When I was developing the story for Learnin’ The Ropes, Captain Cavedweller and I were talking about the different types of lessons someone new to ranching and rural life would have to learn. That sparked the idea of having lessons instead of chapters in the book.
Trying to think of the lessons a ranch foreman would teach someone new, who had no experience farming, ranching or cowboying, I drew on things I learned growing up. I also ordered a book called “How To Be A Cowboy.” It provided some fun details that helped my creative juices flow.
Learnin’ The Ropes has twenty lessons our hero, Ty, will learn before the end of the book.
Here are a few of the lessons:
Location, Location, Location
Dog is Man’s Best Friend
Learn the Native Tongue
Family Is Everything
Clothes Make the Man
In addition to the lessons, there is also a quote from the ranch foreman, Swede, at the beginning of each chapter that ties in to the lesson being learned. Swede, a die-hard cowboy who has been on the ranch for a long time, talks with quite a twang that can be a little challenging for Ty to decipher at times.
Swede says things like “Yer as stove-up as a three-legged mule in a mud hole. “ And “If yer gonna bring the hammer down, make sure ya hit the nail square on the head.”
The book will be available later this week, so stay tuned for more details! I’ve had a lot of fun writing it and I hope it is as fun for you to read it!
