Friday, May 16, 2025

15th Annual Peacemaker Award Finalists and Lifetime Achievement Peacemaker Award

 THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT PEACEMAKER

Douglas Hirt





 

15th Annual Peacemaker Awards Finalists

For Western Novels and Stories Published in 2024

 

 

BEST WESTERN NOVEL
 
PALO DURO MUSTANGS, Alice V. Brock, (Pen-L Publishing)
THE BIG DRY, Patrick Dearen, (TCU Press)
THE MEDICINE LINE, John Hansen, (Summit Creek Press)
LEGEND OF LOST BASIN, Bruce Hartman, (Swallow Tail Press)
HANGING MAN, Rod Miller, (Thorndike Press)
 
 
BEST FIRST WESTERN NOVEL
 
THE MONTE BOYS, Robert M. Brunelle, (Robert M. Brunelle)
RENEGADES, RUSTLERS AND ROGUES, Joanne M. Fralick, (Joanne M. Fralick)
EMBERS IN THE WIND, Dawson Gallow, (DWG Publishing)
LEGEND OF LOST BASIN, Bruce Hartman, (Swallow Tail Press)
AMERICAN COWBOYS, Aaron Rhodes, (Rhiannye Aubree Publishing)
 
BEST WESTERN SHORT FICTION
 
“Fortunate Man”, Kimberly Burns, (SADDLEBAG DISPATCHES)
“Valiant-For-Truth”, Elisabeth Grace Foley, (THROUGH WESTERN STORMS, Lohman Hills Creative LLC)
“Rattlers”, Bruce Hartman, (SADDLEBAG DISPATCHES ANTHOLOGY)
“Noah’s Lament”, Preston Lewis, (THROUGH WESTERN STORMS, Lohman Hills Creative LLC)
“Hurricane at Hogg’s Holler”, Scott McCrea, (THROUGH WESTERN STORMS, Lohman Hills Creative LLC)
“White City”, John D. Nesbitt, (THROUGH WESTERN STORMS, Lohman Hills Creative LLC)


Winners will be announced June 15, 2025 on the WF website (www.westernfictioneers.com) and on this blog.

Western Fictioneers (WF) was formed in 2010 by professional Western writers, to preserve, honor, and promote traditional Western writing in the 21st century. Entries were accepted in both print and electronic forms.

The Peacemaker Awards are given annually. Submissions for the Peacemaker Awards for books and stories published in 2025 will be open in August 2025. Submission guidelines will be posted on the WF website. For more information about Western Fictioneers (WF) please visit: http://www.westernfictioneers.com.

Western Fictioneers would like to thank the judges for their excellent work and James Reasoner for being the Awards Chair.

Monday, May 12, 2025

The Coming Demise of the Mass Market Paperback

What started this if you missed the Publishers Weekly article.

In effect this says midlist titles will vanish. There won't be any mass market paperbacks other than bestsellers.

I decided to throw out the question of how we, as western writers, can continue to write our tales of the Wild West and get our work in front of readers. My basic worry is one of demographics. My starting point is that our readership won't migrate to ebooks due to lack of/contempt for technology. This same group might also find it difficult to be upsold to trade paper, which can cost twice what a mass market pb goes for now. I may be wrong. I hope I am, but back in the day when trade pbs were introduced I thought this would cannibalize pb sales. It didn't. Trade pbs turned out to be a new market that expanded sales.

So, it is quite possible I am completely wrong and expanded printing in this format will reach a different market. That doesn't take away the need for us to find alternative markets and new ways of reaching readers. As I see it, pbs are our bread and butter (and jam and...)

Many thanks to Jeff Mariotte, Cheryl Pierson, and Richard Prosch for their fine counsel and sharing of experiences.

Cheryl hit the nail on the head. Series sell. The question is how to get those series in front of our readers, especially since most series now are published in mass market pbs.

It's clear that there's not a single path forward. But elements are showing up that seem to be in the mix.

We need a coalition working to sell everyone else's work, as well as working on our own titles. How can WF help in this?

I believe Amazon ads work because someone who *wants* to buy goes hunting for something to read. The step of convincing that would-be reader to come over and look has already been done. But ads on Facebook and elsewhere require an extra step since people aren't primarily going to FB or elsewhere to buy.

Along with this is the notion of Kickstarter titles (way to go, Jeff!)  I just got this in my email. Looks like Prism is a promising idea.

Jeff’s input: "I agree with AI that weird westerns are the hottest thing going at the moment--but the audience for them is not the same as for traditional westerns. It skews younger, for one thing, and more tech-savvy. Major publishers putting out traditional westerns are practically extinct, but some of them will still publish weird westerns. I'm essentially the go-to reviewer for weird westerns at Roundup and True West, and a lot of what I see are academic treatises about weird westerns--which means the universities are getting in on the act. I have one waiting for me to review that's specifically about sex in weird westerns. It's a 350-page hardcover from the University of Nebraska Press, retailing for $99. And there aren't even any pictures!

