Bravest Thing (He Ever Did)

YouTube pulled a video of mine for violating community standards. They said the video showed minors engaged in dangerous activity. The video had my 12-year-old son (100% legally) pulling the trigger on a 6.5 Creedmore and killing a deer. My son underwent extensive hunter safety training this year, including over thirty hours of in-class lectures, practice handling and shooting various firearms, ethics training, and a written exam (which he passed with a 98%). He was, by far, the most engaged student in the entire class. I know all this because I took the course with him. The deer he got was a one-shot kill. The deer was young and was living solo. I am certain it wouldn't have survived the winter on its own. We processed all the meat ourselves, and the meat will be used to feed the family this winter. Whatever "community" had its standards violated by this is one that has no touch on reality.

  Dear friends, I’m thrilled to present to you my latest novel: My Blasted Town . Oh I love it so much! Available now. Read the hilarious adventures of young Joey Storthoaks and his cast of family, friends, cats, moose, chickens, corrupt politicians, bumbling radio personalities, muscle-headed teachers, snappy librarians, clean-shaven friends named Mustache… you get the idea. An explosion has rocked the quirky town of Saskariver! The town’s devious mayor is unwilling to rebuild. But homeschooled 11-year-old Joey Storthoaks, from a large family with an even larger brood of cats, has other plans. He’s willing to save the town…or to at least die trying. That is if he can first get over his “misfit” self. The Adventures of a Misfit series. Ages 9 and Up. Links Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/177805255X USA: https://www.amazon.com/dp/177805255X “In the style of Richard Peck! Can’t wait to read more.” - Shannon, Mom of Three

  "I live on an acreage near Saskariver, Saskatchewan, where the prairie meets the northern forest. We have a horse named Horse, a dog named Doggy, two dozen chickens named Breakfast, Dinner, Supper, and so forth, and an unknown number of cats called everything from Cat to Catsputin, from Kitty to Kitty-Cat, from Poopsy-Diaper to Terrence Pickles. Creativity is a must when you name so many cats over the years. We used to name our cats after politicians, but Mom said it was inappropriate for us to be so happy whenever a cat died." Joey Storthoaks Age 11

(danieljmillette@gmail.com) The time has come where I must ask, beg, plead, threaten…whatever…for something absolutely crucial to the release of my upcoming series: Adventures of a Misfit . That is, I need kind volunteers to join my launch team for the first book, titled My Blasted Town. The series will follow 11-year-old Joey Storthoaks and his large family (and larger brood of cats) as they live out hilarious adventures in the quirky small town of Saskariver, Saskatchewan. In My Blasted Town , a chunk of the main street blows up in a horrible construction accident. Thanks to the devious mayor, the town soon starts dying out. Enter Joey Storthoaks. He will save the day! Or he will die trying! Or he will hide away for fear of attention. For ages 9 and up, you will love this entertaining new series. Now, back to business. Amazon, with their 4000 or so new books released each day , will not take my work seriously unless reviews come in early and often. As sure as Jeff Bezos is bald...

 Hello friends, In preparation for some novels I'm releasing this late fall/early winter, I have a Substack set up. It'll be a place I can give book updates, get email lists, and hopefully have some fun. I would truly appreciate it if you could head over and sign up (it's free). Here's a link to one of the articles. Signing up is easy. Thanks in advance! A Barber Inspired My Upcoming Series? (substack.com)

What? Another trip to the mountains? Yes, the rumours are true. We did some stealth camping, so to speak, in Banff. There were many reasons for going, and not going. We had the time, the camping food, and even the leftover $$ from our shortened camping trip earlier in the summer. It doesn't matter either way. I made a decision and we went. Seeing the mountains in the fall has been something I've longed for. It did not disappoint!  A few quick notes: - Banff is still busy in shoulder season. Of course it is. So we drove to find hikes with fewer people, including going to Kootenay and Yoho. - Lake Minnewanka is stunning. - Leaving at 4am is 110% worth it. - Calgary invades Banff on weekends. I'm talking miles and miles of cars backed up, trying to enter the park. Glad we were heading the other way at that point. - I was able to get some key ideas for a novel I'm working on. I'm excited for it! Enough chatter. Please check out our videos on the trip. Here's the fir...

Just the videos. If I have time I'll do a write-up.  See all the highs and lows. The laughs and drama. The majesty and mistakes.

  Check out our epic morning of fishing. Thanks be to God! This felt good after a couple of rough years of not catching much. Tonight...we're eating fish.

One year ago I was sitting at Tim Hortons writing my adventure/survival novel: Escape to the Wild. Good memories. To celebrate this anniversary, pick up a FREE eBook copy. July 11th and 12th only. Don't forget to leave a stunning review when finished! 😁 https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BJW14M7T - Canada https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJW14M7T - USA

We all know the story, are made hopeful by the story, are sick of the story. I speak of the Bud Light advertising fiasco. In it they put images of TikTok influencer (I need to take a shower after writing that phrase)  Dylan Mulvaney , dressed as a girl, on a can of Bud Light (formerly the #1 selling U.S. beer). Further, they had Dylan in a bathtub, dressed in lady's gear, blowing bubbles, laughing like a weird narcissist, and being all-together obnoxious.  The result? It was too much. They pushed it too far. "That's all I can stands, I can't stands no more!" said the common folk, like the scrappy Yosemite Sam rising in the air, higher and higher, with righteous indignation. It turns out targeted boycotts do work. Bud Light crashed. Billions in lost revenue. Dust on the blue boxes everywhere, beer gone stale, poured down the drain where it belongs. A lesson hopefully, maybe, probably not, learned. In my opinion this greatly affected the month of June. Named after o...

The Church asks for our participation in the synod on synodality for synodal synodalness. Seeing as I'm now on summer vacation, and have hours to kill... in the words of beloved Susan of the parish council, "bless and amem." You got it. Looks about right. Dear parish community. Here are good reasons to read the IL: Sincerely, D. Millette A nice fire for S'mores. Groups of people love S'mores. I'd say this is accurate. Make sin okay Chase trads away Boomers infringe Now everything's cringe

Here is an evergreen list of a few things I’ve learned about self-publishing. By the way…there’ll be more books coming out later this fall! -         When plotting a story, really nail down the 5 milestones.       -           The M.C. must be active. Readers hate passivity. -           The M.C. should have some personal issues/struggles to deal with. -           Always have a punchable villain. Even if the villain is a concept or a horrible disaster. -           Write it all out. As quickly as possible. Your brain’s storytelling, when let loose, is far superior if allowed to go with the flow. Only edit after you are finished. The first time I started a novel I made the mistake of editing all my previous day’s work the next morning. Disaster! I essentially had to go ba...