Gallery

A summer weekend in Galena

My first literary love...poetry

Desoto House Hotel

Galena IL

Territory Writers

Galena IL

M&B Books

Final book fair before their January 27th Grand Opening at their new location as Brown Sparrow Books and Gifts

Crossville TN

Ozone Cafe&Market

Crab Orchard TN

The Mad Raven

Coffee, Sandwiches, and Books

Sparta TN

Over-the-roaders relax with a good book during down times. Safe travels, T.C.

At M&B's country book store

M&B Books soon to become Brown Sparrow Books & Gifts

Heart Bar Publishing

The Western heritage of the Bonine family is a key component in much of my writing. Be it the Tennessee frontier of the late 1700s and early 1800s, or the cowboys and ranchers of the 1860s to the present day, my ancestors have been a part of America's story of rugged individualism and resilience. I honor that heritage in my publishing logo, pictured left. Heart Bar Publishing pays tribute to my uncle, James Earl Bonine, and his brand, the Heart Bar. The top photo displays my grandfather's ranch on the left and my uncle's place on the right. Above the original Heart Bar branding iron is the head of my grandfather's branding iron, B O 9. The brand remains registered in my immediate family's name, entering the fifth generation of ownership.

Maia Erbes... the artist, and my grandniece, whose talent is behind three of my books' illustrations and covers, and logo design.

The illustrators of the chapter sketches in Rocking Chair Tales are my granddaughters, Emily and Teagan.

Take a moment. Look around. It keeps you grounded.

Sunrise over the eastern ridge of Cumberland County, TN

Home in Cumberland County, TN

The 10th hole at Druid Hills

Fairfield Glade, TN

Faith and mountains

Westchester Rd., Fairfield Glade, TN

Overlook Trail

Fairfield Glade, TN

If a person could get rich on just beautiful scenery, East Central Tennessee is a good place to be.

Ozone Falls

Burgess Falls

Ozone Falls from the top

I've convinced myself that genealogy is a healthy addiction. No intervention needed.

Ribbon cutting ceremony for Brown Sparrow Books & Gifts in Crossville, TN. Congrats to Jon and Darcie Roach for their store's official opening last Tuesday, April 24. I was happy to be a part of it.

The Smokies from Rarity Bay Golf Club

Vonore, TN

A visitor in our back woods

Tubing on Watts Bar Lake

Kingston, TN

Looking east on Ogden Ave. at the intersection with York Rd. Current location is Hinsdale, IL. In 1877, it was in Fullersburg.

The same view in 2026

The lure of Alaskan gold in 1898, led the author, Winfield Scott Mason, my great-great grandfather, on a two-year journey from Chicago to the far northland of Alaska. In the March 1903 edition of Sports Afield magazine, an article was published on the trip. The book was published circa 1910. FYI - he never did find any gold, but had quite a story getting to that result.

The convergence of two ancient Indian trails was the origin of the crossroads of what is now Ogden Ave. and York Rd in Hinsdale, IL, pictured above, about 22 miles west of Chicago. The area first was known (in 1833) as Brush Hill. In the early 1850s that name was replaced when the town of Fullersburg was platted by...Benjamin Fuller. The town retained the name until 1923, when it was annexed to Hinsdale. I grew up just blocks from this spot. My folk's first house was on Fuller Rd., two blocks southeast of Ogden and York. The area serves as an important setting in my narrative poem Thresholds, and the short story Chosen Trails, both of which are in my book Rocking Chair Trails.

Graue Mill, Hinsdale, IL circa 1930s. It is the source of inspiration for the mill run by the McChesney family as described in the poem "Thresholds," which is found in both my books The Chalk Art Collection, and Rocking Chair Tails. The mill was located about a mile from where I grew up.

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