"So there's definitely potential in that arena...it's just not likely to carry over to traditional western work. I enjoy writing both and would hate to just write the weird stuff."

More thoughts from Jeff: "It's interesting that you called out the Prism anthology. That's from Crazy 8 Press, with whom Silverado Press is loosely associated. Crazy 8 started with 8 friends who all wrote sf/fantasy stuff, and organized as a loose authors' consortium. The principals all have their own individual websites, I believe, but there's also a Crazy 8 website at which all their books receive coverage and can be ordered. If one of them puts together an anthology, the others all have open invitations to submit. They all support each other’s projects, cross-promoting to their individual fan bases (many of whom have become Crazy 8 fans rather than just reading one author, because there's enough commonality in the type of work they do--although over the years they've expanded their initial genre focuses).

"When Howard Weinstein and I talked about forming Silverado Press, we went to Crazy 8 because we're both friends with most of them, and they agreed to take us on as a separate but related imprint. We get some cross-promotion from them and a small presence on their website, and when we conceived the Silverado Press Presents anthology, they were all invited to participate. Several of them did, because even people who don't usually write westerns like writing westerns. Crazy 8 was also instrumental in setting up the Kickstarter, which I had never done.



"If Western Fictioneers could adopt a similar approach, it could be very beneficial to the organization and its members. Western Fictioneers as a brand name would be good to slap on our books, if it was understood to mean quality fiction of the old west. We have enough members that people cross-promoting one another's projects, participating in an anthology, providing blurbs, etc., would probably have an impact on sales and help us reach readers we can't find individually. It would require some retooling of the organization's structure and value. If only we knew somebody with a leadership position in the organization...

"Anyway, the Crazy 8 model, which the Prism book represents is, I believe, one good way to increase readership and sales for everyone who takes part. None of the Crazy 8 folks are becoming millionaires, but they're getting consistent sales and have a ready-made market to reach out to." {End of Jeff's musings....}

Back to my maundering on potential sources of income from our stories:

Grants may be a source of funding. But something I am, in my old age, learning, we don't have to do it all ourselves. There are grants experts out there. Every university has a phalanx of them. Maybe hiring someone to cull through certain classes of grants would be worthwhile for a writers' coalition?  I know of one western fan who specializes in compiling bibles for western series. Is finding suitable grants that much different in terms of sourcing?

I just ran an AI search and got the following (shows a start on finding freebie money). I am sure more can be found drilling down into individual states and maybe asking about companies and specific in-house magazines.

My first shot at the AI prompt: You are expert in finding monetary grants from state, city and federal sources. You will not list any contest or competition nor will you list any source requiring an entry fee or other money paid up front by the author. The grants you list in a bullet point format seek fiction of any length set in the wild west in the era 1860-1920. Provide links to each source found.

And the ChatGPT AI response:

Finding grants specifically for fiction writers focusing on the Wild West era (1860–1920) can be challenging, as many funding opportunities are broader in scope. However, here are some grants and programs that support fiction writers and may accommodate projects centered on this theme:

- **National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Literature Fellowships**: The NEA offers fellowships to published creative writers, providing $25,000 grants in prose (fiction and creative nonfiction) and poetry. These highly competitive grants are intended to support writers in their creative endeavors. [NEA Literature Fellowships]

- **Sustainable Arts Foundation Awards**: This foundation offers grants to writers and artists who are parents, providing unrestricted funds to support their creative work. While not genre-specific, writers focusing on historical fiction, including the Wild West era, are eligible to apply. [Sustainable Arts Foundation]

- **Arizona Commission on the Arts Grants**: Given your location in Scottsdale, Arizona, the state arts commission offers various grants to individual artists, including writers. These grants support the creation of new works and professional development. [Arizona Commission on the Arts]

- **Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) Grants**: If your work has a connection to the Portland, Oregon area, RACC offers grants to writers and artists for project-based works. Historical fiction writers focusing on the Wild West era may find opportunities here. [RACC Grants]

- **Wyoming Arts Council Creative Writing Fellowships**: For writers residing in Wyoming, the Arts Council offers annual creative writing fellowships. These are merit-based and intended to support writers in various genres, including fiction. [Wyoming Arts Council]

When applying for these grants, it's essential to highlight how your project aligns with the grant's objectives and how it contributes to the understanding or appreciation of the Wild West era. Carefully review each grant's eligibility requirements and guidelines to ensure your project is a good fit.

