Desert Rats

Generously described as eco-humor, anything's fair game for Chinle's understated tongue-in-cheek writing. You'll love seeing the underdogs wind for once, and if nothing else, you'll be left with a book you can innocently pass on to your favorite corrupt nature-hating devloper or politician.

"Somewhere, ol' Ed Abbey is smiling." —Rising Tide New Media

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Story Collection Paints Unforgettable Portrait of American Outback
I have always felt there are a number of good writers in the Southwest that are usually not brought to readers’ attention because they are not connected to the big publishing houses in the East.

The West has always been viewed as the outback by the literary movers and shakers that inevitably reside in the East. While the Southwest writers are some of the best working today they frequently do not have the funds and connections necessary to garner the attention of major publishers or chain bookstores. I always try to spotlight such writers when an especially worthy book comes my way.

This collection of short stories by a sometimes Moab resident is a classic example of a local writer worthy of the reader’s attention but who will struggle to gain exposure due to a lack of promotional funds or sponsors with deep pockets. I was especially pleased to get this book because I have long awaited Chinle Miller’s short stories being published in a one-volume collection. I have enjoyed her stories in numerous journals and magazines, but they were not available in one place until now. The collection has finally arrived, and what a collection it is. In the 14 stories in this collection Miller has provided the reader with some really entertaining Southwest themed stories, one of which I think is easily award winning material. More about that later....

All in all, this is a good book for anyone remotely interested in unforgettable stories of the American outback and the people and places that inhabit it. Sometimes humorous, sometimes funny, and sometimes touchingly bittersweet with a hint of the maverick and perhaps a bit of truth, it is a delightful read.
—Mike Nobles, Times-Independent, Moab, Utah

"Happiness is a box of Dupont 50, some Redhead Matches, and a "project" or two. —Cactus Rat

Desert Rats from Chinle Miller on Vimeo

For the first time in recorded history, the complete short stories of the infamous* Chinle Miller have been compiled in a book that the publisher hopes won't get anyone arrested (especially the publisher).

Come sit around the campfire with an archaeologist after he unwittingly brings a unique curse upon himself; watch Ernie, the county road supervisor, accidentally bomb his own highway shed; discover a cryptic form of rock art just in time for it to save your life; and discover how a Navajo uses a Hopi rain dance to start a fire in a gated development, shutting it down before it can even be built.

This book has it all – epic plane crashes, albino grizzly bears, accidental movie stars, runaway rednecks, wild Aussies, and even uranium miners with vanity plates on their old Dodge Power Wagons. And you'll meet Annie, the sweet little old lady who unknowingly foils an attempt to open a cyanide pit gold mine. As a bonus, you'll discover the possible fate of Everett Ruess, the young artist who went missing in the canyons many years ago. But best of all, included are the only known writings of Cactus Rat and Yeller Cat, two of the world's finest and, shall we say, most unique, desert rats.

130 pages
ISBN: 978-0965596152
6 by 9 inches
Paperback