WOLF CREEK BOOK 1: BLOODY TRAIL--A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE! by Cheryl Pierson

Hi everyone! While I was deciding what to blog about this time, I came upon an OLD blog of mine from October 1 of 2012! Oh wow--nearly TEN YEARS AGO. But hey, I'm still just as proud of this book and my participation in this series as I was then, and if you have not had a chance to read it, and the following books, PLEASE REMEDY THAT QUICKLY! This series was the brainchild of Troy Smith, and he did a fantastic job of putting it all together and "herding the cats" to make it all happen. I sure do miss writing for this series and am so glad to have been a part of it. SO...without further ado, I'm posting this re-run of that blog so many years ago and fondly remembering all the wonderful stories that followed this first one!
Today, I’m proud to introduce five wonderful western writers who I was privileged to

work with on a “new concept” western, the kick-off novel of the Western Fictioneers’ Wolf Creek series.

Western Fictioneers is producing a new series of western novels, under the umbrella title Wolf Creek. The series gets its name from its setting, the fictional 1870s town of Wolf Creek, Kansas. The first installment, Bloody Trail, was released on September 1, with a new volume to follow every three or four months. Under the house pen name Ford Fargo, the six authors who collaborated on the first book of the series, Bloody Trail, are Clay More, James Griffin, L.J. Martin, Troy Smith, James Reasoner, and Cheryl Pierson.

Bill Torrance, Spike Sweeney, Derrick McCain, Charley Blackfeather, G.W. Satterlee, and Logan Munro are common citizens, until the day their small town of Wolf Creek, Kansas, comes under a methodically cruel siege. Led by one of the most brutal men of the post Civil War years, Jim Danby, the outlaw gang that invades Wolf Creek figures they got away clean with murder and bank robbery. But the dwellers of Wolf Creek have secrets of their own, and the posse that goes after Danby and his men are anything but the ordinary people they seemed to be before the attack. They'll go to any lengths to keep their town safe, no matter how long they have to follow the BLOODY TRAIL.

I asked three questions of each of the authors about their character, collaboration, and what’s to come in future editions of the Wolf Creek series. For the sake of space, I’ll post the questions once here at the beginning and number the answers to correlate.

Questions:

1. Wolf Creek is a town filled with secrets, and people "with a past." Tell us a little about your character without giving away all his secrets. What kind of man is he and how does he change in this story?

2. The idea of a collaboration with other authors is sometimes daunting. What did you enjoy most about working with your co-authors under the pen name "FORD FARGO"?

3. Are there any plans for your character to reappear in a future edition of the Wolf Creek stories? If so, what edition will it be?

Let’s start with Clay More’s answers, since his character kicks the story off.

CLAY MORE—Dr. Logan Munro

1. Logan Munro is a Scottish doctor, as am I. Shortly after graduating from

Edinburgh University he served with the British Army Hospital in Scutari in Constantinople during the Crimean War. In 1856, at the end of the war he had the opportunity to go to India. While there he married Helen, a young governess. A year later The Indian Mutiny took place and he was involved in the siege. Sadly, Helen died from malaria. Disillusioned with life, and bereft at losing Helen, Logan sailed for America. Along came the Civil War, during which he served as a surgeon in the Union Army. When the guns ceased and the smoke cleared he settled down in Wolf Creek. He has seen a lot of action in the three wars he served in and he has honed his surgical skills on the battlefields. He is tired of all the killing and he just wants to settle down as a family doctor in a sleepy town.

I don’t think that Logan has really changed in the course of the story. Like all of the decent citizens of Wolf Creek he is sickened by the attack by the Danby gang. When a posse is formed he insists on going, since he feels that he may be needed. His training and his experience mean that he keeps a cool head when he is under pressure.

2. This was indeed a very daunting prospect, since I was working with top names in the western genre, five writers whose prose and imagination I greatly admired. When Troy gave me the task of opening the story I was naturally anxious in case I failed to engage the reader in those first two chapters, which would result in the whole project collapsing. Troy had worked out an outline for us all to work to and everyone had the opportunity to chip in until we had the plot mapped out. Then each writer told the story through the viewpoint of their character. I think Troy was inspired to come up with the whole concept. We wrote the book sequentially, so I had to write mine quickly and hand it on to Jim Griffin, who then wrote his story and handed it on to Troy. Then Larry took up the reins and handed it on to James. And of course, Cheryl had to finish it off, which she did beautifully.

It was a lot of fun, but each writer had his or her own pressure to keep the story moving. I really enjoyed working with all of the writers and seeing just how the story panned out. I have to say that Troy, who ramrodded the whole thing, did a fantastic job in taking the whole manuscript and blending it seamlessly together. I think the result is a book that has turned out to be greater than the sum of its parts.

3. Yes, I am happy to say that Logan returns in Book 4 - The Taylor County War. In fact, I am working on it right now.

LARRY MARTIN—Angus “Spike” Sweeney

Angus “Spike” Sweeney is the town blacksmith.

He wears a butternut wool Confederate Kepi with a Davis Guard Medal pinned above the eye shade and invites comments, which might just be met with an iron bender’s grip on the throat and a pounding left to the proboscis. Considered a hero of the Davis Guards and the defense of Sabine Pass. He is usually unarmed, but is deadly within twenty feet with his hammer, and can split hairs at fifteen with his hatchet or Arkansas toothpick. A decent and deliberate shot with both a sidearm and long gun.