That's a start, at least. Depending on grant money is hit or miss, but it comes closer to the medieval pattern of a patron of the arts supporting writers/artists/sculptors than we have now. Unless you already have a "sugar daddy" paying you to write. If so, does your patron need another peon writing about the Old West?  Let me know. <g>

Other places to explore:

Anthologies: problem is that they don’t sell very well and are few and far between.

University presses and small presses: quality work, very few openings, not much in way of money.

Kickstarter: a good place (see Jeff’s comments above how he is doing this) but Kickstarter projects require a considerable dedication of time and careful planning. They are more complicated than just toss it out and expect people to give you money. Benefits can be that the fans signing up work to find others to contribute through various levels of incentives and stretch goals.

Patreon: start putting up stories or serialized chapters for a $1 or two a month. Or more words at a higher price. This is a way to get paid regularly (by subscription) and keep in closer touch with your most fervent readers. The problem here is one of demographics again. How many western readers will go online and jump through the hoops to set up a Patreon account?  OTOH, if you entice a few hundred patrons each chipping in a couple dollars a month, in a year this is about the advance on a full-fledged paperback. The problem is getting eyes on your account initially. "Cross pollination" with others following this route would help. "Can I borrow a cup of fans, please?"

YouTube: The same as Patreon. Set up your own channel. You can take subscriptions like Patreon, but there's another way to get paid on YouTube. You must join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) and link your channel to an AdSense for YouTube account.

Meet YouTube Partner Program Eligibility

Before applying, ensure your channel meets these criteria:


·   1,000 subscribers    

·   4,000 valid public watch hours in the past 12 months  

·   Adherence to YouTube's policies and guidelines  

·   Linked AdSense account: Once eligible, apply for the YPP through YouTube Studio.)  

The more eyes YouTube gets, the more willing they are to pay you and find advertisers. I suspect this is a bridge too far for most of us, requiring many thousands of viewers, but maybe western apparel stores or other related businesses might be enticed to drop a few ad dollars. But eyes!  This needs lots of eyes to achieve.

 Audiobooks: Amazon seems to be making this easy now, but, like print books using an Amazon ISBN, it’s not portable—you can’t take the product and sell it somewhere else. This might not be a problem, but Amazon’s deal is vastly favorable to Amazon. You can do your own audiobooks using AI. Go from text to voice using services such as Elevenlabs.io   You can clone your own voice and then use it to read your work. This sounds nice but in today’s e-scam world, I’m not sure I want anyone getting such a long stretch of me reading anything. Deepfake voice, you say?  But I am paranoid. The point is you can produce audiobooks without personally recording with your own voice.

Series: absolutely. But if mass market print is cut off, this forces us into ebooks. Monthly series in trade seems a hard sell to me. Ebooks have the same problem of cutting through the static and getting noticed which brings us back to ...

...Indie selling: Amazon, Draft2Digital, etc. This requires us to do everything to get the book out. Writing, cover, formatting … and marketing. Simply putting a book up on Amazon won’t sell unless you’re named Louis L’Amour and have the wind of 320 million sales at your back. Your current competition is something like six million other titles on Amazon, plus the backlogs of L’Amour and Zane Grey and everyone else who has written a western. I’m experimenting with ways to use AI in ads. After a bit more poking and prodding, I’ll report on how that’s gone. (Preliminary results seem to be small success for sci-fi titles, far less than exciting for westerns.)

Cross advertising each other’s works using a hashtag on the various social media (and announcing our own releases) might give a real boost. This might work best with a Patreon account on the receiving end of the PR.

I hope this isn’t an exhaustive list. Chime in with your own ideas. Because we write about the Good Ole Days doesn’t mean we can't use all them danged modern gadgets. And services. And ways to sell.

Feel free to whisper among yourselves, pass notes in class and let us all hear your thoughts. But no spitballs, please.

Bob Vardeman

president WF

Jackson Lowry Amazon Page

Karl Lassiter Amazon Page

Thursday, May 8, 2025

On This Day in the Old West May 9

 Today, we’re celebrating the founding of “The Biggest Little City,” Reno, Nevada, which was begun on March 9, 1868. On that day, more than 1,000 Americans (“from Virginia City to San Francisco”) came to Truckee Meadows to purchase town site lots.


The new town was surveyed on the north side of the Truckee River (in what is now downtown Reno), amidst a few structures and ranches. Myron C. Lake had an inn and a toll bridge set up here, “adjacent to the present site of the Riverfront Hotel.”

What prompted the building of the new town? Central Pacific Railroad officials “looked ahead of the eastward progress of railroad construction” in order to pick out a suitable site for a station in western Nevada. Myron Lake’s vast acreage on either side of the Truckee seemed idea. Early in March, Charles Crocker of Central Pacific and Myron Lake got together to palaver over land use. Ultimately, the latter offered to deed 80 acres of land to the railroad, provided it built its depot within the town site limits.

