Although this week-end was family time down on Klamath Lake in Southern Oregon, I did get some inspiration for the new book from two audio Louis L'Amour short story collections. A few years back I found traveling with audio books as a way to pass the time. It turns out my grandchildren (ages from 8 to 14) are very into these kind of western short stories.
These were dramatizations which I like best but don't always find. For anyone who is looking for inspiration for putting atmosphere into their stories, I recommend these kind of CDs. This particular set had the stories-- Law of the Desert Born, The Trigernometry Tenderfoot, and Horse Heaven on one of the CDs and Four Card Draw, Get Out of Town, and One for the Pot on the other.
They really helped pass the miles for the kids but us too. It reminded me how important atmosphere is to the kind of writing that carries you into the story. It doesn't take a LOT of words. In fact a lot of words would have lost the children. It takes the right words.