Spike was born in New Orleans and was a sailor (both in trading vessels in the Gulf of Mexico and on the Mississippi) and on-board smithy, where he acquired some skill as a gunsmith as well. He keeps a garden in the rear of the shop with both vegetables and flowers, and is teased about the flowers. He is bashful around women and wouldn’t swear in front of one if a beer wagon ran over his moccasin clad foot, but is on the prod for a woman who can put up with his (in his eyes) questionable looks, and long hours in front of a hot forge.

Spike’s silent partner at the forge is Emory Charleston, an ex-slave -the two men make an incongruous, but mutually loyal, pair. Em’s biggest complaint about Spike is the Confederate cap he insists on wearing.

JIM GRIFFIN—Bill Torrance

1. My character is Bill Torrance, the owner of the Wolf Creek Livery stable. He’s a

man who seems to care only for horses, and little else. He’s never even been known to carry a gun. In modern-day terms, he’d be considered a “wimp”. However, Bill Torrance is not his real name, and his background is far from the picture he presents to the citizens of Wolf Creek. This becomes clear when the town is attacked by the Danby gang.

2. First, it was an honor to be asked to participate in this project, with authors far more well-known than I, all of whom I admire. What I found most amazing and enjoyable was the complete cooperation among all the authors, and the complete lack of egos. Everyone was willing to bend to let the storyline mesh together cleanly. All of the authors were allowed to use the other authors’ characters in their chapters, as long as they didn’t change the character “owner’s” concept of his or her character. Again, everyone was fine with that. By everyone working together and setting aside our natural instincts to not want anyone else using “our” characters, we were able to avoid transition and storyline problems.

3. Yes, Bill Torrance, now using his real name, will be appearing in a future Wolf Creek book. I believe Volume 6. In that book, we’ll learn more about him, plus he’ll be interacting with Edith Pettigrew, widow of one of the founders of Wolf Creek. Bill had a confrontation with her in Bloody Trail, so when they meet again the sparks will once more be flying.


TROY SMITH—Charley Blackfeather

1. Charley Blackfeather’s father was an escaped slave, and his mother was Seminole –he

was raised as a member of that tribe, and as a very young man fought against the U.S. military in the Seminole Wars. Later, during the Civil War, he served in the same blue uniform he had once fought against… now (1871) he serves as a cavalry scout, making use of his vast knowledge of Kansas and Indian Territory.

Charley is an adept tracker and hunter. He bears a lot of pain from the losses he has suffered in the various wars, but carries it stoically. He can be pretty intimidating if you don’t know him well –but if he is comfortable with you he can display a wry sense of humor. In the course of our first episode, Charley is visited by ghosts from his past that re-awaken his grief and rage. He also begins to develop new friendships, with people he would not have expected he would ever trust.

2. As editor of the series, I admit I did have some trepidation about trying to coordinate this kind of complex project, and about dealing with so many different authors. I feared it would end up being an exercise in herding cats, and that I would have a lot of stubborn, narcissistic, recalcitrant people to deal with (in other words, writers.) But I was pleasantly surprised. This book, and the ones that are set to come after, were joys to work on. Everyone cooperated wonderfully- it really did feel like a team from the outset. And the rich, vibrant characters everyone created came alive immediately.

3. Well, that’s kind of a trick question in my case. As editor, I will be writing a section in every book, to help pull the various other parts together. I have two characters –one for stories that take place mostly in town (Marshal Sam Gardner) and one for stories that take place largely outside of town (Charley Blackfeather.)

JAMES REASONER—Sheriff G.W. Satterlee

1. My character, Sheriff G.W. Satterlee, is a former buffalo hunter and army scout who

drifted into packing a badge, and in the process he discovered that he's an instinctive politician who enjoys the power of his position. He's not the morally upright lawman hero so often found in Western fiction, but neither is he the corrupt official out to line his own pockets. Rather, he's somewhere in between . . . which means that he's capable of either inspiring us or disappointing us, depending on the situation in which he finds himself and his reaction to it. In BLOODY TRAIL, he discovers that maybe he has a little more of a conscience than he thought he did. As with most things about G.W. Satterlee, whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, we just don't know yet . . . and probably neither does he.

2. I really got a kick out of the passion and enthusiasm the other authors brought to the project. Everyone tried to make this the very best novel it could be.

3. Since G.W. Satterlee is the county sheriff, headquartered in Wolf Creek, he's bound to make plenty of return appearances, ranging from brief cameos to leading roles in some books. I believe he's supposed to be featured again in the fourth book in the series.

My blog can be found at http://jamesreasoner.blogspot.com

CHERYL PIERSON—Derrick McCain

1. I have two characters in this story, Derrick McCain, who has come back to Wolf

Creek after many years of "drifting" after the war. He's uneasy with himself and his past--he did some things that he regrets both during and after the war. But he has a personal stake in joining the posse to go after the gang that attacked Wolf Creek...he's seeking revenge of his own. My other character is Carson Ridge, a member of the Cherokee Lighthorse law enforcement. He makes a brief appearance but will be back in future editions of Wolf Creek.


