A Little Porch Swing Blues

The ebook is on sale for 99 cents to the end of this month (that's today, so get your butt over to Amazon). The Large Print paperback is a Christmas favorite as a gift to seniors who grew up on a farm or ranch. Gentle tales for gentle souls.


Ebook: 99 cents through November 30th ($2.99 after the sale)
Photo Illustrated Ebook: Also 99 cents through November 30th ($2.99 after the sale)

Audiobook Addon: $1.99 always when you buy the ebook at any price.

Large Print (very popular with seniors) Paperback: $8.99
* I'm also a vendor (Texas Boy Publications) selling this book for $4.99 + $3.99 S/H and you get a signed copy)
Regular Size Print trade paperback: $6.99 

A Decent Christmas Present

I'm still selling "Tales of a Texas Boy" in Kindle ebook format for 99 cents until the end of this month. That's a decent Christmas present because the giftee can look up the book and by Christmas time, it will be priced at $2.99. See, you appear to be more generous than you actually are.

You can get even BIGGER Kristmas Karma by also getting your giftee the accompanying audio book. If you buy the ebook, the audio book is only $1.99. It says $6.95 on Audible, so you're still viewed as a generous soul.

Now, if you really want to wow your giftee, buy either the Large Print paperback or the trade-size paperback. If you get those, you can actually wrap it up in pretty paper and add a stick-on bow.

So, what does all this set you back? Depends on your choices. Here they are for your later than Black Friday perusal. Hey, how about Cyber Monday?

Ebook: 99 cents through November 30th ($2.99 after the sale)

Photo Illustrated Ebook: Also 99 cents through November 30th ($2.99 after the sale)

Audiobook Addon: $1.99 always when you buy the ebook at any price.

Large Print (very popular with seniors) Paperback: $8.99
* I'm also a vendor (Texas Boy Publications) selling this book for $4.99 + $3.99 S/H and you get a signed copy)

Regular Size Print trade paperback: $6.99 (might take a day or two for this discounted price to appear)

Happy Thanksgiving!

My favorite Thanksgiving Greeting song. Have a nice day!

Audio Books $1.99 If You Own the Ebook

If you ever downloaded a free copy or even paid for the ebook of any of the books listed below, you can go back into Amazon and get the audio version for only $1.99. The prices you see here are the retail prices set by Amazon if you don't own the ebook. Of course, the books are also available at Audible.com if you are an Audible member.

Cheap Way to Give a Gift to Crazy Aunt Mabel

Black Friday comes a week early on my blog. AND my offer is #FREE! Take that you merciless retail stores! Ha!

I have gifted my books all over creation and further. Some people just didn't pick up their gifted book. I guess they didn't know they could just take the credit and buy something else. Since those credits are now in my account (that'll teach the ingrates!), I can only give them away in the form of a gift audio book.

They'll just sit there all shivering and lonely like puppies chained up in the snow UNLESS you want me to use one to buy you a special book. That's where Aunt Mabel comes in. She always knits you a scarf or hotpad, but you really have no idea what to give her for the Holiday Gifting Season. An audio book of "Tales of a Texas Boy" or "Missing, Assumed Dead" might tickle her fancy.

Pick an audio book you'd like to try out from the pix below. You can also click the link to go to audible.com to read the description of each book.

Let me know which one you'd like and give me your email address so I can send it to you. This offer ends when I run out of credits at audible.com. Leave a comment expressing your interest (on blogger, G+ or Facebook) in a free audio book. Tell me some way to contact you (PM or an email address). I'm sure I have enough credits to accommodate everybody.

Listen to samples of all my audio books on audible.com

Still a Bargain at 99¢

The golden days of free ebook copies of TALES OF A TEXAS BOY are no longer with us. You can, however, still get a copy from Amazon for 99¢ through November 30th. On December 1st, I'm resetting the price to the usual $2.99.

