Michael Hodges's Blog, page 8

Springtime in Montana, with bison and flowers.

I was lucky to get out into the Montana mountains a few days ago. This image was the result. There is no place in the world more beautiful than Montana in spring.

A bison and wildflowers in Montana, yesterday.

A post shared by Michael Hodges (@michaelhodgesauthor) on May 12, 2018 at 1:54pm PDT

Miscon 32 in Missoula, Montana

I’ll be appearing at Miscon 32 this month in Missoula, Montana. Part of this appearance includes a book signing, and a panel in the Dragon Pavilion with Brandon Sanderson.

Miscon is a fun and beautiful spring convention held every year in Montana. Most of the authors I attend panels with don’t want to leave the state, haha.

You can check out my full schedule at this link.

Stray dog tries to save man from injured bear as people hang back and film his death.

This story really, really pissed me off. And that doesn’t happen very often.

In India, a taxi driver spotted a bear along the road, and got out to take a selfie. Sure, this was dumb. There’s almost no commentary required here. To make things worse, the bear was injured and likely felt threatened. So it charged the man.

Here’s the part that gets me: in the video, the man is *slowly* being killed by the bear, while the onlookers (five to six people) *do nothing*. Well, okay, to give them “credit”, they were filming. And one boy tossed a big rock.

This bear could’ve been scared away by several people ganging up on it. Instead, they filmed. As the man died. Slowly.

Yet, there was one animal in this scene that actually tried to do something. A tiny stray dog desperately tried to save the man, and attacked the bear. Unfortunately, the bear seized the man by the head, gave two good shakes, and likely broke his neck.

Cliches are cliches because they’re often true. Man’s best friend is a dog, not people.

You can watch the video at this link. But be warned, it’s distrubing.

Shadow of the Ponderosa

Hey everyone,

I have a short story out called “Shadow of the Ponderosa”. This is literally brand new, has not appeared in any anthology or magazine. It’s currently charting on Amazon, and you can grab a copy at this link.

Logline: A rural farmer in Montana is stalked by a strange creature. As the night grows darker, the farmer must protect his animals and himself before it’s too late.

New short story “Glass Eye Pines” on Amazon Best Seller list

Hey everyone, my new short story “Glass Eye Pines” has made the Amazon 30-Minute-Reads Best Seller list (currently #15). You can grab a copy at this link.

With global warming devastating earth, a corrupt empire called “Gen Corp” erects a nation-wide water collection trough across the tops of the decaying U.S. infrastructure. A young man escapes his custodial job on the trough’s surface in order to find the last spot of wild in the lower 48, and away from Gen Corp’s grip.

Divinity.

My “new” 5k short story “Divinity” is out in Kindle format. This piece was originally published in the great Perihelion Science Fiction magazine (hard science fiction). Logline:

A young college student signs up for a research class on planet Divinity, and helps discover a new animal species. But as the class spends more time on the new planet, they find out how little they actually know.

If you like wildlife biology and animals in your science fiction, DIVINITY might be your thing.

You can grab a copy at this link.

Bears.

This mammoth black bear surprised me while I was busy taking a landscape image in the other direction. Of course, it wasn’t the bear’s fault. I was down wind, and not making noise. As visitors to the bear’s home, we must be aware at all times. Fortunately I had my telephoto lens and was able to grab a crisp shot.

Filmed in Glacier National Park.

I was filming another scene when I heard the slightest noise behind me. As I turned, I was shocked to see this enormous black bear come up over the rock outcropping. Always pay attention to your surroundings in world class bear habitat. And Glacier is just that. The bear was just curious, as most bears are. Also important to note I was downwind from the bear. Filmed at 420mm on a 1.6x crop sensor.

A post shared by Michael Hodges (@michaelhodgesauthor) on Jan 30, 2018 at 3:31pm PST

Rivers.

I need to get back to this river. As much as I like Montana west of the divide, my heart is in the Gallatin National Forest. I first discovered this amazing spot in 2001, and have tried to make it back every year since.

And big thanks to my grandfather, who got me hooked on fly fishing. When I was 19 or so he took me into a fancy sporting goods place in St. Charles, and bought me a Sage fly rod. That’s a pretty sweet fly rod for a beginner.

Certain places remain in your blood…the sense of land, of place. Palpable, forever.

I need to get back to this river. As much as I like Montana west of the divide, my heart is in the Gallatin National Forest.

A post shared by Michael Hodges (@michaelhodgesauthor) on Mar 14, 2018 at 7:15pm PDT

Song Among the Pine

in 2010, I made my first trip to the Pacific Northwest. I left Missoula at sunrise, and drove across the Oregon desert. As the sun set and I approached the remote Winema National Forest, I swore I could taste the Pacific Ocean in the air despite being a long way from the coast. I remember only seeing a few cars that day, out of hundreds of miles. While I drove, I played this song. A lot.

“Song Among the Pine” was written by an artist called Gravenhurst (multi-instrumentalist Nicholas John Talbot). The album “The Western Lands” soon became one of my favorites after that trip. So much so I even recommended “Song Among the Pine” for THE PULLER movie.

Sadly, I just found out that Nicholas John Talbot passed away in December of 2014. So I’ve been playing this album all week, thinking about how much his music moved me artistically. Thanks for the inspiration, Nicholas.

Song among the pine

Cones and needles lie atop the dark soil

They will come for me

With searchlights streaming through the cedar trees

Cold ash smother the fire

Cold ash smother the fire

The ripple of the stream

Is just one way the forest speaks to me

The anger in the streets

Is just the way a broken city breathes

Bull Moose in Glacier National Park.

I’m a big moose fan. So much so, I hide in forests for days waiting to take pictures of them. I also put moose in my stories (most notably THE PULLER).

And speaking of THE PULLER, I just wrapped up the screenplay. There are most certainly moose.

A bull moose wades through a turquoise lake in Glacier National Park. Note the second bull feeding in the background. Glacier never dissapoints.

A post shared by Michael Hodges (@michaelhodgesauthor) on Jan 31, 2018 at 7:15pm PST