Phillips, Ty

PERSONAL:

Children: sons. Hobbies and other interests: Brews beer and sings in a rock band.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Hickman, CA. E-mail—tphillips@modbee.com.

CAREER:

Writer. Modesto Bee, Modesto, CA, columnist.

WRITINGS:

Blacktop Cowboys: Riders on the Run for Rodeo Gold, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Ty Phillips's first book, Blacktop Cowboys: Riders on the Run for Rodeo Gold, is the result of a season-long road trip that he took during the 2004 rodeo season. During the trip he traveled with several cowboys in a trailer as they made their way around the rodeo circuit. His companions included Luke Branquinho, who was fortunate to have a very good season that year, and Travis Cadwell, who, though he had previously done very well on the circuit, had a much more difficult year and, as a result, threatened to quit numerous times over the course of the journey. Phillips watched these men perform at various rodeos of all sizes, each hoping to do well enough to score the monetary prize for their events. His book describes both the high periods and the adrenaline that comes from competition, winning, and instant popularity with the ladies. He also writes about the hard times and heartache linked to losing events, equipment problems, and injury. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly called the book "a raunchy, insightful delight." Palo Alto Daily News contributor Terri Schlichenmeyer, reflecting on the descriptions of the rodeo events themselves, remarked: "Phillips's narrative will make you nervous, wondering who will win—the cattle or the cowboy."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 1, 2006, David Pitt, review of Blacktop Cowboys: Riders on the Run for Rodeo Gold, p. 48.

Entertainment Weekly, November 3, 2006, Mandi Bierly, review of Blacktop Cowboys, p. 82.

Publishers Weekly, June 12, 2006, review of Blacktop Cowboys, p. 38.

ONLINE

Palo Alto Daily News Online,http://www.paloaltodailynews.com/ (December 29, 2006), Terri Schlichenmeyer, "Broken Hearts, Bones of Cowboys Revealed."