J.M. Graham, head surveyor of the Central Pacific, platted the town site on Lake’s former acreage on April 1. Years later, “recalling that memorable day, Graham laughed over the suggestion of laying out a town site on ‘All Fools’ Day.’” The as-yet-unnamed town site was bounded by West Street on the west, East Street on the east, Fourth and Fifth Streets (irregularly) on the north, and on the south by the Truckee River.

The name Argenta (silver) was first selected for the new town, offered by Crocker’s brother because of the importance in Nevada of the Comstock Lode’s mines. “Sanguine Nevadans” predicted the new city would soon become “the largest city between San Francisco and the Missouri River.” Washoe City’s Eastern Slope newspaper wished Argenta well, and that “no autumn frosts would pinch out its beauties or check its prosperity.”


By the end of April, rails had been laid to Verdi, then on May 5, construction “penetrated the western edge of the Truckee Meadows.” The place soon became “the interchange where stages and freight wagons to and from Virginia City and other towns met incoming trains from California.”

Less than two weeks before the site auction, the new town’s name was changed to Reno. Exactly why Crocker did this is unknown. Some believed it was just easier to write than Argenta. Others figured it came out of a hat full of names. In any case, the name honors Virginnia Civil War loyalist General Jesse Lee Reno, who fell in the battle of South Mountain in 1862.

The day before the auction, hundreds of people, lured by newspaper ads, hastened to the area to secure a lot for themselves once the bidding started. Would-be buyers arrived in “rickety old wagons, fancy buggies, buckboards and stagecoaches, and on horseback and on foot.” A problem soon presented itself: other than Myron Lake’s small inn, no lodging facilities were available. Some people had come prepared to camp out, but others were forced to rent high-priced blankets and sleep in the sagebrush. Food was also scarce, though “happily, there was enough whiskey to insure against thirst and to ward off the chill of the spring night air.”

At 3:00pm Saturday, May 9, railroad agent D.H Haskill addressed the thousand or more buyers who had shown up. He congratulated Nevada on completing their railroad, concluding by “reviewing the scoffing of opponents who believed that the laying of the rails would never be completed over the Sierras.” Haskill then introduced the auctioneer, Mayor Currie of Virginia City, who proceeded to “bang the gavel and sell lots.”


The east corner of Commercial Row and Virginia Streets, 25 by 100 feet and fronting the soon-to-be-built depot building, was the first to go. It fetched $550—around $10,000 in today’s money! Other lots sold for as much as $1,000, and as the auction came to a close, about 70 lots had been sold—less than a quarter of the town plat. Additional land sales were made in following days, however. 

A few productive souls who had purchased lots unpacked wagonloads of lumber that very evening. Only a week after the auction, Reno had a post office, and on Independence Day, the Reno Crescent began weekly publication. “It was soon supplanted by the Nevada State Journal and the Reno Evening Gazette, the forerunners of the modern Reno Gazette Journal.” After “lengthy court fights,” the county seat was moved from Washoe City to Reno in 1871. Oddly enough, when the courthouse was built, it was located, not in the original town site on the north side of the Truckee, but on the south, “adjacent to Myron Lake’s well-patronized saloon and roadhouse.” Why this happened … is a story for another day!

 

Sources:

Paher, Stanley, “May 9, 1868: The Birth of Reno, the Biggest Little City.”
Harpster, Jack, “Who is the Founder of Reno?”

 

J.E.S. Hays
www.jeshays.com
www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooks

Monday, May 5, 2025

A Western Perspective: Gunfighter For A Day 🤠

 Recently, I reflected on a time when I was sixteen years old and got to be Bucksin Joe's first gunfighter for a day.  Not to be confused with the actual ghost town Bucksin Joe in Park County.

The Buckskin Joe town in Cañon City was a Western movie set that had famous movies filmed there such as The Cowboys, Dutchess and the Dirt Water Fox and the mini series The Sacketts. When a movie was not being filmed there the town was an amusement park of sorts that gave tourists a feel of an old west town with a saloon, an abandoned mine, a general store, a candy shop, a magic show and gunfights on the hour in the middle of the street. Right outside of the town, you could take a train ride to the rim of the Royal Gorge. The beautiful scenery that encompassed this town made you feel like you were right in the middle of a western which was because you were. 

When I was sixteen years old, Bucksin Joe gave an opportunity for anyone willing to pay $100.00 dollars, to partake in their hourly gunfights. For me it was a dream come true and jumped at the chance. Ahead of time they sent me seven scripts that I would need to memorize and a form to fill out leaving them not responsible for an untimely death or injury. I read through these scripts with a hunger to learn my part and soon came to realize that I got killed in every one except one where I played a deputy who helped hang an outlaw. 