Remember, if you buy the ebook at Amazon, you can get the audiobook for only $1.99 more. Still less than the usual $2.99. Consider that to be my 2¢ worth.

Here is some info to remind you of what Texas Boy is all about.

How do you handle a crazy jackass? Eddie knows. If you ask Eddie, he'll tell you pigs can fly and show you where to find real mammoth bones. Take his word for it when he tells you always to bet on the bear. These are things he learned while dreaming of becoming a cowboy in West Texas during the Depression. Through Eddie, the hero of "Tales of a Texas Boy," we find that growing up is less about maturity and more about roping your dreams. Hold on tight. It's a bumpy ride. A wonderful read for anyone who enjoys books like "Little House on the Prairie" or "Tom Sawyer." A great bit of nostalgia for seniors, too.

FINAL #FREE DAY!

FINAL FREE DAY!
NOVEMBER 14th

This ebook is #FREE on Amazon. Also #FREE, the same text but with the old-time photos used in the print version. I got a few of them from the family albums, but I selected others from the archives of Texas University to illustrate the story themes. The Large Print paperback, very popular for those with aging eyes, is only $8.99.

Tales of a Texas Boy is a series of related short stories loosely based on my father's stories about his boyhood in West Texas during the Depression.

It all started with a cattle drive. Yeah, right, pop. Nobody had cattle drives in the 1930's. Well, yeah, they did. My father, Eddie in the stories, got to ride herd when he was only eleven years old. That was sure the highlight of that year.

#FREE ONLY 2 MORE DAYS

FINAL TWO DAYS!
FREE NOVEMBER 13th-14th

This ebook is #FREE on Amazon. Also #FREE, the same text but with the old-time photos used in the print version. I got a few of them from the family albums, but I selected others from the archives of Texas University to illustrate the story themes. The Large Print paperback, very popular for those with aging eyes, is only $8.99.

Tales of a Texas Boy is a series of related short stories loosely based on my father's stories about his boyhood in West Texas during the Depression.

It all started with a cattle drive. Yeah, right, pop. Nobody had cattle drives in the 1930's. Well, yeah, they did. My father, Eddie in the stories, got to ride herd when he was only eleven years old. That was sure the highlight of that year.

WOW - ANOTHER DAY #FREE

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY!
FREE NOVEMBER 12th-14th

This ebook is #FREE on Amazon. Also #FREE, the same text but with the old-time photos used in the print version. I got a few of them from the family albums, but I selected others from the archives of Texas University to illustrate the story themes. The Large Print paperback, very popular for those with aging eyes, is only $8.99.

Tales of a Texas Boy is a series of related short stories loosely based on my father's stories about his boyhood in West Texas during the Depression.

It all started with a cattle drive. Yeah, right, pop. Nobody had cattle drives in the 1930's. Well, yeah, they did. My father, Eddie in the stories, got to ride herd when he was only eleven years old. That was sure the highlight of that year.

#FREE CONTINUES

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY!
FREE NOVEMBER 11th-14th

This ebook is #FREE on Amazon. Also #FREE, the same text but with the old-time photos used in the print version. I got a few of them from the family albums, but I selected others from the archives of Texas University to illustrate the story themes. The Large Print paperback, very popular for those with aging eyes, is only $8.99.

Tales of a Texas Boy is a series of related short stories loosely based on my father's stories about his boyhood in West Texas during the Depression.

It all started with a cattle drive. Yeah, right, pop. Nobody had cattle drives in the 1930's. Well, yeah, they did. My father, Eddie in the stories, got to ride herd when he was only eleven years old. That was sure the highlight of that year.

Vet in the Family? Here's a Nice Gift for Him or Her

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY!
FREE NOVEMBER 10th-14th

This ebook is #FREE on Amazon. Also #FREE, the same text but with the old-time photos used in the print version. I got a few of them from the family albums, but I selected others from the archives of Texas University to illustrate the story themes. The Large Print paperback, very popular for those with aging eyes, is only $8.99.

