New books and stories by Western Fictioneers

Author-members of Western Fictioneers continue to publish Western novels galore (no pun on the famous Ian Fleming character whose first name was Pussy). Below please find the latest. If something looks good to you, push a button and make a purchase. These days, that’s all it takes.

Pete Peterson

Avalon/Encore: The Relentless Gun, A Dark Trail Winding and Reckoning At Raindance, all in both paperback and Kindle... and one crime novel from Melange Books: All The Sad Young Savages, in paperback and ebook.

Dave Fisher

My latest release is The Turning of Copper Creek.  By the end of January I will have two new novels coming out, Zak Doolin's Gold and We Never Back Down, Book 4 of The Poudre Canyon Saga.  The Poudre Canyon Saga is proving to be a very popular series.  Information can be found on my website.    All these books and those that have been out for a while can be found on my Amazon Author Page .

Troy D. Smith

Lines of Blue and Gray: Tales of the Civil War is up for kindle, and paperback should be up soon as well (final proof approved.)  Also short story "Christmas Comes to Freedom Hill" is on amazon. 

Jory Sherman

The Baron Decision from High Hill Press (or maybe Cactus Country). Another western is due out from there, Deadly Duel, but don’t know if it’s available yet.  Sidewinder series, entitled Nest of Vipers. 

Phil Dunlap

AmazonEncore just published the fifth book in the Marshal Piedmont Kelly series, Apache Lawman. It continues the series started by Avalon Books. It is available in Trade paper and ebook formats from Amazon only. My next in the Cotton Burke series is Cotton's Devil from Berkley. It debuts January 1.

Matthew Mayo

Tucker's Reckoning (Ralph Compton series, Penguin/NAL), and Hot Lead, Cold Heart (Gritty Press).  And coming soon, a pair of short stories under the title Two for the Trail (Gritty Press). .

Cheryl Pierson

Christmas anthology that released not long ago with 4 of my western/Civil War short stories in it called A Hero For Christmas. Also had a couple of single sell short stories that released (Christmas theme) separately-- A Night for Miracles  and Meant to Be. A few weeks ago, I had a cont. rom. sus. book, Temptation's Touch that released.

And of course, my story in Six Guns and Slay Bells, and my part in Wolf Creek

                                         

Keith Souter

Medical Meddlers, Mediums and Magicians - the Victorian age of credulity (The History Press) hardback and ebook. The Classic Guide to King Arthur (Golden Guides Press) hardback and ebook. The Little Book of Golf (The History Press) hardback and ebook. The Pocket Guide to Dice and Dice Games (Pen & Sword) paperback and ebook, and due out in USA by Skyhorse 1st Jan 2013. How You Can Talk to Anyone:Teach yourself ebook: Never be lost for words (Hodder Educational) previously out in paperback.  The Curse of the Body Snatchers, the first YA novel in the series The Adventures of Jack Moon (G-Press) paperback and ebook  And in the process, due out in summer 2013. Understanding and Dealing with Stroke (Summersdale) paperback and ebook. Understanding and Dealing with Depression (Summersdale) paperback and ebook. The Tea Cyclopedia - a toast to tea (Skyhorse). Death in Transit (Hale Crime) the fifth in the Inspector McKinnon, West Uist series of crime novels - hardback. More details are on my website if needed.  

James Griffin

Death Rides the Rails has just been released by Solstice Publishing. Ebooks are available now through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and the publisher, or through my website. Print copies will be available within a week or two.

Meg Mims

My large print edition of Double Crossing is out now!! From Center Point Publishing -- it's GORGEOUS! and it was chosen a Finalist in the Best Books for 2012 by USA Book News besides winning the '12 Spur for Best First Novel!  The sequel, Double or Nothing, will be out in 2013.

James Reasoner

The Silver Alibi (A Judge Earl Stark Western)

[Kindle Edition] 

[trade large print]

James is a man of many words, but few words, if you get what I mean.

Charles T. Whipple

Writing as Chuck Tyrell, other than Western Fictioneers' Six-Guns and Slay Bells and 2012 Christmas Selection from Victory Tales Press, I published only two Westerns in 2012. Dollar a Day, and Road to Rimrock. Both are hardback from Black Horse Westerns and will not hit the eBook circuit for some time. 

Writing as Charles T. Whipple, I've introduced novellas about the Masacado Scrolls, a fantasy saga that is set in ancient Japan. So far, four novellas are out. The Fall of Awa, The Shadow Shield, The Road to Kio, and The Horse Soldiers.

After a look at all the credits above, just tell me the Western is dead. Ha.

Livia Reasoner / Charlie Whipple

Meet Western Fictioneer Matthew Pizzolato

1. What was your first Western novel or story and was it published? 
My first published work was a short story titled "The Old Outlaw" and it was accepted by a small press magazine called The Storyteller.

