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Hello from the Cabin,
The loons have been quite active on the lake. At sunset the tremolo of their calls echoes hauntingly across the water. I am pleased they choose this lake to visit for a while. It is an unmistakable call and can be quite beautiful to hear in the early morning as the mist rises. My best guess is that the loons do not like the tannin color of my lake as they are unable to see the shimmering fish through the dark colored water. They do not eat algae as fish, frogs, etc. are their mainstay diet. They migrate through here but to the best of my knowledge do not nest on this shallow lake. Guess they don’t like the shallow water either. I want to let you all know that my two short stories, “Requiem for Ernie” and “A Dog Named Bunny” are now in print in the April issue of "U.P. Reader". You are welcome to get your own copy at: https://silver-mountain-press.myshopify.com Please leave any thoughts or comments here in the comment section or Message Us on Facebook Messenger. Just click on the “Message Us” button on the bottom of this letter. I look forward to discussing these stories with you and ideas for future stories. May you all have a wonderful spring and enjoy the nature around you wherever you are. Hilton
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Hello, Friends:
Today is the day I announce the winner of the “Boat Naming Contest”. The envelope please. And the winner is, Jim Dunn from Minnesota for entering the name “Silent Mistress”. Jim will be receiving a free signed copy of the U.P. Reader wherein my two short stories “Requiem for Ernie” and “A Dog Named Bunny” are printed. Congratulations, Jim! I want to thank everyone that participated in the naming contest. It was a pleasure to see all of your ideas. I enjoyed reading them all. I will be letting everyone know of further contests and updates as they come up. You can check for these updates here on my website or at my Facebook writing group, “Hilton Moore’s Writings”. Happy Spring to one and all. Hilton Greetings, All: Well, Spring is here. The snow is all melted. The ice is off Gitche Gumee. The day lilies are sprouting. The birds are chirping and all the forest critters are scampering around in search of food to fill their bellies. I’m looking forward to getting the dock out in the lake and get back to working on the sailboat again as weather permits. We have had several days of rain, so far. We could use it, but it will be nice to see the sun setting on the lake again. I have some good news I want to share with all of you. Two of my short stories, “Requiem for Ernie” and “A Dog Named Bunny” are in print and will be in the new edition of “U.P. Reader”. Online orders will be available by Monday, 4/19/2021. I will be honored to autograph the books per the customer’s preferences when purchased. Check back here for further updates and offers. I am excited to share this with you. Please leave any comments below. I look forward to hearing from you. You may also leave comments, thoughts, or suggestions on my Facebook Group page, “Hilton Moore’s Writings”. I would love to have a conversation with you. I may also be contacted by Twitter: @HiltonMoore6, Instagram: hilton.moore.587 May you enjoy the “newness” of spring. Hilton Hello to all you writers and aspiring writers out there. My company, Silver Mountain Press now has T-shirts for sale. See below for a picture of the T-shirts. "I Write Wrongs" and "What do you call an Aspiring Writer? A Waiter/Waitress" are the choices in Tahiti Blue, Black, and Charcoal. The shirts are available for a limited time. Hurry and pick your favorite. Get your very own T-shirt at: https://stores.yoopershirts.com/SilverMountain Thank you, Hilton  Hello, Friends:
The snow is almost gone here at camp. I haven’t seen any robins yet, however. The chipmunks and squirrels are starting to come out of hiding. They rustle around the now bare leaves left over from last fall and chase each other with what appears to be reckless abandon. It’s as if they have a newfound sense of freedom and are just enjoying life in the wilderness. Kinda’ frisky, like teenagers, eh. I want to pass on some news regarding the publication of my two short stories, “Requiem for Ernie” and “A Dog Named Bunny”. I have received the proofs from U.P. Reader to review and authorize for print in April. According to the publisher, the U.P Reader will be publishing these stories on April 15, 2021. I will pass along future opportunities to get your own copy. Come back to the website for further details. I would like to invite any of you that have not yet signed up for my Writer’s group on Facebook to join in. You can find out more about my writings and join in on the conversations. The name of the group is: Hilton Everett Moore’s Writings. I look forward to seeing you all there, also. Leave a comment on this page and let me know your thoughts and ideas. I enjoy reading them and having a discussion. Thank you, Hilton Hello,
I think it is normal to expect that all of my letters from the cabin are interesting, novel, and maybe even perhaps exciting. But the truth of it is, that most of the activities are mundane. At this time of year, at the cabin, there are many daily tasks that have to be carried out whether I feel like it or not. Firewood must be split and brought in, the woodstove must be kept burning, and roofs heavy with wet spring snow must be shoveled. All of these tasks require immediate attention and can not be put off because the weather is a little inclement. I wouldn’t necessarily call these tasks as exciting but would rather give a fair assessment of what my daily routine is at the cabin. Like a monk in a monastery, I try to find a sense of peace and contentment in these daily tasks. I suppose you could even call what I do as meditative. There is a rhythm in my tasks that is almost like prayer and despite my lack of religiosity, I do feel closer to the natural world all around me. I do look forward to any comments you may have. Hilton  As I promised you here is a picture of my baby covered in her winter coat. To be more explicit, this boat is often referred to as a Classic Plastic; O’Day 27 foot sailboat. Like most vintage boats or humans, myself included, after a long and sometimes trying life she has bruises and scars, but I love her nevertheless. As soon as the weather warms, I will get busy repainting her and fixing the myriad of problems that exist in an old boat. As Shakespeare stated, she “has suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”.
