John R. Erickson, a former cowboy and ranch manager, is gifted with a storyteller's knack for spinning a yarn. Through the eyes of Hank the Cowdog, a smelly, smart-aleck Head of Ranch Security, Erickson gives readers a glimpse of daily life on a ranch in the West Texas Panhandle. Hank's most recent adventure, "The Case of the Cookie Moon," will start running in the Deseret Morning News Tuesday, June 8. Chapters will run weekly through Aug. 31.
The road to stardom for Hank the Cowdog hasn't been all dog biscuits and gravy. Its author, John R. Erickson, born in Midland, Texas, graduated from the University of Texas in 1966 and studied for two years at Harvard Divinity School. He began to publish short stories in 1967 while working full time as a cowboy, farmhand and ranch manager in Texas and Oklahoma.
Hank and his sidekick Drover are dogs Erickson worked with on the range. Their mixture of true-life experience, fun and adventure has gained Hank a loyal following of thousands of children and adults.
In 1982, however, Erickson was at his rope's end. "I was working out in the cold; there were 8 inches of snow on the ground," he said. "I had just gotten a couple of rejection slips from New York publishers; and, I had a wife with two kids and another one on the way." So, with $2,000 in borrowed money, Erickson started his own publishing company, appropriately named Maverick Books.
Hank the Cowdog made his debut in the pages of The Cattleman, a magazine for adults. He became an obvious favorite of readers, and Erickson included two of Hank's humorous stories in Maverick Books' first publishing effort, "The Devil in Texas" (1982). Erickson began selling books from his pickup truck at cattle auctions, rodeos and just about any place cowboys gathered.
When Erickson started getting "Dear Hank" letters, he knew he was on to something. So in 1983, 2,000 copies of "The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog" were published, and sold out in six weeks. Not long after that first printing, the book was recorded word-for-word on audiotape. Since then, every Hank book has been recorded, making Hank the longest-running successful children's series on audio ever.
When teachers began inviting Erickson to their schools, Hank found his most eager fans. Teachers, librarians and students alike love Hank. According to some Texas Library Association surveys, Hank the Cowdog books are the most popular selections in many library children's sections. The lively characters turn even the most reluctant readers into avid Hank-a-holics.
The series of books and tapes is in school libraries across the country; has sold almost 3 million copies; is a Book-of-the-Month Club selection; and, is the winner of the 1993 Audie for Outstanding Children's Series from the Audio Publisher's Association. Publishers Weekly called Hank a "grass-roots publishing phenomena," and USA Today said it is "the best family entertainment in years."
In fact, in response to demand from the growing bilingual market, the first six Hank the Cowdog adventures have been translated into Spanish by Editorial Sudamericana of Argentina. Erickson lives in Perryton, Texas, with his wife, three dogs and several cats.
His advice to young writers is, "Write about something you know. Try to leave your readers better off than they were before."