2. What Western writer or writers of the past were the biggest influence on your work?
I grew up reading Louis L'Amour novels and quickly accumulated everything he had written. I not only enjoyed his writing for the entertainment value but I gleaned a lot of life lessons from his stories that shaped me into the man that I am today. His stories always started fast and contained a lot of action, and I suppose that subconsciously, I've tried to begin my stories the same way.

I also enjoy reading Don Coldsmith, Loren D. Estleman and Elmore Leonard.

3. Is there a particular scene from a Western novel that was so powerful when you read it that it stuck with you? Perhaps has become a scene you've tried to live up to/equal in your own writing?
I'd have to pick a movie for that one. The most powerful scene I've ever watched was the ending of the Clint Eastwood film, Unforgiven. Seeing it for the first time gave me chills and goose bumps. Eastwood's character in that movie was part of the inspiration for Wesley Quaid, the antihero protagonist of my latest release, OUTLAW.

4. What's the first Western you remember reading from cover to cover?
I'd be hard pressed pick out one in particular because I've been reading Westerns for as long as I can remember. Most likely, it was something by Louis L'Amour.

5. Who is your favorite historical Western figure, and why?
Wild Bill Hickok. I've always been fascinated with his life and the tragic events of his death.

6. How much historical research do you do, and how do you go about it?
I've accumulated several shelves of historical books and I turn to them as I need to look up something. I do a lot of research online as well and on occasion, I'll visit the library.

7. How important is setting? How important is it to get setting right? What's the best use of setting in a Western as far as you're concerned?
I think that setting can be critical in a Western, as vital sometimes as a character, but a lot of it depends on the story. Louis L'Amour always used setting well in his stories.

8. How do you choose where to begin your story? Do you use prologues?
It depends on the story. I've used them before, but most of the time I don't. Usually, I start with an idea see where it takes me.

9. Do you do all your research ahead of time, or as you go along?
I research as I'm writing. If I come across something I'm not sure about I'll look it up online or in one of the historical books I have. Then I'll do a fact check again as part of the editing process.

10. Which of your characters do you identify with the most, and why? Was there a role model for this particular character?
My Texas Ranger character, Jud Nelson, would probably be the one that I identify most with, but I have put part of myself in all of the characters that I write, whether they are heroes or villains.

11. Do you outline and plot your story or do you write as the inspiration or MUSE leads?
Sometimes I write a general plot summary to serve as a sort of road map, but I never outline an entire story. For me, doing so would take the fun and enjoyment out of writing. Like Louis L'Amour said, I write because I want to see what happens next.

12. Are you a conservative in your writing and stick with traditional ideas for your characters and plots or do you like to go beyond the norm and toss in the unexpected and why?
I like to go against the norm and to create characters that don't fit the mold. Whenever I read fiction, I like to find characters that I can identify with, or in other words, characters that are flawed but are inherently good like antiheroes.

13. Do you need quiet when you write, listen to music, or have the TV on and family around?
I prefer it to be quiet, but I can write with noise going on around me.

14. Have you experienced the "dreaded" writer's block and how did you deal with it?
I don't believe in writer's block. Like Robert B. Parker said, I think that writer's block is another word for lazy. Whenever I get stuck on a story, I put it aside and work on something else. I've found that letting something simmer in my subconscious for a short period allows me to return to it with a clear mind.

15. Who is your favorite fictional character that you have created?
The protagonist of OUTLAW, Wesley Quaid, is my favorite character because for me, writing an antihero is a lot of fun. Instead of being limited by the moral absolutes that the traditional hero an villain stories require, I find that writing an antihero allows me to explore the gray areas of morality.

16. Who is your favorite fictional character that someone else created?
William Tell Sackett by Louis L'Amour. There was a lot of the loner aspect of Tell Sackett that I found myself identifying with as a young man.

17. Do you address "modern" issues in Westerns? Racism. Feminism. Downs Syndrome. Mental disabilities. Genetic disorders. Sociopathy. Immigrant questions. Brutality. Pedophilia. Any more?
I have addressed racism and bullying in a couple of my most recently published stories, "Day of Reckoning," and "Sixguns and Pitchforks," that were published in online magazines.

18. Have you found that being able to self publish through Kindle and Nook, that you find yourself writing more of what you want rather than what the agent, editor, and publisher wants?
Apart from my short stories published in print journals and online magazines, I have always self published, so I've never had to deal with having anyone else tell me what to write.

19. Do you make a living writing? If not, what is your day job?
I don't yet make my living from writing, but that is a goal that I am striving toward. In the meantime, I work as a meat cutter in a grocery store.

20. What are you writing right now?
I'm working on a series of short stories that is a sequel of sorts to my latest release, OUTLAW. I will be publishing them as a collection the first part of next year.

