I forgot to mention this is in the BTS, but when Mack tells the story of his boss's challenge with the horse, that comes from Jeremiah 12:5 "If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses?"

This verse is a consistent reminder to me not to expect to do what is hard, if I can't/won't do what's easy.  Or put another way, why would someone trust me with a lot if I haven't been trustworthy with a little (Luke 16:10).

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So, in my mind, San Lucas is a cross between the town in Pete's Dragon and Hannibal Missouri.  Neither of them remotely close to California.  Oh well.

It is the kind of town, I would like to visit someday.  There's just something about a harbor filled with masts and sails.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy your stay at The San Lucas Hotel (a far cry better than the Hays House Inn), and please give my regards to Thomas.

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I'm told that drama, in its most basic form, is just two people talking.  Somehow that's interesting and can move a story along.  How does that work?

In a phrase: Dramatic Action. 

Dramatic action is the result of two goals in conflict with each other.  And two people are enough (sometimes one person is enough) to have enough conflict to drive a scene or story forward.

So, not much happens on the surface of this chapter, but a whole lot of character development goes on and adds more tension in Monterey's adventure.

Check it out.  I'd love to know your thoughts.

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Have you ever forgotten to pack something when you go on a long trip?  I wish I didn't have stories about this, but traveling is its own adventure :)

So, after you've discovered what you've lost, what do you do?  You have to live by your wits for a while until you can scramble and make up for lost resources.

Hopefully, you've never been waylaid by desert bandits, but if you have, I hope you found a cave with helpful weapons and cash!

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The adventure has begun!

I feel like I've been writing that for a while now...

A typical story's first quarter is just getting the thing off the launch pad, but we are now squarely past that.  Of course, this is an adventure story, so things can't go too smoothly for our hero! :)

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Give yourself a pat on the back, we have made it to the end of act one!  

Stick around to the end of the chapter to hear some of the BTS for this particular chapter.  It involves accents, rough recordings, and childhood friends.

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I'm told that stories should be broken up 25% Beginning, 50% Middle, and 25% Ending.  I'll be honest, if I were to do it over again, I might get Monterey Jack out of town and onto his adventure JUST a little sooner, but we're very close :)

And in this chapter we find just the spark to force Monterey out of town and onto his adventure.  Hope you enjoy!

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The Hays House (the setting where Monterey Jack Danvers works in Goodin Gulch) is based on a real place I frequented while growing up in Kansas.

In Council Grove, a rustic community nestled in the Kansas Flint Hills, has a historic restaurant called The Hays House (https://www.hayshouse.com/).  If you are ever in the area, you should totally give it a try.  There all kinds of pioneer history in Council Grove, and the food at the Hays House is excellent.  

My favorite memory of the place is getting my first piece of Grasshopper Pie, which is basically a mint-chocolate cold pie.  I had a hard time ordering it as a child because I wasn't sure it didn't have real grasshoppers in it!  Luckily, it didn't.  :)

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I'm not sure what it is about a pretty young that makes young men do some of the things they do, but our hero Monterey Jack Danvers is not immune.  

In this chapter, you meet Lucy Finch, her mother, Gladys, and the start of Monterey getting hooked into Mack Sutherland's plans.

I hope you enjoy it.

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Welcome to the introduction of one of my favorite characters Mack Sutherland.  After the chapter, find out where I came from and other behind-the-scenes Easter eggs.

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