My parents took my sister and I camping near by the town until the big day finally arrived. I was given a mentor to follow around and soon was outfitted in my western costume. I was to play a cowboy who would get rowdy on a Saturday night in town. I had a friend who partook in all of the commotion and during one of our escapades we ran straight into trouble with the town hardcase. Long story short, the town hardcase opened up on us with a sawed off shotgun. My character was to die on the spot. Now even though I was told it was blanks it was still unnerving waiting to be shot down by a shotgun in the story. My character was laughing when he turns around and takes the blast and falls dead. I was walking away from the hardcase and could feel my skin crawl. I turned around to mock the hardcase and " BOOM!" 

Feeling relief I didn't die, I landed on my back hard. Now I had to hold that position until the end of the show when the audience would clap and bring me back to life. I lay there, breathing a sigh of relief that I was not mortally wounded. Now I just had to wait for the show to be over. That year however they had a terrible horse fly infestation and being bit on the thigh while playing dead was not an easy chore. It got so bad I was trying to flick dirt in my face to get rid of the flies. 

The day went on and I got killed a few more times until I got to play a deputy who helped deal out justice to an outlaw by an old fashioned hanging. Now, I knew the trick they were using and it was all staged but it still was hard to watch. By the end of the day I was exhausted but got a serenade from the saloon girls while drinking a sarsaparilla. 

This was one of the best experiences in my life, getting to partake in some gunfights in front of an audience. Buckskin Joe closed down in 2010 when someone bought the place and moved a large majority of the buildings to his private land, closed off to the rest of us. The town was perfect and I loved every moment spent there. I was able to live out my western dream and even twenty years later, it still is one of the best memories 🤠




Tuesday, April 22, 2025

150-250


Post (C) by Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Colorado Front Range
Image (C) Doris McCraw

2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the United States and the 150th anniversary of Colorado becoming a state. 

For those who may not know, Ulysses S. Grant signed the paperwork granting statehood to Colorado. To say he was popular in this part of the West would not be taken amiss. 

Grant first visited the Colorado Territory in 1875. Although the residents of the Territory began the process in 1864, and a Constitutional Convention in 1865.

1862 Map of the Colorado Territory
from the Library of Congress

Grant made three visits to Colorado, with the final visit in 1880. That year, he traveled from New Mexico Territory, through Pueblo to Colorado Springs. From there, he headed to Salida, taking a four-horse stage over Monarch Pass and down into Gunnison. There he toured the Taylor Park district, where one of my favorite mining towns, Tin Cup, is located. He returned to Salida and took the Denver & Rio Grande to Leadville via the new spur that had just been completed. (Author Ann Parker wrote a novel, "Silver Lies," that includes Grant's trip to Leaville)

As August 1, 2026, closes in, I will be telling more stories about the Colorado Territory prior to statehood and maybe a few just after that August 1, 1876, date.

For those who enjoy little-known facts, here's a link you might enjoy: 11 Things on Colorado's Journey to Statehood.

Until next time

Doris

Angela Raines - Amazon

Doris A. McCraw - Amazon

Thursday, April 10, 2025

On This Day in the Old West April 11

We are again called upon to record one of those awful catastrophes, incidental to steam navigation, carrying distress and dismay to the survivors, and death and deformity to the sufferers.” So read the article in the Daily Alta California on April 12, 1853. 

On April 11, the sidewheel steamer Jenny Lind, named after the opera singer P.T. Barnum called “The Swedish Nightingale,” was sailing from the then-thriving settlement of Alviso (at the southernmost point of San Francisco Bay) to the city of San Francisco. Just after noon, as the passengers were being seated for lunch, “the plate on the after head of her boiler blew out, sweeping away, in its course, and followed by the whole body of steam, the cabin bulk head and the exhaustion pipe of the engine.”

The victims of this disaster included Jacob Hoppe, first postmaster of San Jose and one of the founders of the Daily Alta California newspaper. Thirty other people were killed, including Charles White, a rancher who served as the mayor of the Pueblo of San Jose, and Bernard Murphy, who had come to California in 1844 in the first wagon train to cross the Sierras. The Daily Alta California reported that, “It appears that those only who were in the cabin at the time, or on a line with the volume of steam were injured; all those on deck, on the guards and forward of the boilers received no damage… Had the explosion happened but five minutes previous it is said that not a soul would have been injured as the cabin was empty, all hands being on deck; no other part of the boat has sustained any injury, the cabin only having been blown to pieces.

