I got a big package of mail from Harper-Collins, fan letters etc., from 2020 and 2021. How this happened I don’t know but apologies to everybody who wrote and I will try to answer all these soon. I guess it was because of Covid and also the strike at HC simply confused things. I get very thoughtful letters from people about my books and they deserve an answer and so I’ll type up a form saying that this was lost mail, only recently delivered and sorry and all that and then address the writer specifically. They’re from the UK, and just about every state in the union. News of the World touched a lot of people, and I am glad to hear from them, so I have some catching up to do.

My dear Buck is coming to the end of his life and I am going to lose him as well as Girl Dog. Am writing on the new far-future novel, have it printed out and in a binder so I can work on it laying in bed instead of sitting up at the computer. Spinal injections delayed until this coming Tuesday. I have my hopes up. Would love to ride again if only just around and around the house.

That was in 2016. He was 11. I had my checkbook in my hand and was ready to write out about any amount, and if the guy had seen the look on my face when I saw him the price would have gone up a thousand dollars.

Once we were riding in the Bandera State park and came to a difficult, almost straight up-and-down cliff, and the rest went up mounted but I was reluctant to try it on horseback, they had struggled up and the trail was a mess, so I got off him, took off his bridle, and said “Buck, go on up.” He went up straight and easy and when he got to the top turned and looked down at me, and waited for me, without a thing on his head. No bridle, nothing. I came up on foot and we went on. Lots of memories.