I’d like to propose a contest. I bought her last year from an old gent in Harbor Beach, Michigan and I want to change the name of this elegant gal. What I propose is a contest for my devoted readers. Whoever comes up with the winning name will get a signed copy of a novel I hope to publish this year. I get to choose the winner. So, put on your thinking caps and give me your best shot at a name. I promise to be fair in my selection and will announce the winner by April 15th. Thanks Hilton 
3:00 AM. At camp. February 11, 2021 As some of you may know I am an insomniac and on top of that recently had a surgery, so adequate sleep was not in the offing this evening. Instead I am one finger typing on my cell phone at camp as I have no internet here. Not complaining, just describing the situation. It has been bitterly cold this week. On Tuesday night the thermometer hovered at -22 degrees, not wind chill mind you but actual temperature. My septic line froze up and I spent most of Wednesday trying to thaw the damn pipe. Successful finally. Fired up my still yesterday and made a batch of moonshine which I am patiently filtering in the middle of the night while listening to classical music on NPR. Wood stove is cranking away and is comforting on this very cold night. Everything is stark white here and the absence of color is a constant reminder that winter will be with me for sometime regardless of what a damn groundhog might indicate. I will include several photos of the camp and you can judge for yourself. I am still working on my novel Rabbit Girl and for a change of scenery, I am revisiting a play I wrote several years ago which I hope to rewrite as a screenplay. It is a dark comedy I named The Buddha Trout, as if I needed another project. By the way I always look forward to company here at camp so if any of you need a break from the rat race —and you have had your Covid19 shots please drop me a line and we can sidle up to the wood stove and swap lies and sip whiskey. Take care. Hilton An author I know recently remarked to me that he was tired of promoting his own work, a task he felt his publisher had abandoned. While I am new in the writing game, I could understand his point completely. Publishers used to be flush with cash to promote quality work. However now, according to publishing sources, this is no longer the case. Publishers now expect many authors to promote their own writing. I guess you could call this process, self-preservation, or perhaps, pragmatic self-promotion. While writers could be accused of picking sour grapes over this issue the buying public may mistakenly assume that writers are acting out of an excessive sense of vanity. Writers need to sell books to make a living and they are under siege by economic misfortunes, not entirely of their own making. So, if you like a book, please buy it, and later, also leave a comment, either good or bad on whatever social media platform you use. The world desperately needs books--they are food for hungry minds.
Thanks, Hilton  We had a snowstorm last night that left the lake covered with a layer of fresh snow; probably a foot or better. Winter has an iron grip on the U.P. now and will hold onto us till well after the spring equinox. There was one lone snowmobile buzzing around the lake the other day; I suppose a fisherman trying to catch a meal. The lake often yields a nice pike or a mess of blue gills. The isolation at the camp is not for city folk, sometimes it even is a bit much for me, especially now with the pandemic. I remain apart from most human contact. I will head back to Marquette soon for a minor operation which, allowing for recovery time will keep me in town for over a week or so. Enclosed you will find several pictures that a neighbor shot of me and the camp the other day. If you are wondering what the wooden contraption is on the deck, it is my wood-fired hot tub which when I have company I fire up. My design, which I had built by a local contractor uses an old wood boiler I bought from a miner in Negaunee. I got the inspiration for this unit from a website on the internet. The water storage is actually a 300 gallon cattle trough that I purchased at Tractor Supply. There are no fancy water-jets or circulating pumps as the unit operates efficiently without electricity by what is generally referred to as thermo-syphoning. I don’t use it much in the dead of the winter as it takes 4-5 hours to heat up and seems frivolous if I am there at camp by myself, which is often the case. Still, in summer, and in the colder seasons it is wonderful to lie in the tank and stargaze. I will take better shots of the unit next summer and post them here. Well, time to sign off. Will post another letter soon, so keep looking for a new letter. Hilton
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