Gail Mary was the most excited of all.
She couldn’t sit still, waiting for author Craig Johnson to begin his reading.
Craig Johnson Media Toolkit Photo
She bustled around the front of the bookstore, chatting it up with Craig’s wife, Judy, asking Judy how she liked the muffins she had made for them.
“I’ve read all of his books,” Gail Mary said. Johnson was in Bozeman on June 19, 2024, promoting his 20th novel in the Walt Longmire series, First Frost.
“I’m the Beer Bread Lady,” Gail Mary said, adding, “Everyone remembers my name because it rhymes with Hail Mary, full of grace!”
Gail Mary made sure Johnson had water and was settled in before beginning his reading. Johnson made sure to let Gail Mary know he loved her beer bread.
The Country Bookshelf hosted the free reading, and the store was full with people buying armloads of Johnson’s books. It seemed many had heard him speak before – as had I – and had attended Longmire Days -- which I have not -- in Durant (Buffalo), Wyoming. (The event in 2024 is July 18-21).
I first heard Johnson during my first or second year teaching at East High School in Cheyenne (Wyoming) in the mid-2000s. The English Department had brought him into the school to speak to 10th grade students. It was my first autographed Craig Johnson book.
This was years before Longmire became a household name, first finding fame on the A&E Network as a western drama. The six-year series now can be watched on Netflix. Johnson’s first Walt Longmire mystery, The Cold Dish, introduces readers to Walt, the sheriff in fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming, his daughter, Cady, a female deputy, Vic, and Walt’s best friend Henry Standing Bear. The television deal catapulted Johnson into a level of fame he had not had before.
Charismatic and humorous, Johnson read from his new book, shared why A&E canceled his show, hoped that Netflix would reboot for a seventh season, shared funny stories from Hollywood, and answered questions from the crowd. What follows are some Q&A from the event.
Johnson reads from First Frost.
Question: What do you tell young people who want to write?
“Always telling students, have someone read your work back to you. You will hear the mistakes.”
Question: What’s your writing process?
Johnson talked about being “a rancher first,” which includes getting up early to take care of responsibilities on the ranch and the animals at his ranch in tiny Ucross, Wyoming, population 26. Then, he has breakfast with wife Judy, who is also his first editor. He proceeds to write, eat lunch, and write more.
Question: Did you write as a kid?
“I did. Not very well. Being a writer is like being an astronaut…you don’t tell anyone. So when suddenly you are a writer people think you always were one.”
Question: What would you say to someone who wants to be a writer?
“The biggest thing about writing is writing. The only way you get better at writing is by writing. Never give up. If you can live without doing it, do it. If you can’t live without doing it, then do it. Throw yourself into it.”
He referenced Wallace Stegner’s On Teaching and Writing Fiction (2002), as a foundational book in his own writing development.
Question: Where did the title First Frost come from?
Johnson tells the story of meeting a sheriff in Texas, and they were discussing what hats to wear. The sheriff told him, you trade hat styles at the first frost of the year. The book title was born.
As of June 16, 2024, First Frost was listed at No. 13 on the New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover fiction.
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