21. What do you plan to write in the future?
I'll always be writing Westerns because I think the potential of the genre is endless.

22. What made you decide to write Western fiction?
I decided to write Western fiction because I've always loved reading Westerns. I always said that I was born in the wrong century and writing allows me to go back in time and live vicariously through my characters.

Excerpt of Wolf Creek Book 3

MURDER IN DOGLEG CITY

PROLOGUE

  

Laird Jenkins had been in so many saloons, gambling dens, and houses of ill repute across the West that he couldn't even begin to remember all of them. Sometimes it seemed to him that he had spent his entire life breathing in the distinctive yet dubious perfume blended from tobacco smoke, stale beer, whiskey, piss, unwashed human flesh, bay rum, and cheap lilac water.

One thing he knew: the dens of iniquity here in Dogleg City, the less savory area of the settlement known as Wolf Creek, weren't any different from the ones he had visited elsewhere, with one or two exceptions.

The place he was in at the moment, Asa's Saloon, was one of those exceptions. It was owned by a black man, something you didn't see every day. Many of the clientele were black as well, but not all—there were a handful of Mexicans and a few white men who looked down on their luck. Not the sort of place Laird would normally choose to drink in, but he wasn’t really there to drink. He was there to do a little business with Asa Pepper. That business wasn't concluded yet, but Laird thought he had made a good start on it.

Without saying good night to anyone – there wasn't anyone in here that he would want to strike up a social conversation with, as Asa’s customers tended to be the dregs of the town – Laird left the saloon. He paused on the boardwalk just outside to take a deep breath of the night air and clear some of the saloon fumes from his lungs. He was about to head toward the Imperial Hotel, ready to turn in for the night, when an overpowering urge struck him. He turned the other way, toward the nearby alley, and started fumbling with the buttons of his fly.

Damn, he told himself, he wasn't old enough to be plagued like this. He ought to have a few years left, at least, before he started having to hurry these things or else he'd piss his britches.

The darkness of the alley folded around him. He got himself set, ready to relieve his bladder. And then, wouldn't you know it, the blasted thing went balky on him and refused to do anything.

With that to worry him, he almost didn't hear the faint noise of someone moving behind him. Laird didn't particularly like the idea of being disturbed at his personal business like this, and he knew as well that robbers often lurked in alleys near saloons, lying in wait for unwary drunks. His hand moved slightly toward the butt of the Colt on his hip.

But maybe it was nothing. A cat or a rat. Or maybe Asa Pepper had followed him from the saloon, deciding that he wanted to hear more of what Laird had to say about how they could both make some money.

“Mister Pepper?” Laird said without looking behind him. “Is that—”

The muzzle flash split the darkness. A blink of orange flame, there and then gone, and as it lit up the alley something smashed into Laird's back, a hammer-blow almost perfectly centered between his shoulder blades. It drove him forward off his feet. His face smashed into the hard-packed dirt of the alley floor. A fierce pain expanded through him, followed by an even more terrifying numbness. In that brief moment while Laird's muscles still worked, he managed to roll onto his back. Dying in an alley behind a saloon was bad enough. Dying with his face in the dirt and shit and trash of that alley was worse.

Laird tried and failed to draw air into his lungs. Everything was slipping away from him, and he wished he could breathe in that heady saloon fragrance once again, just one more time, just . . .

Now Available on the Nook

Wolf Creek: Murder in Dogleg City Now Available at Amazon

Welcome back to Wolf Creek.

Here you will find many of your favorite authors, working together as Ford Fargo to weave a complex and textured series of Old West adventures like no one has ever seen. Each author writes from the perspective of his or her own unique character, blended together into a single novel.

In our latest adventure: Dogleg City is what folks in Wolf Creek call the seedy part of town. Life is cheap there, and death is common. At first this murder seemed like any other –but the more Marshal Sam Gardner and his deputies learn about it, the more it seems this death will blow Wolf Creek wide open…

About the author: Beneath the mask, Ford Fargo is not one but a posse of America's leading western authors who have pooled their talents to create a series of rip-snortin', old fashioned sagebrush sagas. Saddle up. Read ‘em Cowboy! These are the legends of Wolf Creek.

Appearing as Ford Fargo in this installment: L. J. Washburn, Matthew P. Mayo, Phil Dunlap, Chuck Tyrell, Jerry Guin, & Troy D. Smith

    Coming soon for the Nook at Barnes and Nobles

Sample - Wolf Creek: Kiowa Vengeance

The six-man Kiowa scouting party came down on the Manning ranch like a wolf on the fold.

Roy Manning and his younger brother, Hal, had been about to go looking for a couple of strays. They’d just ridden out of the barn when Hal got an arrow through the throat. He made a gurgling sound and clutched his neck with both hands. Blood spurted between his fingers, and his horse broke into a run, throwing Hal’s body off about twenty yards away.

