Third Quarter Newsletter 2014

Howdy, Y'all!
I can't believe once again I am late getting out my newsletter! it is already past the end of the third quarter!!
This year is moving so fast! :-)

I'd like to begin this newsletter by announcing some more big news--I'm now an official author! My historical fiction novel, Girls & Gunsmoke, has been published and is ready to be read by YOU!
Three Girls. Two Men. One Plan. The floating ashes caught in the wind and sifted into the air high above them as the three girls stared at the ruins of their wagon train. Everybody, everything, was ruined. Dead. Majesty’s eyes filled with rage, Dusty’s with sorrow, and Faith’s with tears. “They will pay,” Majesty swore softly. “Oh, will they pay.”

When the girls’ three families join a wagon train headed west, the promised hardships are merely things of the future. Until–their beloved wagon train is massacred only a few short weeks into their trip, leaving only five survivors. This adventure follows the three surviving girls, Dusty Phoenix, Faith DiFore and Majesty Mason, and two of their elder brothers, on a quest leaving Dusty and Faith desperately trying to hold vengeance-bound Majesty back. With God’s gentle hand of protection, can the three girls learn the freedom forgiveness brings, or will Majesty’s thirst for revenge drag them all to the bottom of a cliff?

For more information regarding how to get your copy, visit www.GirlsAndGunsmoke.com or www.MikkiDaniel.com/merchandise!

Ok, now that I've gotten that out, I can back up a little and focus on the things that have happened since I left off last. :-)


JULY...
was a beautifully restful month, all things considering.
The week of Independence Day my family hosted a lot of company, including photographer "Cash-Shot-In-Texas", a College Station, Texas local, who drove up with his wife, Cathy, for a photoshoot. My boyfriend even drove up from Florida to spend the week with us. We had a lot of fun celebrating that weekend and we spent several hours having fun with a '76 Cobra Convertible. :-) (Photo by Shot-In-Texas)

On the 11th, (a Friday night), Texas Wildfire (fiddler Hailey Sandoz and bass player Nathan Phelps) performed along with "Miss Devon and the Outlaw and Friends" at the Allen, Texas Library. The theater is amazing and the company was awesome! :) A big thank you to all of you who came out to support us--the full house made our hearts smile!

On that following Monday my broken ankle was casted (do you remember from my last newsletter?) and I was proud to announce that I chose the "color" camouflage. :-) If I had to have something attached to my body like that, I figured I'd better like it lol ! I had to wear that cast for 4 weeks! It pretty much changed my plans of spending the summer apprenticing with horse trainer Chad Brinlee of Bombproof Horsemanship.

The day after I was in the cast, Tuesday, we drove to Gainsville, Texas, for Dave Alexander's Big Texas Swing School. Having the honor and opportunity to learn the art of swing from such incredible musicians such as Dave, Dick Gimble (Johnny Gimble's son), Mark Gheen, Jon Stutler, Brook Wallace, Nathan Phelps, and Teresa Anderson was truly a fascinating, educational experience! We closed the School out on Saturday afternoon with a final concert by the all students. There were solo performances by most of the students, as well as group performances. I debuted my "big band voice" (lol) performing "On The Street Where You Live" by Frederick Loewe....you might have heard the song in the movie 'My Fair Lady'.

I had a week to catch up on some school work before the 27th, when Texas Wildfire hosted the Cowtown Opry Show in Ft. Worth, TX. We had fun, met some new fans, and shared the show with several CTO regulars and a poet performer, David Hansford.

August began by spending some time with Hailey's family at a lakehouse they rented for a week. Yes, even with my cast I was able to go boating and tubing and swimming....with big thanks to my blue, rubber cast cover! Those things are great and work wonderfully! We played in the water during the day and grilled out and roasted marshmallows at night. Our last day, Saturday, came too quickly. We spent the morning tubing before I had to leave for Bonham, Texas, for the Ruby Almond Songwriting Competition that evening. I didn't win anything, but that's okay since it's more about having the chance to hear other wonderful compositions than it is about bringing something home!

Monday, August 11th, at noon, my cast was finally cut off and I was sent home in a walking boot....although I didn't actually walk on it until nearly 2 weeks later. At 3:45 that afternoon I had 3 wisdom teeth pulled. :-)

The 12th through the 16th my mom, brother, sister and nephew and I road-tripped down to El Paso, Texas, to visit my grandparents. We spent several days with them: swapping stories, cleaning house, baking cookies, taking walks in the desert. It was wonderful to see them. We arrived home just in time for me to play for the last time with the Cowtown Opry as a 'Buckaroo'--a youth under the age of 18.

On the 23rd, Hailey and I had another Farmer's Market performance, with another big thank you and shout out to our sponsor, Orisons--We Dress Texas!
On the 27th, I had my very first radio interview via skype! (There's a first time for everything, I reckon.) Thank you, Tree Menane, for coordinating such a fabulous show.

 
Another announcement!
Recording my second album, Cowgirl Swing, began! Produced by Dave Alexander, we hope it will be released sometime this November! (Musicians: Brook Wallace, Nathan Phelps, Dave Alexander, Tommy Nash, Mark Gheen, Patrick Bubert, Mikki, Jon Stutler, Josh Rodgers, Dale Morris Jr., Hailey Sandoz.)

Tuesday the 26th and Thursday the 28th were spent in the studio recording 7 songs with Dave Alexander's swing band. It was a thrilling experience!

 
SEPTEMBER
On the 5th, I was a featured guest on Tommy Tucker's Western Heritage Radio Show. We chatted about my book, the new album, and just plain had fun! Thank you, Tommy! Loved talking with you! I'd like to send a big thank-you out to all you music DJs, to those of you in western music, but also to those of you who play swing, old country, and gospel and to those of you who just play what you like. Thank you! Thank you for your support, for playing our songs and sharing our music, and for being such an integral part of the life of this genre!

On the 11th, I went back into the studio to lay down some vocal tracks on a couple tunes....I have found out I'm a studio junkie!
            The 12th, Hailey and I performed at the Gene Autry fan club's luncheon, in honor of the Spirit of the Cowboy festival. Then for two days, Saturday and Sunday, Texas Wildfire performed several more times as featured artists at the Spirit of the Cowboy festival. On the 13th, after our SOTC performance, Hailey and I also had a private birthday party gig and then we finished the evening off by attending a soccer game. :-)

On the 18th, Gary Holt with the Equestrian Legacy Radio show out of Nashville, Tennessee, interviewed me for his radio program. We're Facebook friends, but have never met in person although I hope to someday! Thank you, Mr. Holt, for such a lovely interview. For those of you interested in hearing it, click HERE.

I don't know if y'all remember Texas Wildfire's involvement with Texas Family Musicals production of Hank Williams' final concert this past spring, but the show was such a hit, they decided to bring it back for two more 'farewell' shows. We were invited to be a part of it again so Hailey and I had a blast with the cast again, first at the Uptown Theater in Grand Prairie, then at the MCL Lewisville Theater.

The 27th marked not only the official end of our Farmer's Market performances for this year, but also the beginning of our next performance together. Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering here we come! On the 30th of September, we woke up nice and early, packed up the car and Mom, Hailey and I wedged ourselves in amongst hat boxes, instruments and boots, and set off for Colorado!

Ahh, I'm so sorry but I have to leave off there! Stay tuned for the details of that festival and more in my last quarter newsletter.

Thank you so much for all of your support, each and every one of you!
Here's hoping your year has been blessed, and continues to be.

Many Blessings and Happy Trails!
Mikki


 

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