Announcing the Winners of the 2014 Peacemaker Awards

Western Fictioneers is proud to announce the winners of the 2014 Peacemaker Awards for excellence in Western fiction.

Best Western Novel: THE HARDEST RIDE, Gordon Rottman (Taliesin Publishing)

Best First Western Novel: MUNDY'S LAW, Monty McCord (Five Star Publishing)

Best Independently Published Western Novel: SONGBIRD, Bill Crider writing as Colby Jackson

Best Western Short Fiction: "Charlie's Pie", Livia J. Washburn, WISHING FOR A COWBOY (Prairie Rose Publications)

This year's Lifetime Achievement Peacemaker Award goes to best-selling author Frank Roderus. In addition to his many critically acclaimed novels, Frank was also the first president of Western Fictioneers and helped mold the organization into what it is today.

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists, and as my final act as awards chair, I'd like to thank all the authors, editors, and publishers who submitted books and stories to the competition, as well as the judges for all their hard work in determining the results. The Peacemaker Awards have grown every year of their existence, and I look forward to them continuing to do so.

Western Fictioneers (WF) was formed in 2010 by Robert J. Randisi, James Reasoner, Frank Roderus, and other 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 will be given out annually. Submissions will be open in July, 2014 for stories and novels published in 2014. Submission guidelines will be posted on the WF web site in July. For more information about Western Fictioneers (WF) please visit:

http://www.westernfictioneers.com/ 

Review Roundup: The Hardest Ride

The Hardest Ride
By Gordon Rottman
Taliesin Publishing, December 2013
$4.99 Kindle, ASIN B00H3U408S
$4.99 epub, ISBN 9781629160184
No print edition
296 pages

A young, out-of-work cowpoke stumbles across the sole survivor of a brutal massacre. Alone and mute on a frontier where Mexican women are abused and discarded, teenaged Marta is ill-prepared to care for herself…or so Bud Eugen assumes. When he can find no one, not even a church, to take her in, Bud does the chivalrous thing and appoints himself Marta’s protector. The initially reluctant relationship changes them both, and soon they’re protecting each other.

Gordon Rottman’s debut western, The Hardest Ride, is a nominee in two 2014 Peacemaker Awards categories, Best First Western Novel and Best Western Novel, and rightly so. Though a maiden release, the story holds its own against some of the best western fiction penned by contemporary authors. Though the plot stumbles under its own weight in a few spots, the characters and settings are so vivid, the author’s voice so strong, that readers will gladly overlook minor missteps.

Bud and Marta compose an odd couple from the beginning. She’s prickly; he’s easygoing. She’s mute; he verges on chatterbox. He’s tough enough to survive on his own in the West; in some ways, she’s tougher. Inside they’re remarkably similar: Two lonely young people wearing masks to cover life’s scars. As they gradually come to rely on one another—both steadfastly denying anything of the sort—readers witness a heartwarming union of two kindred spirits.

One of the notable strengths of a very strong story is Rottman’s characterization of women. Marta and the minor female characters are fully formed individuals, not merely set dressing for male-centered action and adventure. Marta is one of the most intriguing female leads to arise in fiction of all stripes in decades. She’s prickly, but not shrewish; capable, but not emasculating; mute, but thoroughly able to express herself. If for no other reason, The Hardest Ride deserves kudos for the way in which Rottman portrays female strength in the Old West.

Rottman describes the story as both a young adult western and “a western romance with a body count of about eighty.” In truth, The Hardest Ride is anything but easy to pigeonhole. It’s definitely a historical western, but one with broad appeal across age groups and sub-genres. Young or mature, whether western readers prefer sweeping sagas, classic horse operas, shoot-em-ups, or love stories, The Hardest Ride will fill the bill. Approach the book with no preconceived expectations and decide for yourself.


Kathleen Rice Adams is a Texan, a voracious reader, a professional journalist, and an author. She received a review copy of The Hardest Ride from the author. Her opinions are her own and are neither endorsed nor necessarily supported by Western Fictioneers or individual members of the organization. Links in the review are for convenience only; they do not produce affiliate revenue.

Review Roundup: Peacemaker Award Nominees, Short Fiction

By Kathleen Rice Adams

The winners of Western Fictioneers’ fourth annual Peacemaker Awards for excellence in western fiction will be revealed June 1. Below are reviews for three of the nominees in the Best Short Fiction category.