A ball from an 1866 Henry Yellow Boy blew a hole in Roy’s heart, and he pitched from the saddle, dead before he hit the dirt.

Two of the Kiowa warriors jumped from their horses and drew their knives. One cut away Roy’s scalp while the other was busy stripping Hal to remove his genitals.

The other four warriors had already stormed into the house, where Sue Manning was trying to hide her son and two young daughters. A warrior knocked her to the floor with one blow, while the other three dealt with the screaming children. All the surviving Mannings were dragged outside.

They killed the boy first, then held Sue while they raped her daughters. She’d fainted long before they got to her.

When the warriors rode away from the ranch, no one was left alive. And in that, they were lucky. The scouting party, steeped in blood, headed northeast, toward the road where the stage from Wichita would be heading for Wolf Creek.

This Sample is from the opening chapter by Bill Crider. Crider is a native Texan and former college teacher and administrator living in scenic Alvin, Texas, near enough to the Texas Gulf Coast to have been through two hurricanes. He has written around seventy-five novels in various genres, including both standalone westerns under his own name and series western novels under various house names. His mystery novels featuring Sheriff Dan Rhodes have been appearing just about every year since 1986. He has been nominated for the Edgar Award and the Shamus Award for his novels, and He won the Anthony and Derringer Awards for his short crime fiction. His wife, Judy, is his proofreader and constant inspiration. They make a great partnership. If you want to learn more about them, check out Bill's website at www.billcrider.com or follow his blog at http://billcrider.blogspot.com.

Wolf Creek: Kiowa Vengeance

Welcome to Wolf Creek.

Here you will find many of your favorite authors, working together as Ford Fargo to weave a complex and textured series of Old West adventures like no one has ever seen. Each author writes from the perspective of his or her own unique character, blended together into a single novel. In our latest adventure, Wolf Creek is threatened by marauding Kiowa warriors who seek to avenge the deaths of their comrades at the hands of buffalo hunters. While the town fortifies itself, and a cavalry detachment looks for the raiders, the stage from Wichita is attacked –leaving a handful of Wolf Creek citizens alone and on foot in hostile territory…

About the author: Beneath the mask, Ford Fargo is not one but a posse of America's leading western authors who have pooled their talents to create a series of rip-snortin', old fashioned sagebrush sagas. Saddle up. Read ‘em Cowboy! These are the legends of Wolf Creek.

Appearing as Ford Fargo in this installment:

Bill Crider, Jackson Lowry, Kerry Newcomb, Troy D. Smith, Frank Roderus, Robert J. Randisi.

Trade paperback only $8.99 

Ebook only $2.99

   Barnes & Noble Nook

Sample 3: Six-guns and Slay Bells: A Creepy Cowboy Christmas

Western Fictioneers presents a sample of a James Reasoner's story in Six-Guns and Slay Bells: A Creepy Cowboy Christmas

Presents for One and All

JAMES REASONER, a lifelong Texan, has been a professional writer for more than thirty years. In that time, he has authored several hundred novels and short stories in numerous genres. Best known for his Westerns, historical novels, and war novels, he is also the author of two mystery novels that have achieved cult classic status, Texas Wind and Dust Devils. Writing under his own name and various pseudonyms, his novels have garnered praise from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and the Los Angeles Times, as well as appearing on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. He lives in a small town in Texas with his wife, award-winning fellow author Livia J. Washburn. www.jamesreasoner.com.

Sample: Wolf Creek: Bloody Trail

Sample from chapter two, by Clay More which is a pen-name for Keith Souter.  Keith was born in St Andrews, Scotland. He studied Medicine at Dundee University and then practiced as a family doctor in the city of Wakefield, England for thirty years. While he was at medical school he started to write children’s stories for a family magazine, but after qualifying as a doctor the exigencies of the job were such that the focus of his writing was on medicine. He has also been a health columnist for almost thirty years and haswritten about a dozen medical and health books. In addition he writes non-fiction books including Schoolboy Science Remembered; The Pocket Guide to Dice and Dice Games; The Little Book of Genius; The Little Book of Golf; Medical Meddlers, Mediums and Magicians – the Victorian Age of Credulity and The Classic Guide to King Arthur. Using the pen-name of Clay More he writes traditional westerns with the Black Horse Westerns imprint of Hale of London: Raw Deal at Pasco Springs; Nemesis for the Judge; Double-Dealing at Dirtville; A Rope for Scudder and Stampede at Rattlesnake Pass. He also writes Scottish-based crime novels as Keith Moray for Hale: The Gathering Murders; Deathly Wind; Murder Solstice and Flotsam and Jestsam. In 2006 he won a Fish Prize for his short historical story "A Villain’s Tale" and writing as Keith Souter started a series of historical mysteries set around Sandal Castle, the ruined medieval castle that he lived within arrowshot of: The Pardoner’s Crime and The Fool’s Folly. Hen. The summer of 2012 the first in his series of Victorian children’s adventures begins with The Curse of the Body Snatchers by G-Press. his website is www.keithsouter.co.uk and his blog is http://west-uist-chronicle.blogspot.co.uk  He is a member of the Society of Authors, The Crime Writers’ Association, Medical Journalists’ Association, International Thriller Writers, Western Writers of America and Western Fictioneers.