2. I truly loved working on this project. Getting to read the other parts first really helped me in my decision as to how to end it properly, since I wrote the last two chapters. It was important to "get it right" because the ending has to leave the reader wanting more. But every chapter built on the one that came before it, and Clay, Jim, Troy, Larry and James really made my job a lot easier than it might have been otherwise. This was Troy's idea, and he has been organized and kept the ball rolling all along. So for me, the entire experience was really a good one--and nothing like I'd ever done before.

3. Derrick McCain will appear in book 5, Showdown at Demon's Drop. I also have a couple of short stories planned for his character in future anthologies. Carson Ridge may also appear in book 5--I'm not certain yet, but I know he will turn up again in the future somewhere!

Western Fictioneers Book Review

West of the Big River: The Dime Novelist
by Clay More

The historical novels in the West of the Big River series from Western Fictioneers have centered around a number of actual figures from the Old West, exploring the realities of their existence as well as some of the myths and legends that have grown up around them. Now, in THE DIME NOVELIST, the latest volume in the series, acclaimed Western author Clay More takes a closer look at someone who knew many of those historical figures and helped mold their myths and legends: Colonel Edward Zane Carroll Judson, better known to the millions of readers of his hundreds of dime novels by his most famous pseudonym, Ned Buntline.

Judson lived an adventurous and exciting life himself, running away from home at an early age to become a sailor and going on to a career packed with events. Married six times—or was it seven?—he dabbled in business and politics but more than anything else was a writer, publishing several different magazines as well as authoring millions of words of dime novels, articles, and essays. More’s narrative, as Judson reminisces about his life to a young journalist, is one fascinating and colorful story after another, most of them with a germ of truth but also a great deal of embellishment. Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, and many more come into and out of Judson’s life, strutting their stuff in the words of a great yarn-spinner. Judson yearned for literary success and respect that he never quite achieved, but in its place he entertained countless people who read his work.

As Ned Buntline, Edward C.Z. Judson is sometimes credited with creating the mythic version of the Wild West. THE DIME NOVELIST is a fascinating exploration of that legend and a brilliant portrayal of a largely forgotten but hugely influential figure in American popular culture. Those of us who write Westerns owe a lot to him, whether we know it or not.

—James Reasoner author of  Outlaw Ranger

Marta’s Ride 

by Gordon L Rottman

Brutal and violent, but beautifully written, Marta’s Ride is both a love story and a story of survival. The tale is told in the first person by Marta, a young, mute, Mexican girl who manages to create a “normal” life for herself in spite of the circumstances of her birth, her infirmity, and her lack of family and money. After meeting Bud, an Anglo man on the road, they become inseparable and their life assumes a semblance of normalcy as she becomes a cook and he becomes a rider for a successful rancher.  Life, however, takes a horrific turn as four young girls, including Marta, are kidnapped by a ruthless band of bandidos that terrorizes the borderlands between Texas and Mexico. Can and will Marta and the other three girls be able to survive daily assaults, rapes, hunger, and fatigue makes up the major part of this story. First person narratives are difficult to execute, but Rottman not only undertakes the task but proves to be efficacious in doing so.

For those readers who enjoy a good western; a strong, well-developed protagonist; and rich imagery, I suggest they tackle Marta’s Ride. I must warn the readers that many of the scenes are brutal, but they only corroborate the strength of Marta’s and the other girls’ characters. One caveat: do not begin reading in the evening, because you’ll be in for an all-nighter. As with so many first-rate novels, I had difficulty putting it down. 

 —Jesse J Elliot, author of Death at Gran Quivera

Showdown at Squaw Pass 

by  Robert B McNeill

When two drovers are found dead on the Western Trail near the Texas town of Cutter's Crossing, marshals Hank Ross and Abe Naylor aim to find their killers and bring them to justice. But their task is complicated when the local schoolteacher, Alice Carnaby, is kidnapped by the drovers' killer, who heads for Mexico with her. Ross and Naylor join forces with George Bowman, a half-breed Indian tracker, and set out after them. However, an unscrupulous local rancher has his own reasons for making sure the marshals don't succeed in freeing Alice, and sends four men to kill both her and the marshals. The rancher is determined there will be no witnesses - and therefore no trial …

This was a great, easy to read story with enough action to keep the pages turning.

When the son of a wealthy man takes it into his head to kill a drover who shows some attention to the woman he loves, it leads to an abduction and chase towards the border.

Except the father has his own agenda and sends his foreman after the wanted and the posse with the instructions that no one apart from his son should return.

After a bloody pursuit it all comes down to one day in court where the only thing from setting two killers free is the word of a woman.

This author knows his stuff and I'll be reading more of his stories.

—Brent Towns Author of Lightning Strike!

Beneath A Horse-Thief Moon

by Elizabeth Clements

Chase Reynolds is on the trail of stolen gold -- but he runs into a woman from his past. A woman he'd long believed dead. Can he find romance with Sara again, or is she somehow involved in the theft? 

This is an exciting read, with outlaws, kidnappings, missing gold and stolen horses. If you like a good romantic adventure, this is a good choice.Chase and Sara are believable characters, and you want everything to work out between them. I can tell you that you'll be satisfied with the ending without giving away any of the surprises along the way.

