I have to say that I had a wonderful time talking with Anthony and enjoyed his book. He was easy going, a thoughtful man with amazing stories to tell. I would have him back on the program in heart beat. My thanks to Anthony for coming on to the show.

My Amazon Review of his book:

I first heard of Anthony’s book when he agreed to come on to my podcast. I am excited to have the retired actor on my show and am looking forward to discussing his career. I hope to post an update to this review after the show has aired.
I of course knew who he was: A villain, slime ball and murderer. After all, his face says it all. I grew up watching television shows like Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Police Story, Hawaii 5-0 and many others. He was also in my all-time favorite western Unforgiven with Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman. He sent me a copy of his book to read and I decided to get right to it. That turned out to be a great choice and it has me even more excited about the pending visit to my show. I knew when I read the opening paragraph that I was in for something different than your standard fare memoir. Several hours later I was finally able to stop reading and get food and water.
This book covers the life of a mother and a shy Greek boy who are tossed away by his father’s family. You will view the life of the amazing woman that molded Anthony, his mother. Their two stories intertwine throughout the book sharing their growth, both the highs and lows and their need for each other. You will experience his evolution as not just an actor, but artist, caregiver and friend. Anthony presents the famous as real people doing real things. This is not a tell all book, but at times you feel you are being let into the private sanctuary of Anthony’s thoughts. In one of my favorite scenes from the book Anthony is deposited at a small train depot in the south. His description of the area and encounter with a large St. Bernard is a wonderful testament to his artistic abilities.
Warning this book contains humor. Throughout the story Anthony stops and takes a moment to let you breathe and enjoy some of the outtakes of the life of an actor. The humorous side or misfortunes are told with complete access. Some of which still make me laugh while I write this. I will leave you to discover these gems on your own, but I will say the some of the best Directors never say, “Cut”. What would you do?
Who would I recommend this book to? Everyone! It has passion, it has excitement, it has humor and best of all it gives you a view into the heart of a true artist.

Anthony’s IMDB bio:

Character actor Anthony James was born on July 22nd, 1942 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Tall and lanky, with a rough, pockmarked face, a lean, stringy build, greasy dark hair and an extremely edgy’n’intense screen presence, James was often cast in Westerns as really scary, sleazy and disgusting villains. James was especially memorable as the hateful racist diner counterman in the outstanding In the Heat of the Night (1967). Other noteworthy parts include a slimy gay hitchhiker in the cult classic Vanishing Point (1971), a wimpy priest in The Culpepper Cattle Co. (1972), a scuzzy outlaw in High Plains Drifter (1973), a deranged psycho in The Teacher (1974), a creepy chauffeur in the spooky haunted house horror chiller Burnt Offerings (1976), and the vicious leader of a gang of ferocious barbarians in the strictly so-so science fiction outing Ravagers (1979). James was hilarious in a rare change-of-pace good guy role as a heroic cannibal (!) in the amusing tongue-in-cheek post-nuke sci-fi romp World Gone Wild (1987). He was likewise funny parodying his evil persona in The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991). Among the many TV shows James did guest spots on are Married with Children (1987), Beauty and the Beast (1987), Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), Simon & Simon (1981), The A-Team (1983), Riptide (1984), The Fall Guy (1981), Hunter (1984), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979), Quincy M.E. (1976), Charlie’s Angels (1976), Vega$ (1978), Starsky and Hutch (1975), S.W.A.T. (1975), Ironside (1967), Hawaii Five-O (1968), Bonanza (1959), Gunsmoke (1955) and The Big Valley (1965). His last film appearance to date was as the mean owner of a seedy bordello in Clint Eastwood’s acclaimed Western Unforgiven (1992). After voluntarily quitting acting in the early 90s, Anthony James has since pursued a successful career as an artist. His paintings have been exhibited in galleries in such major cities as New York, Boston and Miami.

Review: Hard Justice

The Indian Horse Let me start out by saying that I had the pleasure of having Mike on my podcast before the release of the book Hard Justice. To hear him talk of the work before I had read it was a treat. It had me set up for something special. I have read his work before with GOTU and was completely absorbed in the world of Robin Marlette. Would this western novel have the same effect?

Yes and then some….

First Mike’s style of writing makes reading the story a pleasure. He handles action like a true master. You feel every bullet wiz by and every punch thrown. Also, Mike describes the scenes without a lot of boring dialogue or description. This is one of my gripes with some authors who feel the need to take pages and pages to tell you what they saw. The action gets lost and the reader gets bored. Mike ties the two together and lets you use your imagination to fill in the blanks.

Hard Justice is what the title suggests. It is a no punches pulled view of what justice was like in the early years of the west. It is not a children’s book and you won’t find your TV view of life in the west. It is clear to me that Mike did his research to present a hard hitting, hard talking and true representation of man’s struggle to tame the untamable. I was particularly impressed with how the American Indian was portrayed. In this case simply known as the clan.

I highly recommend this book. The story is the fantastic tale of Jasper Lee’s struggle to get revenge for his murdered pa, two brothers and a young girl. It may start out a revenge seeking tale, but in the end Jasper must choose justice over anger. The result is a truly emotional struggle for Jasper, his family and newly found friends.

RAS Spotlight – Mike McNeff

Mike McNeff

The Indian Horse This spotlight focuses on the interview with Mike McNeff for episode 142 of Ron’s Amazing Stories. Mike is a retired cop and lawyer who always wanted to write novels. So, when he retired that’s just what he did. His first first two novels drew from his law enforcement experiences which included working with a SWAT squad and training with Special Forces. He has also worked as a state trooper, a deputy sheriff and a city police officer. He has been a prosecutor, police legal advisor, defense lawyer and even a civil trial lawyer. Each of these experiences taught him many lessons about life. Mike is married, has four great children and seven wonderful grandchildren. In addition to his writing Mike does volunteer work and spends time teaching folks about firearms and shooting. One thing is for sure Mike spends as much time as he can enjoying the outdoors of the great Northwest. His latest book Hard Justice is the topic of his visit the show.

The Broken Computer Fund

There have been three donations to the broken computer replacement fund which brings the total up to $42.00. My thanks to Mary, Kyle and Jennifer for your gifts. I don’t like having to ask for help, but this just came at a bad time. If you can donate great, you will find a donate button on the main website. Thank-you!

-Ron