Travels with My Royal: A Memoir of the Writing Life [Hardcover]

Renowned Nevada writer Robert Laxalt has embraced a wide range of subjects in his nearly half-century career. In this candid memoir, he explores what is perhaps his most difficult subject ever—himself and his life as a writer.

The book opens with a series of vignettes about his youth in Carson City as the second son of an immigrant Basque family and his later experiences as a student at the University of Nevada in Reno.

The second part of the book tells of Laxalt's career as a writer—his early days as a reporter when his assignments included interviews with gangsters and obligatory attendance at executions; his later adventures as a contract writer for National Geographic, and his two stays in the Basque Country. He also recounts his days as director of the University of Nevada's news service and his role in the founding of the University of Nevada Press.

The third section discusses the writing of several of his major books—where the ideas came from, what he tried to accomplish in each book, the challenges he faced, and the ways he chose to resolve them. Foreword by Cheryll Glotfelty.

A series of vignettes about Laxalt's youth in Carson City as the second son of an immigrant Basque family and his later experiences as a student at the University of Nevada in Reno

“Laxalt describes the evolving process of writing—of building character, plot, and structure—and his inspirations for writing so compellingly that one wants to find and read his other books, the sooner the better.” —Booklist
 

“Travels will swiftly become a nationally acclaimed primer for writers—from beginners groping for THE literary role model, to those already regarded as the vast writing community’s elite.” —Reno Gazette-Journal

“In Travels with My Royal, Laxalt once again utilizes hislC1