The scene on board beggars all description,” continued the reporter. “Here a fond wife, herself sinking in the arms of death, looking at the last struggles of an affectionate and long tried husband, surrounded by the dead bodies of their four innocent offspring, but a few hours before buoyant with life, health, happiness and hope. In another spot was the dying mother, endeavoring with her raw and scalded arms to embrace the only child of her bosom, a cold, stiff corpse, untimely hurried to eternity by a violent and dreadful death. There laid a strong man, convulsively wrestling with Death, whilst the hoarse rattle in his throat and the galvanic quivering of his eyes, gave token of rapid dissolution. In another spot were the torn and mangled remains of a once beautiful woman, wearing even in her horrible death a sweet smile of peace and tranquility. Ranged side by side were the dead, dying, and the sufferers of excruciating agony. Medical attendance was on hand, and every thing done that human skill and ingenuity could do ; but the circumstance, with its attendant horrors, will leave an indelible impression on the minds of all who saw it.


The Jenny Lind’s exact location at the time of the blast is uncertain. The Daily Alta California reported she was abreast of Pulgas Rancho (possibly the land grant that covered much of the Peninsula). Professor John Haskell Kemble, author of “San Francisco Bay,” a 1957 “pictorial maritime history,” wrote that the ship was “off San Francisquito Creek,” which would be near present-day East Palo Alto. Kemble also wrote that the steamboat was carrying 125 passengers when the boiler blew, killing 31 “either on the spot…or soon after from injuries received.” 

Most modern accounts place the location of the explosion somewhere between the Dumbarton and San Mateo bridges—but don’t try diving on the site. Shockingly, despite the damage, the Jenny Lind was repaired and eventually sailed again.

This disaster nearly finished the town of Alviso. Today it’s home to a Santa Clara County Park. You can book a Salt Marsh Safari and view the plentiful wildlife in the area. In 1853, however, Alviso was “a major player” in the Bay area, its docks enabling Santa Clara County to ship hay, lumber, local produce, and other products to San Francisco and beyond. Passengers could avoid the slow (and uncomfortable) stagecoach ride and sail to and from San Francisco in relative comfort. Business in Alviso declined soon after the Jenny Lind explosion, but the major reason was competition from the San Francisco-San Jose railroad that was completed in 1864. However, until the 1890s, the ferry sailed out of Alviso for San Francisco once a day.

Paul Bernal, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge and the official historian of San Jose, tells us that “the memorial of the Jenny Lind disaster is a wonderful educational tool for residents, visitors, and schoolchildren… In 1853, during the critical transition time between Mexican rule and the American era, the Jenny Lind represented cutting-edge technology in what would later become Silicon Valley.” It would be nice to be able to report that this tragedy led to reform and the end of steamboat disasters, at least in California. “But the cast-iron boilers of river and bay steamers exploded regularly for many years.” Between 1850 and 1898, a total of 270 souls met their end in a steamboat explosion.


Even if your characters weren’t around for the Jenny Lind disaster, they could have experienced the horror of steamboat explosions, either in person or via the news. Perhaps a relative or someone they knew was onboard, or they were familiar with a famous passenger. History is rife with tragedy and you can utilize it in your stories.

 

J.E.S. Hays

www.jeshays.com

www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooks

 

Sources:

Awful Steamboat Explosion,” Daily Alta California, April 12. 1853

Clifford, Jim, “Steamboat Tragedy of 1853 Killed 31,” San Mateo Daily Journal, August 27, 2018

Nolte, Carl, “Jenny Lind Ferry Disaster Commemoration,” SFGate, August 12, 2013

 

Monday, April 7, 2025

A Western Perspective: Author Spotlight on ELMER KELTON

We all have our favorite western authors. Those that have taken us on journeys across rugged mountain ranges, endless prairies and scorching deserts. Giving us in turn, unforgettable characters who dared to brave the west and call it their home. 

For me, one author stands out slightly ahead of the pack and that is Elmer Kelton. He was the first author who really challenged me to look at the characters over the action. He takes the simplest story lines and makes them seep with passion and emotion through the character's hopes, fears, ambitions and regrets. There are not simple black hat and white hat characters in a Kelton story. He lets the flaws of his characters show and it brings them down to earth and they are relatable to all of us. Sometimes you might find yourself rooting for both sides of an issue. Some of his most unforgettable characters are Hewey Calloway, Rusty Shannon, Charlie Flagg and so many more. 

Even though I never got a chance to meet him, Elmer Kelton is my writing mentor. I have spent hours and hours listening to the talks he gave on writing. Listening to them over and over again, picking up some new nuggets of information on writing and storytelling. I think one of my favorite bits of information is taking on a historical topic that has not been done to death and incorporating that into a story. Taking on the idea of change and how that could impact characters of a different time and how they might prosper to the change or simply resist the change. 

