July, 21 1999

Dear Friends:

Since last time I checked in, summer has come to New England. I just happened to be trout fishing in Montana when that first nasty heat wave arrived. During the five days I was out there, the Billings newspaper kept boasting that Montana was the only state in the lower 48 that had managed to escape the heat. Paradise Valley was, as always, well, paradise, and the trout behaved with their usual finicky caution. Perfect challenges for fly fishermen such as Steve, Elliot, and me. We caught some, failed to catch many, ate at some of Livingston's finest restaurants, and basked in the glory of Montana. The trip was altogether too short.

Muscle Memory, Brady's latest adventure, is finding its slow and uncertain way into bookstores. So far the reviews have been wonderful. I hope you can find a copy. Let me know what you think.

Since returning from Montana I've been busy trying to catch up on my various magazine projects and shuttling back and forth to my parents' home in New Hampshire. My dad has been ailing, but I'm happy to report that he's on the mend now and doing well.

As I write, Vicki has taken time away from her novel and her job to do some fly fishing of her own, this time with her lady friends in Colorado. I'm happy she's getting the chance to relax. Well, okay, I'm a little jealous.

My kids are all doing well. Melissa's gearing up to start at Hastings Law School in San Francisco in August, Sarah is working at Emerson Hospital until it's time to begin her sophomore year at UMass, and Webmaster Mike, with his freshly-minted Master's degree, continues to dazzle 'em at Houghton-Mifflin Interactive and bat leadoff for their softball team.

Blake, Vicki's oldest, has started his own company which produces marketing CD-ROMs for AHL hockey teams and similar businesses. Ben is working so hard this summer he's hardly playing any golf. He'll be starting his freshman year at Towson University in the fall.

And I'll be returning to Clark University at the end of the summer to teach freshman writing again. Meanwhile, Phil Craig and I have begun work on our combined Brady Coyne/J.W. Jackson mystery novel. Stay tuned.

Bill Tapply

July 21, 2026
Harvard, Massachusetts