From his home on the Texas Panhandle, John R. Erickson, rancher and author of the bestselling Hank the Cowdog series, saw firsthand the raw power of two megafires that swept across the high plains in 2006 and 2017. "These were landmark events that are etched onto the memory of an entire generation and will be passed down to the next. They made the old-time methods of fighting fire with shovels, wet gunny sacks, and ranch spray rigs a pathetic joke." Yet Bad Smoke, Good Smoke, while relating a tale of gut-wrenching destruction, also provides a more nuanced view of what is often a natural event, giving the two-sided story of our relationship with fire. Not just a first-hand account, Bad Smoke, Good Smoke also synthesizes and explains the latest research in range management, climate, and fire. Having experienced the bad smoke, Erickson tries to understand a rancher's relationship to good smoke and to reconcile the symbiotic relationship that a rancher has with fire. Evocatively chronicled, Erickson tells what it is like trying to stop the unstoppable: Bad Smoke, Good Smoke gives voice to the particular pains that ranchers must face in our era of climate change and ever more powerful natural disasters.

A Wild and Windy Tale When an enemy spy (in a chicken suit ) sneaks on the ranch, it's going to be a wild day for Hank. Will Hank be able to protect the ranch and some newfound valuables of his? But Hank's biggest challenge will be whether he (and Drover) can lead a rescue to save Slim from his ride on a Runaway Windmill? Hear Hank and Drover sing the catchy "A Dog Should Smell Like a Dog" song.

To Cheat or Not To Cheat That is just one of the questions to be answered on the ranch! While interrogating J.T. Cluck, will Hank be able to figure out what scary creatures are planning an attack on the ranch? After Hank lures Pete the Barncat into making a foolish bet for scraps, would Pete try to cheat the Head of Ranch Security? Will Truth and Justice (Hank) win in the end? Hear Hank sing the hilarious song, "Don't Get Your News From a Chicken."

Riley McDaniels is growing up. He can even almost outlast Spud, the tough-as-nails ranch hand, at sawing lumber. But, is he ready to defend the ranch against the possible return of escaped jailbirds, Joe McGreggor and his gang?

After Riley and Grampy fight their way home through a blizzard, they are greeted with the ominous news that Sparrow's notorious former sheriff, Joe McGreggor, is back on the loose! Not only that, there's been a bank robbery in Sparrow. When suspicious tire tracks are found on the McDaniels' ranch, the clues begin to add up. With the help of their friend Aaron Kaplan, the McDaniels family sets out to defend their ranch against the desperate trespassers. But, it soon becomes clear that the escaped McGreggor is a bigger danger than anyone imagined!

Will Riley be able to protect his ranch? Find out in this exciting third book in the Riley McDaniels series.

In his book, Story Craft, John R. Erickson says that one of the biggest challenges he faced as a young author was figuring out, "What is a story, and what is it supposed to do?"

Those were simple questions, he says, but they didn't have simple answers. We could say that he found his answers when he wrote and self-published the first Hank the Cowdog book in 1983. The series now stands at 54 books with over 7.5 million copies sold.

For 26 years, Erickson was content to leave it there.

But after receiving hundreds of letters from teachers and parents, he began to realize that his actual business was not books, but "spiritual nourishment." Good stories nourish the human spirit, and it doesn't happen by accident.

Part 1 of the book describes Erickson's experiences as an apprentice writer and publisher. In Part 2, he attempts to defiine what a story should be and how it relates to culture and religious faith. And in Part 3, he gives helpful, practical advice to aspiring writers.