Hewey Callaway is my favorite Elmer Kelton character. I love the freedom and confidence that Hewey displays, even when it gets him into trouble. I watched The Good Old Boys when I was a kid and thought, this story is boring, because I wanted to know why there was no gunfight in the movie. As I grew up and actually started reading Elmer Kelton, it became quite clear to me that, even though I love me a good western shootout(still so to this day), that is not where the story lies. The story is in the characters and their individual pursuits. Today, The Good Old Boys is one of my all time favorite western movies and I love the continuing Hewey Callaway series. 

A couple years ago, I was able to travel to San Angelo and go to The Cactus Book Store which has the largest display of Elmer Kelton books I have ever seen. I easily spent a lot of money on signed books, and news articles written by him. From there, I went to the mural of Elmer Kelton and then to the Stephen Central Library that has a sculpture of him and another large section of his books. Finally, after lunch at Twisted Root, I stopped by Elmer Kelton's grave, to pay my respects. He has taught me a lot and even though he had already gone to be with the Lord, he has taught me so much about the craft of writing.

In wrapping this up I strongly recommend if you haven't already, getting an Elmer Kelton book and getting lost in it.  A couple favorites of hand are his"Texas Rangers" series, "Slaughter", "The Far Canyon", "Cloudy In The West", "Six Bits A Day" "Time It Never Rained", "The Wolf and The Buffalo" and "Joe Pepper" to name a few. 

That is it for me for this months Western Perspective. I hope you all have a great week 🤠

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Relevant? It Depends


Post (C) Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Photo (C) Doris McCraw

Relevant? It depends. I've been thinking about relevance lately. With March as National Women's History Month, the question of women's relevance in Western History is important to me, but is it the same for others?

Relevance: important to the matter at hand. This is the definition that a search brought up.

When we read Westerns, the stories are usually male-oriented, with lots of action, etc. If the story is female-oriented, it seems the same action, etc., or, my personal pet peeve, the woman is 'violated' and needs to be saved or seeks revenge. 

How true or realistic is this in actual history? How many times have men gone off and it's the woman who does her job and his while he is gone? Think about Abigail Adams, Civil War Wives, or any number of occasions when the woman is placed in the position to make the decisions. 

What are your thoughts on the subject? 

Photo (C) Doris McCraw

Part 2:

Blogs, relevant? As the first part mentions, it is important to the matter at hand.

Blogs are a great way for a writer, new or experienced, to showcase their abilities. At the same time, what is contained in the subject matter is also something to consider.

I write about history. Almost everything I post on a blog, Substack, or other social media is usually history-focused, so most of my work will show up on searches. 

Tagging is also relevant to ensure the quality of what you are sharing. The keywords, the means of searching for your work, are also important.

So, Blogs? Relevant? Love to hear your thoughts. Too many blogs, no time? Commenting? Do you like to know how people respond to your work? 

Until next time.

Doris McCraw

Angela Raines - Amazon

Doris A. McCraw - Amazon




Monday, March 17, 2025

The Times They Are A-Changin’

 

Again


I’ve been lucky in my career.  I began writing in the middle of the 1970's fantasy boom.  I caught the tail end of the men’s action/adventure books.  Then I saddled up for a long ride with Jake Logan and other series westerns.  These were all done by traditional publishers selling mass market books in ways that have their roots in the Depression.

 The first major change in the business came with the introduction of ebooks.  I started putting titles up on Amazon and other indie venues about 15 years ago, with moderate (to no) success.  But it was an education I needed in producing the book from the ground up.  I coined a term VIPUB–Vertically Integrated Publishing.  The author had to do it all.  Writing, editing, cover, formatting, publishing and promoting. Along with messy business things like how to take money over the internet (and dealing with state taxes on those sales).  The whole enchilada, as we say in New Mexico.  That covers a lot of talents/skills and I am not all that good at many of them.

But the major book publishers still provided paying markets.  For me, over the past 10 years I increasingly focused on the westerns.  But the series began drying up.  No more Jake Logans.  No more Ralph Comptons.

 Smart phones and audio books and Kindles all provided new and different markets, but the bedrock was still the mass market paperback.

 Only now that is changing and we need to figure out what to do as authors, selling our own work.  If you missed it, this is the Publishers Weekly article that details how the publishers and distributors intend to “winnow” mass market pbs by 2026.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/97179-book-publishers-plan-for-a-reduced-mass-market-paperback-footprint.html

 What I read here is that the only print will be trade and hardcover.  In 50 years of writing and over 350 titles published, I have had 3 books (2 westerns) that came out first as hardcovers.  YMMV.  But for me this looks like an asteroid heading for earth (mass markets).

 Original anthologies don’t sell well.  You know how well you do with original ebooks.  Amazon (and others) lets you do Print on Demand.  But sales are nowhere near what the major publishers can offer for mass market originals.  And we have to do VIPUB.  All that work when we could be writing new fiction.

