Episode one – David Abrams and Richard K. O’Malley
The theme of the first episode of Breakfast in Montana was Butte, which has a much richer history of good literature than most people would guess, producing such wonderful novels as Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest, Mary MacLane’s international best-seller The Story of Mary MacLane, and Wide Open Town by Myron Brinig.
We discussed two novels, the first being Mile High, Mile Deep by Richard K. O’Malley. The novel was published in 1971, when O’Malley was working as the Associate Press Bureau Chief in Paris. He wrote the novel while working this highly stressful job, which makes it that much more remarkable that it has become the quintessential Butte novel.
Mile High, Mile Deep, by Richard K. O’Malley
The second novel we discussed is Brave Deeds, by David Abrams. David falls under the category of very talented writers who have moved to Montana and made it their adopted home. David is married to a Montana native, and has always been fascinated by Montana writers, so although his first two novels are about the war in Iraq, his writing style has a distinctly Montana feel to it. The fact that he isn’t a native also provided us with an interesting opportunity to discuss why it is that so many writers do move to Montana.
This episode was produced by Brie Ripley, and features the music of Aaron Parrett and Ricky Skaggs.