. . .

Jim Danby took a final glance at his watch then stowed it inside his vest. He ran the back of his hand against the three days’ growth of stubble on his cheek and stretched himself in the saddle. He was a lean, rangy man of about thirty with a ready, toothy smile and cruel eyes. A product of the War, he and his men had ridden with Quantrill and reveled in the Lawrence Raid. Since then, under his leadership, the Danby gang had become one of the most successful and feared gangs in the West. They had parlayed their wartime skills into bank-robbing. And in Danby’s eyes, they were the best, because he was the best. Planning and ruthless execution were his tenets.

“Any moment now,” he said to Wes Hammond, his lieutenant and comrade of almost ten years.

Wes Hammond nodded dispassionately. Unlike Danby, he was not given to smiling, unless he was doing what he was best at—hurting people. He was about the same age and build as his boss, although with his longer hair, petulant lips and clean-shaven face he looked somewhat younger. He nodded and pulled his hat firmly down on his head.

Danby put a hand on the pommel of his saddle and turned round to face the twenty mounted men. They had gathered out of sight of the town in the trees that fringed the boulders on the other side of Wolf Creek. “Okay boys, we go in as planned, as soon as we hear the first two shots. We cross the ford and hit the town. I’ll take the first column down the main street. Wes will lead the other down the first left, then along Lincoln Street. You all know the layout.”

Wes turned in his saddle. He drew out his beloved .42 Le Mat cap and ball black powder revolver. Not made for fast drawing, it was virtually a one-man artillery piece. With nine shots in its cylinder for shooting from the regular barrel, it also had an 18-gauge shotgun barrel beneath for its tenth shot. He hefted it in his hand and raised it. It had been a popular piece among various elements of the Confederacy. It took time to load—but as a killing piece, he was proud of it. And on a raid such as this, once he had discharged every round, he had his Navy Colts to fall back on.

“We are all armed to the teeth. This will go as smooth as silk. We’re going to divide up into threes and fours. Each group will take one of the sections of the two main streets. Bates and Milton will already have cut the town in two and contained the law, so one man from each group will cover all the alleys and side streets in his section. If anyone so much as pops their head into an alley, discourage them. If they won’t stay discouraged—kill them.”

Danby grinned. Although Wes had needed to be shown who was the master in their early days, he liked to think that he had inculcated and refined a streak of ruthlessness in him. “Ketch and Jackson, you two know what you have to do?”

A stocky young rider at the back grinned. “Sure we know, boss. We shoot every damned horse we see.”

To read more of this entertaining western, you will have to buy the book and now is the time because Wolf Creek Book 2: Kiowa Vengeance is coming soon.

Sample 2: Six-guns and Slay Bells: A Creepy Cowboy Christmas

 For Halloween Western Fictioneers presents a sample of a second story in Six-Guns and Slay Bells: A Creepy Cowboy Christmas

The Longest Night 

by Larry D. Sweazy

LARRY D. SWEAZY won the WWA Spur Award for Best Short Fiction in 2005, won the Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western Fiction 2011 and 2012, and was nominated for a SFMS Derringer award in 2007. He has published over 50 articles and short stories, which have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine; The Adventure of the Missing Detective; Boys’ Life; Hardboiled, and other publications and anthologies. Larry is the author of the Josiah Wolfe, Texas Ranger series (Berkley). He is a member of MWA (Mystery Writers of America), WWA (Western Writers of America), and WF (Western Fictioneers). Larry lives in the Midwest, with his wife, Rose, two dogs, and a cat. www.larrydsweazy.com

 The flames had died down, leaving only the glowing orange coals to give off any heat. Neither man noticed; they were fast asleep after a long journey. But the wolves noticed. They could smell the meat of a fresh kill, see the white-tailed deer strung up from a gangly cottonwood by its hooves, left, oddly, to bleed out overnight.

The alpha, a stoic gray wolf, his fur dotted with more than a fair share of scars, padded around the perimeter of the makeshift camp as softly as he could. The deer felt like bait left out to draw in the pack. Something wasn’t right. The behavior of the humans was unusual—or the alpha assumed they were stupid. Unaware of the way of the world beyond the fire.

The rest of the pack stood in wait, just beyond the shadows, listening for the grunts and growls that would command them into action.