“It Takes a Man”

By Cheryl Pierson

in Wolf Creek: Hell on the Prairie

Western Fictioneers, June 2013

$9.89 paperback, ISBN 1490505059

$2.99 Kindle, ASIN B00DPPFUPM

$2.99 most other e-formats, ISBN 9781301613717

Derrick McCain, a recurring character in the Wolf Creek series of collaborative novels, returns to his former home among the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory to confront recently discovered secrets about his family. His father, a Cherokee leader whose illicit affair with a white woman produced McCain, allegedly is at death’s door. Tortured by his mixed heritage and allegiances to both sides, McCain reconnects with a childhood friend and a Cherokee woman ostracized in a classic case of society blaming the victim for a heinous crime. McCain must make some difficult choices that will affect his life, and the lives of others, for years to come.

Author Cheryl Pierson writes both traditional westerns and western historical romance. In “It Takes a Man,” her strong skills in the romance genre shine. McCain emerges as a swoon-worthy hero, yet Pierson manages a delicate balance between romantic sentimentality and thorny issues including race relations and society’s expectations.

“The Last Free Trapper”

By Jory Sherman

in A Wolf Creek Christmas

Western Fictioneers, November 2013

$8.99 paperback, ISBN 149372651X

$2.99 Kindle, ASIN B00GFEZA5A

$2.99 most other e-formats, ISBN 9781310352843

Mountain man Roman Hatchett faces the end of an era, unwilling to change but unable to prevent the disappearance of the only life he knows. In “The Last Free Trapper,” author Jory Sherman, recipient of the 2012 Peacemaker Award for Life Achievement, spins a character-driven tale rife with subtle symbolism. Using simple, unadorned prose in achingly eloquent ways, Sherman evokes a time and place of tremendous upheaval in the American West.

Hatchett searches his soul while attending a dying enemy. What he learns about himself and humanity as a whole is both heart-wrenching and hopeful.

“Charlie’s Pie”

By Livia J. Washburn

in Wishing for a Cowboy

Prairie Rose Publications, October 2013

$12.60 paperback, ISBN 061591070X

$2.99 Kindle, ASIN B00G9GTWVC

$2.99 most other e-formats, ISBN 9781311521330

Alone in a remote Texas cabin while her husband and son seek a suitable Christmas tree in the forest some distance away, Lauralee Brannam bakes her son’s favorite pie for the boy’s Christmas Eve birthday. When a wounded stranger collapses at her doorstep, she assumes the man is an outlaw on the run. Nevertheless, she nurses him back to health, setting in motion a whirlwind of violence.

Award-winning author Livia J. Washburn weaves tragedy, traditional western action, and romance in a way that touches the heart but never veers into the maudlin or syrupy. The suspense and ultimate resolution of the mystery at the core of the story will push readers through the tale like a West Texas wind. Ultimately, redemption ties up the package with a Christmas bow made all the more beautiful by its frayed edges.

Kathleen Rice Adams is a Texan, a voracious reader, a professional journalist, and an author. She received review copies of Wolf Creek: Hell on the Prairie, A Wolf Creek Christmas, and Wishing for a Cowboy from the publishers. Her opinions are her own and are neither endorsed nor necessarily supported by Western Fictioneers or individual members of the organization. Links in the review are for convenience only; they do not produce affiliate revenue.

Peacemaker Award Finalists

Western Fictioneers is proud to announce the finalists for the 2014 Peacemaker Awards for the best in Western fiction.

BEST WESTERN NOVEL

THE OLD WOLVES, Peter Brandvold
MUNDY'S LAW, Monty McCord

THE AVENGING ANGEL, Michael Newton

THE HARDEST RIDE, Gordon Rottman
LEAVING YUMA, Michael Zimmer

BEST FIRST WESTERN NOVEL

SHOTGUN, C. Courtney Joyner
DEAD MAN'S LAMENT, Linell Jeppsen
DEADWOOD DEAD MEN, Bill Markley

MUNDY'S LAW, Monty McCord

THE HARDEST RIDE, Gordon Rottman

BEST INDEPENDENTLY PUBLISHED WESTERN NOVEL

SONGBIRD, Bill Crider writing as Colby Jackson

WEST FROM YESTERDAY, Randolph Carter Harrison
RETRIBUTION, Tammy Hinton

WEST: JOURNEY ACROSS THE PLAINS, David S. Larson
PASSING THROUGH KANSAS, Kenneth Newton

BEST SHORT FICTION

"Doc Holliday Redux", Matt Braun (in WESTERN LORE)

"Cabin Fever", Brett Cogburn (in CACTUS COUNTRY, VOL. III)

"It Takes a Man", Cheryl Pierson (in WOLF CREEK: HELL ON THE PRAIRIE)

"The Last Free Trapper", Jory Sherman (in A WOLF CREEK CHRISTMAS)

"Charlie's Pie", Livia J. Washburn (in WISHING FOR A COWBOY)

Congratulations to all the finalists! Winners of this year's awards will be announced on June 1.