Leon Willis
I started the story of Life On Th’ Rockin’ W in 1964. I have always loved horses, worked horses, and had a passion to draw. With that combination, I began to create a story in the form of a comic strip, of a family’s struggles, good times, and adventures on a ranch. After the completion of 16 pages, I submitted the idea of Life On Th’ Rockin’ W to The Tennessean to become one of their paper’s comic strips. They rejected the idea and I returned home somewhat disappointed. Having the responsibility of supporting my family and helping my wife raise our seven children, I put my dream aside. In 2009, 45 years later, I resurrected my long neglected dream, the story of Life On Th’ Rockin’ W. The local weekly newspaper began to publish the comic strip and soon afterward had a dedicated following of readers. This book is a collection of the comic strip in its entirety. As the story unfolded there was a colt born, that was given the name 'Sparky'. There was actually a horse in my past named Sparky. I had big dreams for him, maybe the next Trigger. I had to sell him because I had to go to War. The new Sparky that was revealed in the comic strip is in memory of the original. The coloring book Sparky and Some Friends was created from the story of Life On Th’ Rockin’ W. Family, true to life characters, friends, and neighbors form the nucleus of the book, along with a host of horses and other animals. I hope you have a good visit with us. 3