—J.E.S. Hays Author of Devon Day and the Sweetwater Kid: Down the Owlhoot Trail

               

Now Available -- West of the Big River: The Dime Novelist by Clay More

Adventurer, showman, charlatan, best-selling author, Ned Buntline was all of these things and more, including one of the most colorful characters in American history. Buntline, whose real name was Edward Zane Carroll Judson (he called himself Colonel Judson, but the rank was as fictional as the pseudonym), produced hundreds of dime novels during the second half of the 19^th Century and was the leading author of popular fiction during this period. He was also a womanizer, a liar, and a self-promoter who made heroes out of Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickok but never missed a chance to build his own name and legend. Acclaimed Western author Clay More has painted a vivid portrait of this larger than life figure in THE DIME NOVELIST, the latest historical novel in the popular West of the Big River series from Western Fictioneers. It’s a tale filled with adventure, fantastic characters, and the raw enthusiasm of a young, expanding country.

“Ned Buntline is sometimes credited with creating the mythic version of the Wild West. THE DIME NOVELIST is a fascinating exploration of that legend and a brilliant portrayal of a largely forgotten but hugely influential figure in American popular culture.” – James Reasoner, best-selling author of THE LAWMAN

EXCERPT

Nashville, Tennessee

March 14, 1846

     The judge rapped his gavel on his desk and called for order.

     “I will have silence in this court! Now pipe down all of you or I’ll have the marshal and his deputies begin arresting folk.”

     He grunted, pushed his wire-framed spectacles further up his aquiline nose and turned his attention to the defendant sitting nonchalantly as he wrote in a small notebook at the table by the window.

     “You, Mister Edward Judson, have stirred up a dust storm of trouble for yourself. If you haven’t already, I would suggest you start praying that Robert Porterfield makes a full recovery, instead of scribbling away. Now put that book away and have some respect for this hearing.”

     

Western Fictioneers Presents LEGENDS OF THE GUN: Six Classic Western Novels 99 Cent Boxed Set

The good old shoot-'em-up westerns are still around, and this collection has six by the masters of the genre.

West of the Big River: The Avenging Angel by Michael Newton – Orrin Porter Rockwell is more than just a deputy United States marshal and a deadly gunfighter. He's a member of the Mormon Danites, the group of enforcers known as the Avenging Angels, and he's the personal troubleshooter for Governor Brigham Young. And when Young sends Rockwell to the rough-and-tumble mining town of Tartarus, there'll be plenty of trouble for him to shoot. Award-winning author Michael Newton spins an action-packed, historically accurate yarn in THE AVENGING ANGEL.

The classic, Spur Award-winning novel by Frank Roderus, POTTER'S FIELDS is the story of Joe Potter, a man haunted by the past who deals with the harsh realities of the frontier by becoming harsh and violent himself. A former lawman no longer able to find work carrying a badge because of his corruption and brutality, Potter becomes a cowboy and spends the winter in an isolated line shack, where the arrival of a stranger forces him to confront himself and his past. Rich with poignant emotion and vividly detailed ranch life, POTTER'S FIELDS is a novel that will stay with the reader long after the story is over.

Jake Scudder is just a drifting, peace-loving cowboy. So why does he find himself in jail, convicted of the murder of an old-timer he had befriended and sentenced to hang for that crime he didn't commit? Jake gets a chance to clear his name when the train taking him to the gallows crashes, but was that wreck an accident? Who's the real ringleader of the gang of vicious outlaws known as the Marauders? Jake Scudder has to dodge not only the law but also a cunning murderer as he attempts to save his own life and that of a beautiful young woman. A ROPE FOR SCUDDER is another classic, action-packed Western from bestselling author Clay More.

A fortune in gold dust, two beautiful women, a pair of deadly bushwhackers gunning for him, a dangerous blizzard, an avalanche, and an unknown plotter masterminding murder and robbery . . . These are just some of the things Clay Brand has to deal with when he signs on to guard gold shipments coming down from the mining country in California's San Bernardino Mountains. But before Clay can get to the bottom of the violence plaguing the mountains, he'll have to shoot straight and fast and escape the unexpected menace of a lynch mob! GUN FOR HIRE is the first Western ever written by acclaimed author Jory Sherman. Includes a new introduction by the author written especially for this volume in the Western Fictioneers Library.

In THE HAM REPORTER by Robert J. Randisi, Bat Masterson is no longer a sheriff in the Old West. He’s moved East to New York City where he gets a job as a sports writer for The Morning Telegraph. But when his friend and fellow-newsman, Inkspot Jones, disappears, Masterson’s wife Emma asks if he could look into it as a favor to the man’s wife. It doesn’t look hopeful—Inkspot had something on somebody, and that somebody may have decided to play rough. Pretty soon they’re up to their eyeballs in crooked politicians, hired thugs and a woman of mystery. And before it’s done, Bat may have to strap on his Colt again for some old fashioned Western justice.