Tales of a Texas Boy is a series of related short stories loosely based on my father's stories about his boyhood in West Texas during the Depression.

It all started with a cattle drive. Yeah, right, pop. Nobody had cattle drives in the 1930's. Well, yeah, they did. My father, Eddie in the stories, got to ride herd when he was only eleven years old. That was sure the highlight of that year.

His father, Louis (my grandfather), had been a veterinarian with Blackjack Pershing's American Expeditionary Forces. That's what they called the army during WWI. In the service, he became friends with an interesting old guy who happened to have a bear. When Dad Boles brought Sophie to the annual fair, Eddie loved to sit by the campfire listening to some dandy whoppers.

Eddie had a pretty busy life for a boy who lived miles away from the nearest neighbors. He managed to find plenty of trouble to get into, but had a big heart to soften his bad boy image. No matter that he loved to aggravate his sister, he took care of her when she and her pony were almost swept away by a flood.

The boy cared about the rattlesnakes, the jackrabbits, the jack asses, even old Cage McNatt's prize sow. He went fishing with a special borrowed float, then proceeded to lose it, find it, then give it away.

These are simple tales without any big events, unless you consider the despair of the Great Depression hanging over everybody's lives.

This is really my Dad.

Yes, I made up some aspects of the stories, and I even made up a few completely, but most of the book is as true as a Texas Tall Tale can be.

If these kind of stories appeal to your father, your mother, uncle, aunt, or even yourself, I think you'll be glad to read my father's stories. Since he died last August, I'm proud and relieved to have gotten around to writing the stories, having several published separately, then putting all of them together in one book. I decided to feature Large Print since my father's eyesight was failing.

Excerpt - Pa's Story

World War I took many young men away from their homes and sent them off to foreign shores. Eddie's Pa was one of those young men. He has his own tale to tell.

In 1916, I was still a young buck and not yet married, so I signed up with Black Jack Pershing to go after Pancho Villa. Ol' Pancho and his banditos came into US territory and killed a bunch of folks in Columbus, New Mexico.

I was real good with horses, so soon I was the veterinarian. This was just as well, as I didn't take well to using a gun. I'd never studied vetting in school, but I'd grown up on a farm in Nebraska and knew just about all there was to know about horses and mules. We chased Pancho and his gang just about all over Mexico, but never did catch up with him. A couple years later, I was still in the service, so I ended up goin' to France with Black Jack when he got to be a General. I could have decided not to go as I'd done my time, but I knew Black Jack could put me to good use.

We were on the troop ship for weeks. Everybody was seasick for the first few days. The horses seemed to fare fine in that regard, but I was worried we couldn't exercise them enough. We brought them up from the hold, a few at a time, and let them stretch their legs. We'd lead them in a quick walk around the deck. With the metal decks, we didn't want them to move very fast for fear they'd slip and fall.

I'd hate to have to put down a horse with a broken leg, so we took it real easy. As a result, the horses were not in good fightin' shape by the time we landed in France.

It took some time, but me and Joe, who got assigned to be my assistant, got them in shape again. Mostly the horses were used to pack gear, but a few officers still rode them. Black Jack Pershing liked to ride on occasion, as did Captain Patton. I thought we should only have mules, since they make better pack animals than horses, but there were never enough mules to go around.

We weren't in too many battles directly as we were the supply line for the army, but in 1918 it turned pretty bad when we went into the Argonne Forest. They called this an 'offensive.' I can see why as it offended me a lot. The fighting went on for nearly two months and only ended in November when the big guys signed the Treaty at Versailles.

In that short two months, it was hell on earth. Thousands of men died. One whole division, the 77th, was cut off for near a week and held out surrounded by the German forces. It was some battle, I can tell you. Almost all day long, I could hear the shells bursting and the sharp reports of rifle fire. And I heard the screams of dying men and horses.