The deer was easy pickings for a pack this size, bound and hung like it was, the hard work of the kill already done for them. There were twelve wolves in all, most of them hungry—but not starving. The pack was glad to see, and feel, the depths of winter, when the hunting was easier. The sick and tired were less of a challenge, less trouble to bring down. Especially the bison, weak, and caught knee-deep in snow. The snow season was more bountiful, but some of the pack still longed for the long days of summer when the sun offered more time to play—and kill.

There was snow on the ground, but not so much that it was difficult to walk. The leaves had turned to gold on the aspens and fallen to the ground, urging the elk to move to higher ground, off the moraine, more than two moons ago. The bison had begun to move, too, albeit slowly, gobbling at what tender roots they could find under the snow. All in the world was right, progressing along the way as it should. Except for the presence of the humans.

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Sample of Six-guns and Slay Bells: A Creepy Cowboy Christmas

Sheriff Santa and the Ghost of Two Gun Jim

A “Sheriff Santa” Story

 By Robert J. Randisi

ROBERT J. RANDISI is the author of more than 550 books in the Western, Private Eye, Men's Adventure, and Horror genres. As J.R. Roberts he is the creator and author of the long running series "The Gunsmith." He also wrote and created the Tracker, Angel Eyes, Bounty Hunter, Mountain Jack Pike, Widowmaker, Gamblers, Sons of Daniel Shaye and Ryder series. Born in Brooklyn, New York he currently resides in Clarksville, Missouri—a town of 500 people overlooking the Mississippi River—with writer "Christine Matthews."

As the legend goes, Two-Gun Jim Turner suddenly changed his villainous ways on Christmas Day, stood up against a gang that wanted to take over a whole town as a Christmas present to themselves. He saved the town, but got gunned down at the same time. They say Turner died angry, and still roams the earth trying to find a way back.

That was forty years ago . . .

* * *

Kate Timmons told Sheriff Andy Tate, “Stand still, will you?”

“You’re pinching me.”

“We wouldn’t be having this problem if you hadn’t gone and got yourself shot last year while wearing your Santa suit.”

“Wasn’t my fault somebody tried to rob the bank during our fittin’,” he complained. “Besides, why couldn’t you just darn the hole?”

“It wasn’t just a hole, Andy,” she said. “You bled all over it.”

“Well, excuse me for bleedin’ when I get shot!”

Kate sat back on her heels and stared up at the man in the red suit, standing on a stool. They’d been playing this game for many years, and the townspeople were still waiting for them to make it legal.

“My God, Andy, did you get fatter since last year?” she demanded.

The Sheriff of Great Bend looked down at his own belly critically. She said this to him every year.

“I don’t think so,” he said, giving her the same answer.

Before Kate could respond a man rushed into Kate’s Dress Shop.

“Sheriff, that fella Brannigan and his boys are over to the bank.”

“Which one, Harvey?” he asked. The town had two banks.

“The Great Bend.”

“What are they doin’, Barney?”

”I think they’re gonna rob it.”

Andy Tate looked at Kate, then stepped down from her step stool and reached for his gun.

“Oh no, Andy Tate, don’t you do this again!” she said.

“I’m sorry, Kate,” he said, “but I gotta go.”

“Don’t you get shot in your Santa suit like you did last year!”

“Kate,” he said, “I’ll try my best not to get shot, at all.”

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Review of Six-Guns and Slay Bells: A Creepy Cowboy Christmas

. . . VERDICT This anthology lives up to its claim of being "the most unusual Western Christmas anthology every published." For horror and Western aficionados.       Library Journal Review

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Six-guns and Slay Bells: A Creepy Cowboy Christmas

 

Now Available

Put on your Santa hat and saddle up for this collection of creepy Christmas stories from the Western Fictioneers, the world's only organization of professional authors devoted solely to Western fiction. 'Tis the season for ghosts, vampires, monsters, aliens, and other bizarre creatures to make these Old West holiday tales truly special. Legendary Western author Robert J. Randisi spins the spectral yarn of "Sheriff Santa and the Ghost of Two Gun Jim". Peacemaker and Spur Award winning author Troy D. Smith takes the reader on a murderous Christmas journey to "Bitter Mountain". New York Times bestseller and Peacemaker Award winner James Reasoner writes about a strange encounter on the Staked Plains in "Presents for One and All". Larry D. Sweazy, two-time winner of the Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western fiction, tells the story of an epic battle between good and evil in "The Longest Night". An isolated stagecoach station under siege by Apaches is the setting of Cheryl Pierson's "The Keepers of Camelot", a tale of rebirth and redemption. These and many other stories by some of today's top writers in the Western field make SIX-GUNS AND SLAY BELLS the most unusual Western Christmas anthology ever published.