 I don’t have any answers how to survive in a world where mass market (and midlist) books disappear.  So I am asking for discussion from the rest of the Western Fictioneers.  What works best for you?  Are your sales of ebooks and others strong?  What did you do?  Are small presses the answer?  Ads, newsletters, giveaways, podcasts, Kickstarter?  What formats and lengths and topics are most viable?  Is there something you think is a wild idea that’d never work?   Please share it.  This may be the time for wild and crazy ideas.

 We’re all in this writing corral together.  Sharing ideas can be the way we all survive the changing markets.  What can WF do?

 Bob Vardeman

president WF

Jackson Lowry Amazon Page

Karl Lassiter Amazon Page



Thursday, March 13, 2025

On This Day in the Old West March 14

 For today, let’s be a little hedonistic. On March 14, 1896, the Sutro Baths opened outside of Cliff House in San Francisco. The baths, the world’s largest indoor swimming pool establishment, were built on the western side of San Francisco by the wealthy entrepreneur and former mayor, Adolph Sutro.


The baths were situated in a small beach inlet below Cliff House (which was also owned by Sutro at that time). Today, both Cliff House and the baths site are a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, operated by the US National Park Service.


In a 1912 article by J.E. Van Hoosear of Pacific Gas and Electric, we learn that Sutro used 100,000 square feet of glass, 600 tons of iron, 3.5 million board feet of lumber, and 10,000 cubic yards of concrete to build his baths. Facilities included:

·      Six saltwater pools and one freshwater pool. The baths were 499.5 feet long and 254.1 feet wide for a capacity of nearly 2 million US gallons. They were equipped with seven slides, 30 swinging rings, and one springboard.

·      A museum displaying an extensive collection of stuffed and mounted animals, historic artifacts, and artwork, much of which Sutro acquired from the Woodward’s Gardens estate sale in 1894.

·      A 2700-seat amphitheater, and club rooms with capacity for 1100

·      517 private dressing rooms

·      20,000 bathing suits and 40,000 towels to rent

 

During high tides, water would flow directly into the pools from the nearby ocean, recycling two million US gallons of water in about an hour. During low tides, a powerful turbine water pump, built inside a cave at sea level, could be switched on from a control room and could fill the tanks at a rate of 6,000 US gallons a minute, recycling the water in five hours.

At one time, the baths were serviced by two rail lines. The Ferries and Cliff House Railroad ran along the cliffs of Lands End overlooking the Golden Gate, from the baths to a terminal at California Street and Central Avenue (now Presidio Avenue). The second line, the Sutro Railroad, ran electric trolleys to Golden Gate Park and downtown San Francisco. Both lines were later taken over by the Market Street Railway.


Sutro was a colorful character with “passions for art and natural history,” and he incorporated his interests into his baths. According to the National Parks Service, “The front entrance contained natural history exhibits, galleries of sculptures, paintings, tapestries, and artifacts from Mexico, China, Asia, and the Middle East, including the popular Egyptian mummies. In addition to swimming, Sutro Baths offered visitors many other attractions, including band concerts, talent shows, and restaurants.”


After Sutro died in 1898, Sutro Baths struggled for years, mostly due to the astronomic operating and maintenance costs. The facilities were sold to a succession of owners, with each trying various ideas to make money. Eventually, the southernmost part was converted into an ice-skating rink, with a wall separating it from the now-dilapidated swimming pools. In addition to financial struggles, the baths became the focus of a significant civil rights battle in 1897, when John Harris sued Adolph Sutro after being denied entry due to his race. Harris won his case, making it a landmark victory against racial segregation in public facilities. This case “set an important precedent for future civil rights actions, underscoring the growing demand for equal treatment and access to public spaces.”


In 1966, a fire destroyed the building, which was in the process of being destroyed to make way for high-rise apartments. All that remains to this day are concrete walls, blocked-off stairs and passageways, and a tunnel with a deep crevice in the middle. The fire was determined to have been caused by arson, and shortly afterwards, the developers left the city and claimed insurance money. The land was eventually purchased by the National Parks.

If you’d like a special treat, watch this 1897 film of the baths by Thomas Edison!

 

J.E.S. Hays
www.jeshays.com
www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooks

 

Hartman, Sierra, “Rare Photos of Sutro Baths on its 119th Anniversary,” The Bold Italic, https://thebolditalic.com/rare-photos-of-sutro-baths-on-its-119th-anniversary-the-bold-italic-san-francisco-9237ef8da4be

Martini, John, “Signs of Sutro Baths,” Open SF https://www.opensfhistory.org/osfhcrucible/2016/12/

Middleton, Chris , Amber Wright, and Clio Admin. "Sutro Baths." Clio: Your Guide to History. April 16, 2017.Accessed February 23, 2025. https://theclio.com/entry/15208