Lawyer Billy Cambridge, a retired Texas Ranger, and his best friend, vaquero and ranch foreman Nacho Graves, set out by stagecoach from Pecos, Texas, to deliver $20,000 in cash to a client in Fort Smith, Arkansas. When the stagecoach is held up and Cambridge and Nacho lose the twenty grand, they set out on a dangerous quest to recover the money and bring the outlaws to justice…a quest that leads them to beautiful women, cold-blooded killers, the last Comanchero, and more surprises than they're ready to face. RED RIVER RUSE is a fast-moving Western novel packed with action, emotion, and danger, from award-winning, bestselling authors James Reasoner and L.J. Washburn.

#NewRelease -- SIX-GUNS -- Boxed Set of Six Western Novels -- #99cents

Six classic Western novels. The good old shoot-'em-up westerns are still around, and this collection has six by the masters of the genre.

William M. "Bill" Tilghman had one of the most illustrious careers of any Old West lawman, but he faced perhaps his greatest and most dangerous challenge when he rode alone into the wild Oklahoma Territory settlement of Burnt Creek on the trail of a gang of rustlers and outlaws with some unexpected allies . . . THE LAWMAN, by New York Times bestselling author James Reasoner, is the first novel in the West of the Big River series.

In Frank Roderus’ HOME TO TEXAS, Charlie McMurty brought a herd north, got a great price, and had enough left over once he repaid his neighbors to buy a ranch so he could ask for the hand of his sweetheart. Unfortunately, on the way back to Texas he was robbed and left for dead. To make matters worse one of his attackers was his friend he'd hired to help him with the herd. All he had left was a big debt back home and a big hole in his chest. His new quest became the need to be able to return his neighbor's money. First he had to heal and learn some fancy shooting.

Violence stole young Ben Brand's family from him, but blessed with uncanny speed and skill with a gun and befriended by an old mountain man, Ben sets out on a bloody quest for vengeance. As he tracks his enemies over the years and the miles, Ben battles men and the elements—and risks his own soul—to become the avenging nemesis known as Iron Heart! Long out of print and originally published under the pseudonym Walt Denver, IRON HEART is a classic Western from Jory Sherman.

Veteran author Clay More spins a fast-paced Western adventure in STAMPEDE AT RATTLESNAKE PASS. With her father murdered and her brother crippled by bushwhackers, half her herd stolen and her crew massacred by vicious rustlers, beautiful blond Elly Horrocks is going to have her hands full keeping the family ranch going. Luckily for Elly, drifting cowpoke Jake Scudder has a nose for trouble. It'll take all of Scudder's skill with guns and fists to save himself and keep Elly from being wiped out. Diamondbacks aren't the deadliest varmints in Rattlesnake Pass anymore!

Some men deserved to die like rabid animals. In FAST HAND the Thornberrys and their worthless cousin counted among those the world would be better off without. Judge Sebastian Hand sentences the Thornberry gang to the gallows for rape and murder. But when they escape, the judge trades in his gavel for a gun, and suddenly he's judge, jury, and executioner all in one. Karl Lassiter is the pen name of a prolific author who also writes under the pen name Jackson Lowry.

James J. Griffin's famous character Texas Ranger Jim Blawcyzk isn’t really working for the Rangers this time. In fact, he winds up on the wrong side of the law with the Rangers after him, because he takes off his badge and goes after the gang that attacked and possibly murdered his wife and son. As a result, RANGER’S REVENGE is a little grittier than Griffin’s earlier books, but it has the same fine action scenes, interesting settings, and welcome touches of humor.

Wolf Creek 12: The Dead of Winter

After a brief hiatus, we are ready now to return to the rough-and-ready fictional cowtown of Wolf Creek, Kansas. For those unfamiliar with this series published by Western Fictioneers, you're missing out -it's almost as fun to read as it is to write.

Each of our writers -there are currently over two dozen -creates one or two unique characters to be citizens of our little community. Our books are either short story anthologies, in which the authors delve more deeply into their characters, or collaborative novels in which each chapter is written by a different writer, from their character's POV.

We have two such novels to offer now... yesterday we talked about Book 11, Stand Proud... today we'll tell you a little about the second book, The Dead of Winter.

Cruel cattle baron Andrew Rogers is still trying to take over the whole county -but his resources are growing thin, and his secret investors are losing patience, so he is growing desperate.

He makes one final gamble, and Wolf Creek will not be the same...

Here is an excerpt:

Marshal Sam Gardner shivered from the cold as he stepped onto the front porch of his office. He had just been to Ma’s Café for steak and eggs and half-a-pot of coffee, which had finally warmed him up from the walk there; by the time he got back to his office, warmth was already a dim memory.

He closed the door behind him quickly, after kicking as much snow off his boots as he could. He was probably going to have to drink another half-pot of coffee just to feel human again, and this time it would be of his own making rather than the decidedly superior brew they offered at Ma’s. But enough bourbon added into the mix would balance things out a bit.

Quint Croy and Satterlee’s deputy Zack Zacherly were playing checkers. The two were often seen together when they weren’t on duty, and even when they were. It was only natural, they were a lot alike: both in their twenties, former cowboys, both known for having level heads and being slow to anger. They did both have quite a bit of green on them, especially when it came to trusting people, but maybe age would cure that—or maybe, Sam thought to himself with a bit of surprise, maybe that would make them better lawmen someday than he was. If they lived long enough. He had taken a very protective view of Quint, and the two young deputies sometimes reminded him of younger versions of himself and G.W. Satterlee, who had become the best friend Sam had ever had.