SIX-GUNS AND SLAY BELLS is the newest anthology from the Western Fictioneers.  Founded in 2010 to promote the oldest genuine American art form, WF is the only writers organization composed entirely of professional authors of traditional Western fiction.  Its worldwide membership includes best-selling, award-winning authors as well as the brightest up-and-coming new stars in the Western field.

SIX-GUNS AND SLAY BELLS is a collection of 15 Christmas-themed original Western stories with paranormal elements including ghosts, vampires, monsters, and aliens. The best-selling, award-winning line-up of authors includes Robert J. Randisi, Chuck Tyrell, Troy D. Smith, C. Courtney Joyner, Matthew P. Mayo, Douglas Hirt, James Reasoner, Jerry Guin, Charlie Steel, Clay More, Cheryl Pierson, Larry D. Sweazy, James J. Griffin, Christine Matthews, and L.J. Washburn.

Western Fictioneers previously published THE TRADITIONAL WEST, the largest anthology of all-original Western fiction ever published, which met with critical acclaim and included the Best Short Fiction winners of both the Peacemaker Award, given by WF, and the Spur Award, given by the Western Writers of America, as well as several other finalists for those awards.  Earlier this year WF published BLOODY TRAIL, the first book in the Wolf Creek series of collaborative novels with more to come.

This is an anthology you're not going to want to miss. Trade paperback only $12.00 E book $2.99.

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Western Writer Michael Newton aka Lyle Brandt

1. What was your first Western novel or story and was it published?

Vengeance Ride, published by Carousel Books in 1979.

2. What Western writer or writers of the past were the biggest influence on your work?

"George G. Gilman" (né Terry Harknett) and Elmore Leonard.

3. Is there a particular scene from a Western novel that was so powerful when you read it that it stuck with you? Perhaps has become a scene you've tried to live up to/equal in your own writing?

I'd have to go with a movie, actually: the climax of The Wild Bunch. Overall, I do try to write in a "cinematic" style, with various points of view to cover action from different sides. 

4. What's the first Western you remember reading from cover to cover?

The Deputy, by Roe Richmond (1960), a novel based on Henry Fonda's TV series of the same title.

5. Who is your favorite historical Western figure, and why?


Doc Holliday. I first encountered him on a "famous gunfighters" postcard at Calico Ghost Town, and have been fascinated by his strange life ever since, both factual and fictional.

6. How much historical research do you do, and how do you go about it?

I strive for accuracy, relying on a fairly extensive reference library—and, since the late 90s, on selective research from the Internet. Research online saves long days and gas burned commuting to and from libraries, but discretion and double-checking are obviously vital. There's a lot of nonsense floating around on the Web that can make a writer look foolish if s/he swallows it uncritically. (I've been burned on occasion by print sources, as well—including those published by one so-called "Dean of True-Crime Writers.")

7. How important is setting? How important is it to get setting right? What's the best use of setting in a Western as far as you're concerned?

Setting is critical in fiction, whether the characters circle the globe or spend the whole story stuck in one room. Setting is key to atmosphere. Whether you're describing a well-known location or "world-building" in the realm of fantasy or sci-fi, consistency is vital. Detail can vary. I admire—but do not emulate—authors who can name every plant in a villain's flower bed. That said, you can go overboard in that direction, too. Tom Clancy's "thrillers" always read like hardware catalogs to me; I've never been able to finish one. My favorite Western in this regard is Elmore Leonard's Hombre.

8. How do you choose where to begin your story? Do you use prologues?

Most of my contemporary thrillers have prologues, usually introducing a threat or a villain, but on Westerns I normally jump straight in with Chapter 1. I was taught to "hook" readers with action as soon as possible, so I always try to open with something that will keep them turning pages. Nonfiction, on the other hand, often demands a preface and/or introduction, but once I get to the actual text, I still try to lead off with something exciting, frightening, amusing—whatever fits.

9. Do you do all your research ahead of time, or as you go along?

I've written so many reference books and how-to volumes for writers over the past 20-odd years that I pretty well know what I'm talking about (or, at least, I hope so). If anything's vague to me as I go along, Google is my salvation.

10. Which of your characters do you identify with the most, and why? Was there a role model for this particular character?

In Westerns, I like to think there's some part of myself in my protagonists, though my life experience is nothing like theirs. I've lived in the West and witnessed an execution in Nevada, but that's the limit.

11. Do you outline and plot your story or do you write as the inspiration or MUSE leads?

I always outline, both the overall story for starters and "slap-dash" outlines for individual chapters as I proceed, though I feel free to deviate at any point. My publishers generally want to know where a story's going before they cut a contract—and, of course, in series work they don't want me killing off the protagonist(s) unless they're already pulling the plug. I admire authors who work solely from inspiration—like my mentor, Don Pendleton—but when I hear them say their characters "took over the story and wrote it themselves," I frankly don't know what they're talking about.

