Over the years, many of my heroes have fallen from the pedestals on which I put them.  But some have withstood the test of time.

The image above is of one of my childhood heroes. I knew him then as “Cheyenne” of the television series of that name. He was the model of a manly man to me. My children gave this autographed photo of Clint Walker in that role. It is one of the favorite gifts I’ve ever received.

As I grew older I heard a story about the actor Clint Walker coming to the rescue of an elderly lady who had a flat tire on the side of a busy road. To help her would mean arriving late for what he thought might be the most important interview of his career. He helped her anyway. That’s a hero in my book. The story has a happy ending. The woman he helped turned out to be the secretary of the man he later met for the interview. He got the role.

That story so impressed me that one of the stories in my latest book, Desperate Journeys, was inspired by what Clint Walker did that day (though my version is a complete work of fiction.)

Desperate Journeys features suspenseful, action-packed crime stories. It’s full of tales of ordinary people who face daunting challenges and find the courage and strength to do extraordinary things. Versions of these stories started as micro fiction I’ve written and published over the years, but they’ve been greatly enhanced and expanded into much deeper and richer tales.

Desperate Journeys is scheduled for release in about three weeks.

With Love,

Russ