“Mornin’, Zack,” Sam said. “I see you’re using a shrewd strategy, taking Quint on after he’s put in a night shift.”

“Mama didn’t raise no fool,” Zack said with a smile. “The sheriff sent me over to drop off some reward dodgers, I figured I could spare the five minutes or so it usually takes to outwit Quint, here.”

“Well, if we’re having a party, I might as well put on a full pot,” Sam said. Then he heard a horrible caterwauling coming from the back room.

“Oh, hell,” the marshal said. “Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”

Quint shrugged. “He’s been here since I got in, Sam.”

Sam sighed and headed for the back room, where he kept his cot. This building was more than his office, it was his living quarters—and one person in particular seemed to think it was theirs, as well.

Sure enough, Rupe Tingley was stretched out on Sam’s cot, snoring like a banshee. Sam actually wouldn’t mind—he had a soft spot for Rupe, who reminded him of an uncle he used to have—if the town drunk’s bathing habits were more consistent. Or if they existed. Every time Rupe stumbled in and occupied the marshal’s bed, the sheets had to be taken to the Li Laundry and fumigated.

Sam reached out and grabbed the other man’s shoulder—the good one, that still had an arm attached to it—and shook.

“Rise and shine, old hoss,” he said. Rupe burped, but made no indication he was gaining consciousness. Sam shook him harder.

“Damnation, man, what does it take to wake you up?”

And that was when all hell broke loose.

The air became alive with the sound of gunfire, and the thuds of bullets—it was not just a few shots, it was a veritable fusillade. It reminded him for a moment of the battlefield. And then it was over, as quickly as it had begun, and he heard the sound of horses galloping away.

Rupe was still asleep, but Sam Gardner was more awake than he had ever been in his life. He ran back into the front room.

The books are released under the house name Ford Fargo- but here are the writers in this volume, and the characters they write for:

James Reasoner - Sheriff G. W. Satterlee

Cheryl Pierson - Derrick McCain, farmer

James J. Griffin - Ben Tolliver, hostler

Clay More - Logan Munro, town doctor

Big Jim Williams - Hutch Higgins, farmer

Troy D. Smith - Marshal Sam Gardner

Check it out today- and if you haven't read the first ten, shoot, find 'em and see just how much fun they are!

AMAZON

SMASHWORDS

Western Fictioneers Presents West of the Big River: The Doctor by Clay More

In Tombstone, Arizona Territory, the town too tough to die, Dr. George Goodfellow is known as the Surgeon to the Gunfighters. Friends with the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday, his services as a doctor are needed in the aftermath of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, but Goodfellow is handy with a gun and his fists, too, and he needs those skills to survive when he's stalked by a crazed miner and has to untangle a deadly murder mystery!

The West of the Big River series continues with THE DOCTOR, an all-new, exciting novel based on actual historical characters and incidents by acclaimed Western author Clay More, author of STAMPEDE AT RATTLESNAKE PASS and many other novels from the Western Fictioneers Library. One of the most stirring time periods in Old West history comes to vivid life in this tale of vengeance and heroism and a frontier sawbones dedicated to healing.

Excerpt:

Tombstone, Arizona Territory, 1891

Dr. George Goodfellow removed his stethoscope from the man’s bare back and went back to his roll-top desk.

“You can get dressed now, Stanley,” he said as he picked up his pen and made some notes on the record card in front of him. “You have a slight bronchial irritation, but nothing too serious. I’ll make up a cough linctus for you and drop it off at your office before lunch.”

Stanley C. Bagg, the five-foot tall owner and editor of the Tombstone Prospector and laterally, also the owner of the Tombstone Epitaph, tucked his shirt into his pants and pulled on his jacket. Then he pulled out a pair of wire-framed spectacles from his breast pocket and settled them on his thin nose.

“Thank you, George,” he said, standing and immediately provoking a coughing fit. He covered his mouth with his hand and then thumped the front of his chest, which seemed to have the desired effect in stopping the cough. “I guess it is inhaling all that darned paper dust and ink fumes that does it.”

The two men were old friends, as were their wives and daughters. Or at least, their wives had been good friends until the month before when Dr. Goodfellow’s wife Katherine died in Oakland from the tuberculosis that had plagued her for years. And both men were known to be forthright in their opinions and in their manners. Stanley was a bullish, combative newspaperman who for all his lack of height was a formidable man to cross. He had been prepared to serve a jail sentence for contempt of court when he refused to pay a fine imposed upon him by District Judge Barnes. Fortunately, several of his friends, including his friend and doctor had donated money to keep the newspaperman out of jail, while leaving his personal integrity intact.

As for Dr. George Emory Goodfellow, he had built the premier medical practice in Tombstone and garnered a considerable reputation throughout the Southwest as the surgeon to have operating on you, if you had a choice. He was prepared to push back the frontiers of his craft and perform operations that no one had tried before or even thought to be possible.

“It is probably more to do with those evil-smelling cigars that you insist on smoking. I’ve told you before, you are poisoning your system.”

