Author Michael Branch - On the Trail of the Jackalope

Writers Drinking Whiskey

"If Thoreau drank more whiskey and lived in the desert, he'd write like this."
And thus, Writers Drinking Whiskey presents author, humorist, father, desert rat, and blues harmonicaist Michael Branch. On tap, we've got a Nevada Manhattan recipe, tale of a drunk Mary Kay lady, an important public safety announcement on what to do if approached by the vicious but adorable jackalope, and the best doggone writing tips you're ever going to hear (along with a healthy dose on the power of humility).
Slouched along the bar this episode:
Mike Branch is a writer, humorist, environmentalist, father, and desert rat who lives with his wife and two young daughters in the western Great Basin Desert. His work includes ten published books, one of which is the Pulitzer Prize-nominated John Muir’s Last Journey: South to the Amazon and East to Africa (Island Press). His recent books include: Raising Wild: Dispatches from a Home in the Wilderness (Shambhala / Roost Books, 2016), Rants from the Hill: On Packrats, Bobcats, Wildfires, Curmudgeons, a Drunken Mary Kay Lady, and Other Encounters with the Wild in the High Desert (Shambhala / Roost Books, 2017), ‘The Best Read Naturalist’: Nature Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (co-edited with Clinton Mohs, University of Virginia Press, 2017), How to Cuss in Western (Shambhala / Roost Books, 2018), and On the Trail of the Jackalope (Pegasus Books, 2022).
...
Some people run from their demons; others sit down and have cocktails with theirs.”
William R. Hincy is a man who does and writes about the latter. Having become a writer after deciding it was the only sensible thing for a problem drinker to do, Hincy aspires to connect with readers by eschewing stock plots and generic formulas in favor of exploring characters who no longer create messes but have instead become the mess. This unflinching but empathetic eye and devil-may-care attitude helped him earn an American Fiction Award and be named a finalist for multiple International Book Awards for his anthology of short fiction, Without Expiration. His other full-length works include But the Ripping Apart, a novel about hoarding from whence the opening quote of this bio originates, and A Fire for Christmas, a satirical collection of stories set during the coronavirus pandemic (winner of the International Book Award and two American Fiction Awards).
William R. Hincy now hosts the popular podcast Writers Drinking Whiskey and lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and kids, having found solace in the notion that the only things sacred are self and whiskey-winged interludes.
Links:
Mike website: https://michaelbranchwriter.com/
Raising Wild Cocktail recipe: https://www.forewordreviews.com/articles/article/michael-branchs-raising-wild-cocktail/
High West Bourye: https://highwest.com/collections/all-products/products/high-west-bourye
Two Bitch whiskey: https://www.twobitchspirits.com/
Chapel tavern: https://www.chapeltavern.com/
Death and taxes bar: https://www.deathandtaxesreno.com/
Jackalope trailer video: https://vimeo.com/679257267
Hair donation for kids: https://childrenhairlossneeds.org/
Chapters:
00:00:00 Start
00:00:37 Introducing author Michael Branch
00:02:13 Michael Branch's author journey
00:03:32 Rye Manhattan cocktail recipe
00:11:06 Best place for cocktails in Reno NV (travel advice)
00:12:26 Rants from the Hill
00:37:25 Jackalope jackalope I saw a jackalope!
00:41:07 Did Jackalopes cause cancer?
00:45:17 Jackalope hunts
00:53:02 The moment the liquor kicked in
00:59:04 THE jackalope question
01:06:25 Writing process
01:20:20 Core of Mike's writing
01:34:33 Writing advice you wished you'd learned earlier
01:36:23 Dealing with failure
01:49:55 Shots rapid fire fun
02:00:54 Author Reading
02:14:26 Last Call life hack
#podcast #author #booktube