Mike Blakely sits on the tailgate of his pickup truck on his ranch in Llano County, Texas, and removes his leather work gloves. He’s been tearing down an old corral so a newer, more functional set of working pens can take its place. He’s considering the question this interviewer has just asked: “How on Earth do you find time to do everything you do? You write books, record your own songs, play a hundred and fifty live shows a year, and still have time to tend to your ranch and your horses.”
Blakely has a ready answer: “People ask me that all the time. I tell them that I’m actually quadruplets. One of me writes the novels, one writes and plays the songs, one runs the ranch, and one of me sleeps.”
Indeed, having released 16 novels and 10 musical albums in the past twenty years, one wonders where Blakely could fit everything in, especially when one factors in an average of three live performances a week, many of which are events he also plans or produces. Then there’s the ranch work.