The Crow's Nest

Been on a serious Waylon kick of late. He’s too often overshadowed by his close friend and contemporary, Johnny Cash but Waylon was and remains a legend in his...

Hah! I wasn’t even aware of this until a kind reader sent the link. It’s from a USA today column in April titled: (click on title to be taken...

Many readers of my novel The Irish Cowboy have shared how great it would be to see Clint Eastwood taking on the role of Hap, the aging and ornery Savage rancher...

I don’t do it often but from time to time I share with readers something personal. This is to be one of those times. A few years earlier my...

America is still the greatest nation on earth.  Despite problems, despite our differences, despite a mountain of challenges to be climbed if we are to make it a better...

Readers of my novel,  THE IRISH COWBOY  are already familiar with the location of Savage, Montana. My newest standalone novel takes place in that very same location and is...

Daniel Day-Lewis, considered by many to be this era’s greatest living actor, has apparently announced his retirement from acting. We shall see if that holds true but until then...

That was the wisdom of Martin Luther King Jr. following the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965. It was true then and is just as true today. American society...

I think I might be getting old. Not just “older” but legitimately old. Today my youngest graduates high school. In a few months she will be off to university....

It is a national disgrace and one in which most of our political “leaders” hardly mention. How is it that the leading cause of death for all Americans under...

As is my habit after such tragedy, I wait a few days before responding in the hopes of ensuring that response is a more thoughtful and less emotionally-driven one....

Damn. Another goodbye to a piece of my generation’s youth. Chris Cornell died from what authorities have declared to be a suicide. I won’t go into what may or...

Twenty years ago today Amazon went public. The stock rose like so many other tech companies did during that time, then fell victim to the bubble. Many “experts” wrote...

Harry Styles sang in a British boy band named One Direction. I never listened. Never watched. Deplorable that boy band stuff. Just horrible-horrible synth-rabble that goes against every fiber...

“Prologue was very dark. Might offend some readers. Would you consider modifying or removing altogether?” So went the editor’s suggestion regarding the introduction to my bestselling mystery, THE WRITER. She...

As painful as the question is to consider, I appreciate having readers catch the mystery-within-the-mystery that is a foundational component to so many of my novels. In this case...

Without free speech, all other rights and privileges afforded American citizens are in peril. The founding of this nation knew that most basic of facts, and how important it...

Apologies. I’m a few days late. Jack Nicholson turned 80.  Some place Robert De Niro or Al Pacino as America’s greatest actor of the last fifty years. Not so....

Yesterday I posted a signed copy giveaway of my latest novel “MURDER on MATIA” (Book three of the San Juan Islands Mystery series )   I left my computer for several hours to...

Hello, readers! I am offering to give away just three signed paperback editions of my soon-to-be-released novel, MURDER on MATIA. I will mail a signed copy to the first, tenth,...

Feel it in your bones music. Enjoy the rest of your week. And don’t forget to read a book! -DWU (language warning) ———————- D.W. Ulsterman is a bestselling, award-winning...

The pre-order for my latest novel, “Murder on Matia” is now available. Please go here to pre-order your copy: MURDER on MATIA It is winter in the San Juan...

Today marked the first Masters without the presence of Arnold Palmer in more than sixty years. That absence was as much a part of Augusta this morning as were...

Eric Church, that is.  As my regular readers know, I do enjoy a good bit of music. That said, Eric Church is an artist truly hitting his stride –...

Like many of you, I grew tired of the repeated releases from the Marvel and DC Comics – inspired worlds. Not that every rehash was bad. I rather enjoyed...

It was the longest Oscars telecast in a decade and some are already calling it the worst – EVER. The room was certainly stuffed with the self-important, a situation...

Came across this photo today and it broke my heart. Not that I’m surprised to see such things. Heck, I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes countless times –...

The protagonist for my SAN JUAN ISLANDS MYSTERY SERIES is a twenty-something recent college graduate making her way and finding herself among the blue-green waters of that Pacific Northwest archipelago. The...

I’ve killed dozens of people in the course of my writing career. From intrepid old soldiers to corrupted politicians, it seems no-one, regardless of how loved and/or admired, is...

The soon-to-come third installment of my SAN JUAN ISLANDS MYSTERY SERIES is progressing nicely. Hoping to have it off to the publisher for their final review/approval within a few weeks...

Botox has been around for some time – that botulinum toxin that is both expensive and requires multiple injections via a needle, is now becoming the “in” thing to try...

Indeed… No Leaders, Please invent yourself and then reinvent yourself, don’t swim in the same slough. invent yourself and then reinvent yourself and stay out of the clutches of...

Manchester by the Sea, Director Kenneth Lonergan’s quiet and unassuming little gem of an Irish-American fishing town film has already made history by earning the very first Oscar nominations for a...

——————————

Carlin was among those few comedians who in a single act, would make me cheer, and get p*ssed off at the same time. Sometimes brilliant, often abrasive, with a...

What once was a sly-smile look at the often self-inflicted absurdities of race relations in America has sadly (though likely inevitably) regressed into yet more blithering and divisive identity...

I don’t know Robert Dugoni beyond his status as a very successful author of mystery thrillers, a genre much of my own work focuses on. This week, one of...

I first learned of Bukowski via the Showtime series, Californication when the main character, Hank Moody, would sometimes reference the hard-living, California-based poet/author. I later learned Moody was based...

Another year is upon us. Seems the older I get, the more thankful I am for having the simple privilege of making plans. You see, I’m still here. Others...

2016 took a lot of significant names in entertainment, politics and culture from us, but, thank goodness, Willie Nelson remains very much alive. I can recall watching this touching...