The worst part for me was the horses being swept up in the middle of the battle. It broke my heart to go out on the fields after the fighting passed by and after the dead and wounded men were collected. Sometimes the ground was so soaked with blood that my boots were covered before I got back. A horse with an artery torn open bleeds gallons of blood; men only a few pints. It angered me when I thought how much the horses gave. They didn't even have a say in goin' to war. Men, at least, had a choice.

I carried a sidearm and had to shoot more horses than I can count. Those we could save, we'd bring back to the line and see if we could treat their wounds. It was a second heartbreak when they wouldn't heal proper and we'd take them out behind the tents to put them down. We dug a deep trench to bury them for health reasons and we kept digging every day to hold them all.

While we treated the horses, close by we could see the wounded men being brought back from the battlefield. Legs and arms were already gone or had to be cut off by the doctors right there in the field. From the history I'd read about the Civil War, this was just about as bad. If the choice was amputate or die, then they had to do what was necessary. We dug another trench to hold the arms and legs the doctors cut off; the dead soldiers we wrapped in oilcloth to be sent back behind the lines, where we hoped to send their bodies back home to their families.

All told I spent twenty months in France. It was the worst part of my life and I hoped and prayed we'd never see another war like this again.

* * *

Pa's story made me sad in a way, though I was proud of him for what he did in the war. It seemed to me people should learn to get along. I never was sure why Pa had to go to France. Later in my own life, I'd learn what it was to go to war. I was lucky to not go overseas, but somethin' in me wished I had.

Happy Trails for Vets Day

Great Book for Dad or Grandpa - Surprise them with a Veterans' Day Gift of Old-Time Humor

Amazon Kindle Ebook - $0.99
Photo Illustrated Ebook - $0.99
Large Print Paperback $8.99 at Amazon and other distributors
Audio Book only $6.95

Little Eddie tells some almost true Tall Tales set in West Texas of the 1930s. Guess what's true and what Eddie fudged on. Was it about the bear? Cage McNatt's prize sow? The skunk in the cornpatch? Guaranteed for a chuckle and maybe a tear here and there.

Book Trailer #1 = Tales of a Texas Boy

Gift for WW I and II Veterans

Tales of a Texas Boy are stories my father told me about his life in West Texas as a child. When WWII started, my father signed up, of course. His father (my grandpa) served in the military as a veternarian. This is his story.

Excerpt - Pa's Story

World War I took many young men away from their homes and sent them off to foreign shores. Eddie's Pa was one of those young men. He has his own tale to tell.

In 1916, I was still a young buck and not yet married, so I signed up with Black Jack Pershing to go after Pancho Villa. Ol' Pancho and his banditos came into US territory and killed a bunch of folks in Columbus, New Mexico.

I was real good with horses, so soon I was the veterinarian. This was just as well, as I didn't take well to using a gun. I'd never studied vetting in school, but I'd grown up on a farm in Nebraska and knew just about all there was to know about horses and mules. We chased Pancho and his gang just about all over Mexico, but never did catch up with him. A couple years later, I was still in the service, so I ended up goin' to France with Black Jack when he got to be a General. I could have decided not to go as I'd done my time, but I knew Black Jack could put me to good use.

We were on the troop ship for weeks. Everybody was seasick for the first few days. The horses seemed to fare fine in that regard, but I was worried we couldn't exercise them enough. We brought them up from the hold, a few at a time, and let them stretch their legs. We'd lead them in a quick walk around the deck. With the metal decks, we didn't want them to move very fast for fear they'd slip and fall.

I'd hate to have to put down a horse with a broken leg, so we took it real easy. As a result, the horses were not in good fightin' shape by the time we landed in France.

It took some time, but me and Joe, who got assigned to be my assistant, got them in shape again. Mostly the horses were used to pack gear, but a few officers still rode them. Black Jack Pershing liked to ride on occasion, as did Captain Patton. I thought we should only have mules, since they make better pack animals than horses, but there were never enough mules to go around.

