Becoming a cowboy can't be that hard, can it?
It certainly looks easy to Franklyn "Frank" Ellington Seton IV. Smothered by both his overbearing mother and stuffy Maryland Society, Frank escapes to the vistas of his childhood. He will soon learn, however, that the one thing the movies left out was the smell. And the dirt. And the horses.
In this irreverent deconstruction of the manly cowboys of classic Westerns, author William Frank Bellais busts down archetypes with his hapless protagonist, Frank. As Frank makes his way through mid-twentieth century America, he searches for a place he truly belongs. And if being an actual cowboy is too difficult, why not try Hollywood?
You don't need to be a fan of the old Westerns yourself to be amused by Frank's many adventures through the Old West and on to Hollywood. Those that are, however, will find that this tale captures the feeling every single person in the movie theater felt when their cowboy hero first appeared on screen. With a mixture of nostalgia, melancholy, and heaps of humor, The True Life of a Singing Cowboy will lasso you from the first note.
About the Author: William Frank Bellais was born into a military family in 1934 in Panama. After serving as a marine and a combat correspondent, he joined the army's military intelligence branch. After retirement, Bellais worked with the Bureau of Indian Affairs as an instructor for a Navajo boarding school.
Bellais majored in history at New Mexico A&M University before earning a master of arts in clinical counseling and a doctorate of education in educational psychology and higher education at New Mexico State University. After receiving his doctorate, he felt called to the church and was ordained. Bellais went on to be a chaplain, vicar, and rector.
Bellais also authored An Owl among the Ruins-a War Story, 180th Meridian and Other Poems and Reflections, and Stories Never Told Before. All are available through amazon.com.
Bellais lives in Chillicothe, Missouri, with his wife, Ann. They have two adult children.
