I’M PAINTING MY NAILS JUNGLE RED! Two weeks to go ’til “What Was Really Going On At Those Nevada Divorce Ranches? Fact and Fiction” at the Nevada Historical Society Writers’ Wednesday series on May 8. My cohort, Carson City author Peggy Wynne Borgman, and I will be promoting the event on May 7 on the…
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But not for a divorce. I’ll be sharing the stage with Nevada divorce ranch novelist Peggy Wynne Borgman at the Nevada Historical Society Writers’ Wednesday in Reno on May 8, 5-6:30 p.m. When Peggy picked up a copy of the first edition of The Divorce Seekers in a Carson City book shop, she…
ANOTHER NEVADA DIVORCE RANCH MOMENT TO REMEMBER… FLYING M E, FRANKTOWN, NV – WINTER 47/48 – Before Squaw Valley opened in November 1949, Sky Tavern on the Mount Rose Highway was the destination ski resort for the wealthy and Hollywood. Sky Tavern opened in December ’45 with a 21-room hotel, coffee shop, and bar. There…
OPPENHEIMER WINNER OF FIVE GOLDEN GLOBES IN THE MOTION PICTURE CATEGORY Best Drama Best Director – Christopher Nolan Best Performance by an Actor – Cillian Murphy Best Performance by a Supporting Actor – Robert Downey Jr Best Original Score – Ludwig Göransson AFTER TRINITY, HIROSHIMA. AND NAGASAKI, WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? OPERATION CROSSROADS AT BIKINI IN…
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October 2017. Friends Deb Geraghty and James Stavena surprised Bill and me with these champagne coupes they found at a Reno antiques shop. For Reno history buffs, it was an exciting find. The vintage coupes were from the Mapes estate. A few days later, I broke with cocktail tradition and served Manhattans in the…
RENO, DECEMBER 17, 1947. The big news in town was opening night at the Mapes Hotel. The new hotel had a prime downtown location at 10 North Virginia Street, across the street from the Riverside Hotel and the Truckee River. At twelve stories high, the Mapes was the tallest building in Reno and Nevada. Prior…
THE BUZZ, DECEMBER 2023 a little bit of news, but not too much Click on the image below
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October 7, 2023 Jessel Gallery Napa Writers’ Salon, 5:00 p.m. PDT Napa, California Sandra McGee will be signing copies and reading from the new edition of The Divorce Seekers – The Intimate True Story of a Nevada Divorce Ranch Wrangler. Reservations at Jessel Gallery.com/writerssalon. October 14, 2023 Women Writing the West 29th Annual Conference Saturday, 10:15…
Flipbook preview of The Divorce Seekers – The Intimate True Story of a Nevada Divorce Ranch Wrangler… in paperback and eBook October 1, 2023 on Amazon. For the best preview, click on the “Toggle fullscreen” icon (2nd from right). When done viewing, press the “Escape” key.
NATIONAL DAY OF THE COWBOY! Celebrate on Saturday, July 22, as we pay tribute to the iconic symbol of the American West. Owen Wister is said to have created the first romantic cowboy in 1902 with his best-selling novel, The Virginian. The “Virginian” was later portrayed on the big screen by Gary Cooper (1929) and Joel…
Friday, February 17, 2023 – The Bay Room at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco was packed for the all-day Writing for Hollywood Summit at the annual San Francisco Writers Conference. I was there on scholarship thanks to the Napa Valley branch of the California Writers Club. The audience was a mix of creatives. Some hadn’t…
ON 1 JULY 1946 BY THE BIKINI CALENDAR (30 June in New York), millions of people around the world waited anxiously by their radios for the results of the first postwar atomic bomb test. No one knew what to expect. Bill McGee was one of the 42,000 servicemen, scientists, and civilians at the Bikini…
A little bit of news… but not too much. May is Military Appreciation Month Military Appreciation Month takes place every year throughout the month of May to pay tribute to present and past military veterans and their families. Throughout the month are several specific military holidays including Loyalty Day, VE Day, Military Spouse Appreciation Day, Armed…
A little bit of news… but not too much. This month the spotlight shines on two young men with new books just released and stories to tell… Clear! by DENNIS R. BLOCKER II is the riveting story of the author’s 23 years working in Emergency Medical Services. Dennis reveals what…
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A little bit of news… but not too much. “Love the book you’re writing because you’ll read it a hundred times.” – Posted in the Santa Barbara Writers Conference Facebook Group Shameless Promotion In this year of the 75th Anniversary of Operation Crossroads, the first postwar atomic bomb tests at Bikini in 1946, the series…
In 1951, the glamorous singer/dancer Marilu Norden registered at the Pyramid Lake Ranch to wait out her six weeks for a “quickie” divorce. The Pyramid Lake was 34 miles north of Reno in Sutcliffe, a location that was remote then and still is today. Other notables who stayed on the Pyramid Lake for a…
A little bit of news… but not too much. A Favorite Quote Shameless Promotion: 75 Years Ago At Bikini Read Excerpts from Bill McGee’s Atomic Memoir Watch Archival Film Footage Listen NBC Radio Live from Bikini, Test Baker, 25 July 1946 Once Upon a Time in RENO: The Marilu Norden Story In 1951, the…
A little bit of news… but not too much. Lists – To Do or Not To Do A mentor in my life (you know who you are) has been nudging me to go paperless. So far, I’ve conceded to using Excel for my to-do lists and, I have to admit, I do like the…
In 1994, Bill and I sailed to Normandy for the 50th Anniversary of D-Day, the landing of the Allies on the beaches of Normandy on 6 June 1944. Here is an account of that trip from the upcoming Arthur, Publisher, Marketing Man. – Sandra Bill was invited to sail to Normandy for the 50th…
It’s just an old tin ashtray, but the stories it could tell… When fellow Reno divorce ranch history buff, Jerry Garrity, spotted this old tin ashtray from the Del Monte Dude and Guest Ranch in an antiques bazaar in Reno, he knew if anyone would love to have it, that would be me. Indeed, just…
A little bit of news… but not too much. My Word of the Month Recently, someone in a Zoom meeting used a word new to me: “meh”. Defined as an expression of indifference or boredom, “meh” must be spoken with a shrug of the shoulders. The word can be traced back to the 1928…
Shot on location at Bikini in 1946, three declassified films of Operation Crossroads and the Test Able and Test Baker atomic bomb tests. British Movietone Moment – Bikini Atom Bomb (4:03) OPERATION CROSSROADS – Able and Baker Day Tests 1946 (26:36) Project Crossroads – Nuclear Test Film 1946 (42:33) Related Posts…
75 YEARS AGO AT BIKINI In July 1946, the United States conducted their first postwar atomic bomb tests at the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Code named: Operation CROSSROADS. This year is the 75th Anniversary of Operation Crossroads. To commemorate the date, this is the first of 22 excerpts from the book, Operation Crossroads, Lest…
Subic Bay, Philippines, 9 Aug 1945 – I’ll never forget the first time I heard the words: atomic bomb. It was the evening of 9 August 1945. I was a Gunner’s Mate Second Class, U.S. Navy, stationed at the Naval Station in Subic Bay, the Philippines. Thousands of military personnel were also there staging for Operation…