We weren't in too many battles directly as we were the supply line for the army, but in 1918 it turned pretty bad when we went into the Argonne Forest. They called this an 'offensive.' I can see why as it offended me a lot. The fighting went on for nearly two months and only ended in November when the big guys signed the Treaty at Versailles.

In that short two months, it was hell on earth. Thousands of men died. One whole division, the 77th, was cut off for near a week and held out surrounded by the German forces. It was some battle, I can tell you. Almost all day long, I could hear the shells bursting and the sharp reports of rifle fire. And I heard the screams of dying men and horses.

The worst part for me was the horses being swept up in the middle of the battle. It broke my heart to go out on the fields after the fighting passed by and after the dead and wounded men were collected. Sometimes the ground was so soaked with blood that my boots were covered before I got back. A horse with an artery torn open bleeds gallons of blood; men only a few pints. It angered me when I thought how much the horses gave. They didn't even have a say in goin' to war. Men, at least, had a choice.

I carried a sidearm and had to shoot more horses than I can count. Those we could save, we'd bring back to the line and see if we could treat their wounds. It was a second heartbreak when they wouldn't heal proper and we'd take them out behind the tents to put them down. We dug a deep trench to bury them for health reasons and we kept digging every day to hold them all.

While we treated the horses, close by we could see the wounded men being brought back from the battlefield. Legs and arms were already gone or had to be cut off by the doctors right there in the field. From the history I'd read about the Civil War, this was just about as bad. If the choice was amputate or die, then they had to do what was necessary. We dug another trench to hold the arms and legs the doctors cut off; the dead soldiers we wrapped in oilcloth to be sent back behind the lines, where we hoped to send their bodies back home to their families.

All told I spent twenty months in France. It was the worst part of my life and I hoped and prayed we'd never see another war like this again.

* * *

Pa's story made me sad in a way, though I was proud of him for what he did in the war. It seemed to me people should learn to get along. I never was sure why Pa had to go to France. Later in my own life, I'd learn what it was to go to war. I was lucky to not go overseas, but somethin' in me wished I had.

* * *

Amazon Kindle Ebook - Reduced to $0.99
Photo-Illustrated Ebook - Reduced to $0.99
Large Print Paperback $8.99 at Amazon (Buy this book and get the ebook free)

Audio Book only $6.95 (only $1.99 if you buy the ebook at Amazon)

Little Eddie tells some almost true Tall Tales set in West Texas of the 1930s. Guess what's true and what Eddie fudged on. Was it about the bear? Cage McNatt's prize sow? The skunk in the cornpatch? Guaranteed for a chuckle and maybe a tear here and there.

November is for Veterans

Vets' Day Special (all of November)

Buy the Ebook, Get the Audiobook Free* 
Buy the Photo-Illustrated Ebook, Get the Audiobook Free*
Buy the Print Book, Get the Audiobook Free*

*Purchase the ebook or print book from Amazon, send proof of purchase to mgdasef@gmail.com, Or, you can PM at Facebook or G+. I will send a gift of the book through audible.com.

IF YOU'RE A VET OR KNOW ONE YOU WANT TO GIFT WITH AN EBOOK, CONTACT ME AT MY EMAIL ADDRESS (mgdasef@gmail.com) TO GET A FREE AUDIO BOOK VIA AUDIBLE.COM

TALES OF A TEXAS BOY
How do you handle a crazy jackass? Eddie knows. If you ask Eddie, he'll tell you pigs can fly and show you where to find real mammoth bones. Take his word for it when he tells you always to bet on the bear. Twenty-one nostalgic stories based on the real life Eddie's adventures growing up in West Texas during the Great Depression. But the stories are not depressing at all! If you like animals and stories of farm and ranch life, this is a perfect book for you.

Watch the Book Trailer on YouTube.

Listen to the excerpt at SoundCloud.