12. Are you a conservative in your writing and stick with traditional ideas for your characters and plots or do you like to go beyond the norm and toss in the unexpected and why?

I'll try anything and see if it flies with an editor. In one recent episode of my "Lawman" series, Jack the Ripper popped up in Oklahoma Territory, circa 1893. For the contemporary action-adventure stories, anything goes, as long as its feasible in real life.

13. Do you need quiet when you write, listen to music, or have the TV on and family around?

I'm overrun with cats in my office on a normal day. My wife plays music in adjoining rooms, which provides nice background, but I don't have any running in my office itself. I tried a Walkman once, for about thirty seconds. It was a no-go.

14. Have you experienced the "dreaded" writer's block and how did you deal with it?

I've been lucky in this respect, never suffering any significant writer's block. Sometimes I'm stalled for a few minutes on the opening line of a novel or chapter, but never for long. It helps that I work on several books simultaneously, both fiction and nonfiction, which allows me to switch off if something starts to feel stale.

15. Who is your favorite fictional character that you have created?

Western-wise, I'm fond of Jack Slade, still alive and kicking from Berkley after 11 novels. He's  about to have some competition from Gideon Ryder, an early recruit for the U.S. Secret Service at its foundation in 1865.

16. Who is your favorite fictional character that someone else created?

I grew up reading Sherlock Holmes, Doc Savage, James Bond, Tarzan, and Bomba the Jungle Boy, among others. More recently, my favorites include Jack Reacher, Raylan Givens, Kay Scarpetta, Gretchen Lowell, Aloysius Pendergast, Virgil Flowers, Lucas Davenport, and the inimitable Hannibal Lecter. 

17. Do you address "modern" issues in Westerns? Racism. Feminism. Downs Syndrome. Mental disabilities. Genetic disorders. Sociopathy. Immigrant questions. Brutality. Pedophilia. Any more?

I've definitely dealt with racism and women's issues, (hopefully) drawing some strong female characters. My protagonists always encounter brutal individuals, on both sides of the law, and some of them are absolutely "mental." I've only touched on pedophilia (and human trafficking) in some contemporary thrillers and nonfiction; ditto for genetic disorders and sociopathy, examined at length in my work on serial killers.

18. Have you found that being able to self publish through Kindle and Nook, that you find yourself writing more of what you want rather than what the agent, editor, and publisher wants?

I've self-published five books, with very disappointing results: $11 and change, so far. My living still depends on traditional publishers, much of it under "house names." The nonfiction published under my own name, however, is always focused on topics that interest me particularly.

19. Do you make a living writing? If not, what is your day job?

I'm fortunate enough to have been self-supporting as a full-time author since 1986, although our economic situation has caused some stress the past couple of years, along with belt-tightening or outright abandonment of traditional printed books by a couple of my longtime publishers. This time next year, I may be a Wal-Mart greeter!

20. What are you writing right now?

Two Western series from Berkley, written as "Lyle Brandt"; a four-book contract from Gold Eagle Books for the ongoing "Mack Bolan" action-adventure series; and a couple of nonfiction books for McFarland. One of those breaks new ground in the 1946 "Phantom Killer" case from Texarkana. I also have a continuing deal with Schiffer Books, my "Strange Monsters" series, touring the USA with a state-by-state review of unknown creatures reported by everyday folks.

21. What do you plan to write in the future

I hope to keep my two Western series going with Berkley, under the "Lyle Brandt" name. Beyond that, I'll write anything that has a hope of selling.

22. What made you decide to write Western fiction?

It was a fluke, in fact. While I've enjoyed Western films, TV shows, and novels since childhood, my entry to the field was suggested by an L.A. editor in 1979. A porn house I'd been writing for, run by Cleveland Mob associate Reuben Sturman, created Carousel Books as a way to "go legit"—and also, as I soon discovered, as a tax dodge. I'd done several XXX-rated books for them at the time, and got in on the ground floor with Westerns, thrillers, and police procedurals. Once they folded, in the early Eighties, I did no more Westerns until Berkley approached my literary agent, Nancy Yost, about starting a series under a pen name. They wanted something starting with a "B," to stand near the top of limited shelving in bookstores, and thus "Lyle Brandt" was born.

Writing under the pseudonym Lyle Brandt, Michael Newton has become a popular writer of Western novels. He has written a number of successful non-fiction titles as well, including a book on genre writing (How to Write Action Adventure Novels). His book Invisible Empire: The Ku Klux Klan in Florida won the Florida Historical Society's 2002 Rembert Patrick Award for Best Book in Florida History. Newton's "Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology" won the American Library Association's award for Outstanding Reference Work in 2006. Newton is best known for his work on Don Pendleton's Mack Bolan series.
www.michaelnewton.homestead.com