Stanley guffawed. “And that is coming from a man who was advising me that a good pipe keeps a lot of diseases away when we were chatting just last week.”

George stood up. He was taller than the newspaperman. He was thirty-six years old and powerfully built, like the boxing champion he had been at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in his youth. He had been hotheaded back then and gotten involved in a fight at the Academy, the result being a win for George. Unfortunately, his prize was expulsion and discharge for lack of respect for discipline. That had been the time when he had chosen to make his career in medicine.

He had black hair with a central parting, a full mustache and steely eyes that could smolder with anger, twinkle with amusement or which could be reassuring in the extreme. As usual he was wearing a bow tie and a dark suit with his polished knee high boots.

He pointed to the wall above his desk upon which hung his framed medical degree beside a framed copy of the Hippocratic Oath, and in a small glass-fronted box a silver double-headed eagle medallion of Austria, which had once been the property of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. Stanley had written an article about it when it had been presented to Doctor George Goodfellow by President Porfirio Diaz, along with a horse named El Rosillo in 1888 following the Sonora earthquake. They were given as tokens of Mexican esteem after he had loaded up his wagon with medical supplies and led a party ninety miles to Bavispe, Sonora, Mexico to treat survivors and injured. Then in the following months he had returned along with Camillus Sidney Fly, the town photographer, to study and record the effects of the earthquake. Together they travelled over seven hundred miles through the Sierra Madre Mountains. Both Camillus Fly’s photographs and George Goodfellow’s maps and reports earned national praise. The photographs of the earthquake rupture scarp were widely syndicated and George’s geological study had been praised by the united States Geological Service.

Stanley knew that his friend was proud of the award, yet he was far prouder of the fact that the townsfolk of Bavispe had called him El Santo Doctor, the sainted doctor. His fluency in Spanish had helped, since he could communicate, explain and reassure the injured in their own tongue. It was typical of the man that he cared more about what his patients thought of him as a doctor than he did for all the accolades and prestige that he seemed to accumulate with little effort. He was just a natural subject for newspaper coverage, one of those characters that the frontier seemed to throw up every now and then.

But it was to the framed Oath that George directed his attention. “See that Hippocratic Oath, Stanley?” he asked rhetorically. “You know as well as I do that I live by it, as best I can. If I take someone on as a patient I’ll give him or her the best treatment I can and advise them to the best of my ability. You have to accept that sometimes, like when we were chatting last week, my best may be impaired. If you recall we were playing poker at the time in the Crystal Palace saloon and we had both drunk four or five whiskies. I actually said that a good pipe kept some diseases away, on account of pipe tobacco’s natural ability to keep pesky flies and bluebottles away from the vicinity. And as you well know, the good Lord blessed us here in Tombstone with more than our fair share of the creatures.”

His hands went up to grasp the lapels of his coat, a slightly pompous mannerism of his that many folks found intimidating, because it was usually accompanied by a slight raising of his jaw and a triumphant twinkle in his eye that signaled, at least in his mind, that he had either won, or was about to win an argument.

“So, my friend, you can see that the advice I gave you was the best I could give under the circumstances.”

Stanley opened his mouth to protest when there was a sudden commotion from the waiting room outside. Voices were raised and there were exclamations of amazement. Then there was the noise of heavy boots racing across the wood floor and a beating on the door was followed by it being immediately thrown open.

“Doc Goodfellow! You’ve got to come over to Campbell and Hatch’s Pool Parlor. There’s a guy dying there.”

George recognized the messenger as Walt Harper, one of the ushers from the Schieffelin Hall. He could see the panic in his face.

“I didn’t hear any shooting. What is it, a knifing?”

“It’s Red Douglas. He’s choking and seems to be having some kind of fit.”

The doctor had already sprung into action. He had grabbed his black bag then dashed to a cupboard from which he took out a couple of small wooden cases which he threw into the bag.

“Stanley, don’t you come. That cough will start up if you try to run. Get going, Walt, I’m right behind you.”

“And miss a story?” Stanley rejoined him. “Not on your life. I’ll just take the stairs nice and easy and I’ll meet you there.”

But the town doctor had already gone. As he charged through the waiting room he barked a quick, “Emergency call, folks. I should be back in half an hour.”

Then he was out the door and dashing down the outer steps of the Crystal Palace Saloon from his office.

As was often the case when folks saw Dr. Goodfellow racing someplace he attracted a number of followers who tagged on behind him. Tombstone was that sort of place. It had a lot of folks who seemed to have an unhealthy interest in sudden death. As long as it wasn’t their own.

Clay More is the western pen-name of Keith Souter, a part time doctor, medical journalist and novelist. He lives and works within arrowshot of the ruins of a medieval castle in England. In 2014 he was elected as Vice President of Western Fictioneers and he is also a member of Western Writers of America, The Crime Writers’ Association, International Thriller Writers and several other writers organizations. 

He writes novels in four genres – crime as Keith Moray, Westerns as Clay More, Historical crime and YA as Keith Souter. His medical background finds its way into a lot of his writing, as can be seen in this novel about Doctor George Goodfellow as well as in most of his western novels and short stories. His character in Wolf Creek is Doctor Logan Munro, the town doctor, who is gradually revealing more about himself with each book he appears in. Another of his characters is Doctor Marcus Quigley, dentist, gambler and bounty hunter. He has recently published a collection of short stories about him in Adventures from the Casebook of D Marcus Quigley, published by High Noon Press.

