‘Preacher,’ ‘Biscuit’ keep authors very busy

Local author and rancher Dan Burle Sr. will be holding a book signing for his latest novel entitled “Preacher,” his three children’s books, along with 10 other books, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m at The Fancy Crow located behind Walgreen’s Pharmacy in Bonne Terre.

A member of the Western Writers of America and the Author’s Guild, Burle has written 14 books and his wife Bernice has co-written four them.  

“Preacher” is Burle’s eighth western novel and is set in the Wild West where claim jumping, cattle rustling, train heists, bank robberies, and murders spread like a prairie wildfire across the new frontier. In a small railroad town between Laramie and Cheyenne, a new way of eradicating the criminal element was introduced by an unlikely group.

The fictional novel tells the story of how twin brothers, who grew up in a conflicted family environment, construed the law and morality in diverse ways. For one brother, the interpretation became perilous while the other brother wrestled with temptation.

When the law failed to resolve the problems, vigilante groups were born. However, led by a man of the cloth, he and his so-called disciples endeavored to exterminate the plague on society for righteous’ sake and their own personal wealth.

Burle is a Western history buff and has been the exclusive Western novelist during the annual seven-week Cowboy Festival held in the fall at Silver Dollar City. The Cowboy Festival has been eliminated for this year and in its place, there will be a five-week fall festival entitled Crafts Days and Pumpkin Nights.  

“Because of my good book sales and following, I was invited back for the entire fall festival,” said Burle. “It is an honor and a privilege.”

Burle and his wife and writing partner are also excited about a children’s book series they’ve written this year entitled, “The Adventures of Biscuit.” The book series consists of three episodes with the main character being a dog they rescued.

“We always wanted to write a children’s book,” said Burle. “Last summer, we rescued a stray dog that came up to our ranch, full of ticks and very thin.

“We removed all ticks and fed it and it would not leave. Four days later, we took it to the vet and had it checked out and it was healthy.”

Burle said they gave the dog all its shots and brought it home to live out its life on their ranch.

“The first thing we fed it was a homemade biscuit using a recipe from my cookbook,” the author explained. “We named the dog Biscuit and he was the inspiration for the children’s books.”

The books are unique and interactive to further immerse the readers in the stories.

Each of the three children’s book contains six QR codes relevant to the stories which link to online musical videos or slide videos of Biscuit, horses, ranching, cowboying, and more. There is also a page in each book on how to download an app on your smartphone to view the videos.

The fifth book that Burle has released this year is a cookbook entitled, “My Favorite Ranch Recipes.”

“Our objective was to make this book very user-friendly, offer excellent recipes, and show a picture of all the ingredients for each recipe plus a picture of the final product,” said Burle. “Having 40 years in the produce industry and being recognized as a leader in that industry, I also included many important tips about choosing fresh fruits and vegetables.”

There are seven sections in the cookbook with many ranch-style cooking recipes in each section.

So far, this year has been a big year for the Burles and they are celebrating 50 years of marriage. As if writing five books wasn’t enough of an accomplishment for one year, Burle has just finished the process of drafting a screenplay based on one edition of his five-part book series called “Three for Hire.”

Burle and his wife own Cedar Spring Ranch Horse & Cattle Co. They retired from the cattle business. However, they still own 11 horses – all Missouri Fox Trotters.

All of Burle’s books can be purchased at www.danburlesrbooks.com, www.amazon.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com.

Dan and Bernice Burle are local authors and can boast writing close to 15 titles including Western novels, a cookbook, and children’s books based on their dog, Biscuit.

“Preacher” is the latest novel released by Bonne Terre resident Dan Burle Sr. and a book signing for the release is scheduled for Saturday from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. at The Fancy Crow in Bonne Terre.

Dan and Bernice Burle’s three-part children’s book series titled “The Adventures of Biscuit” stars their dog which they rescued from starvation and tick infestation. The first part in the series focuses on the rescue of the dog.   

The second part of the Burle’s three-part children’s book series is about how their dog, Biscuit, helps capture a runaway horse on the ranch.

Authors of “The Adventures of Biscuit,” Dan and Bernice Burle named their dog after the first thing he was able to eat shortly after the couple rescued the animal from certain death.  

Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3628, or at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com.