If you care to find out more about him visit his website: http://www.keithsouter.co.uk

Or his blog http://moreontherange.blogspot.co.uk

Or check out his regular contribution about 19th Century Medicine here on the WF blog.

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Western Deal of the Day

Overview

Dirtville is just a peaceful frontier settlement . . . until a sudden eruption of violence leaves two people dead and a mysterious stranger comes to town in search of vengeance, only to find that a web of corruption, greed, and murder hangs over the entire community! Once again, acclaimed author Clay More spins a fast-paced, engrossing Western tale featuring action, mystery, romance, and suspense. Nothing is quite what it seems in this thrilling new release from the Western Fictioneers Library except that it's pure Western entertainment!

Sample

PROLOGUE

   Walt Burnett was madder than a coyote that had been done out of his dinner by a thieving buzzard. His weather-beaten face was redder than usual as he urged his big black up the saguaro and cardon cactus lined trail from the Rocking WB spread to the Pintos foothills.
   When he finally crested the rise and looked down into the mine camp he scowled. Work had stopped and the two men were sitting by a fire sipping coffee from battered old tin cups and smoking. Water trickling down through the series of rocker cradles was the only evidence of mining activity. Even the mule tied up to the arrastra rock crushing machine was standing still, munching greedily on feed in its nose-bag, while the two men laughed and joked.
   Burnett rode into the camp and immediately started berating the younger of the two men. He reached into his vest and held out a paper in a fist that trembled with rage. The younger man stood and watched contemptuously as the rancher let out a tirade of invective, as the third man hung his head when the rancher suddenly turned his ire on him. Then the younger man began to argue back. From a pocket he held out a bag, opened it and poured glittering dust into the palm of his hand.
   Burnett eyed him for moments, then his anger peaked and he stepped forward and dashed the bag from his hand. Then his hand shot out, lashing the other hard across the face. And with a final curse he turned and made for his horse.
   He had the reins in his left hand and his right on the pommel of the saddle, ready to put foot in stirrup when the knife thudded into his back, penetrating his heart and propelling him forward against the black’s side. He fell dying as the horse panicked and dashed forward.
   The young man turned as the third man started to yell at him. Then the gun at his side cleared leather and two bullets hammered into the man’s chest, throwing him back to land on the fire.
   As he pulled the knife from Walt Burnett’s dead body he grinned, unaware of the pair of eyes that had watched in horror from the top of the rise.

Clay More's Double Dealing at Dirtville is presently only 99 cents.

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Western Fictioneers Newly Elected Officers

Cheryl Pierson is Western Fictioneers' new president. Cheryl lives with her husband in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and she is one busy lady.  She is a full-time author, co-publisher at Prairie Rose Publications, Painted Pony Books, Fire Star Press, and Tornado Alley Publications. In her spare time she works to rescue animals. and now she's Western Fictioneers' new president.

From Cheryl:

Western Fictioneers is a professional writing group that encourages and promotes the traditional western. We, as writers, envision our own ideas of how to tell our western stories and bring them to life in any number of ways: from screenplays to short stories; from novels to poetry; and now, even in the shared western universe of post-Civil War Wolf Creek, Kansas.

We look to expand our realm of western story-weaving to new readers by roping in the younger readers, the disillusioned readers, and the unsuspecting readers. Original fans of the western genre will be at ease to know their favorite standard authors, as well as some newcomers to the playing field, stand ready to deliver the very best of exciting western reading adventure available.

It is my pleasure to be able to continue the proud goals and objectives that were set in motion under our two previous presidents, Frank Roderus and Troy D. Smith.

It is said that John Wayne made the statement, “The western will never die.” I agree wholeheartedly—but not just when we’re talking movies! Westerns have grown and evolved, yet the basic elements remain constant. It is our hope that you will enjoy many hours of reading entertainment in the stories told by the members of our group, for as long as the Western Fictioneers are here to tell their tales and readers enjoy them, the West is truly here to stay!

Cheryl Pierson
Western Fictioneers President  2014

Review Roundup: Christmas and Candle-making

Wolf Creek: O Deadly Night (Volume 10)
By Ford Fargo
Western Fictioneers, November 2013
$9.99 paperback, ISBN 1493727133
$2.99 Kindle, ASIN B00GFF6SYG
$2.99 other e-formats, ISBN 978-1493727131
188 pages

Wolf Creek series editor Troy D. Smith has a gift for intriguing, often pun-laden, titles. That gift is displayed right up front in Wolf Creek’s tenth overall volume and second Christmas anthology, O Deadly Night.

Like the first collection of holiday-themed short stories (A Wolf Creek Christmas), O Deadly Night visits some of the Kansas cattle town’s familiar denizens and introduces a few newcomers.

At the rate newcomers were spilling from the woodwork in the previous Christmas anthology, it seemed Wolf Creek might explode before 1871 ended. Thankfully, the pace of immigration seems to have slowed by O Deadly Night. Only two new characters are introduced: farmer Hutch Higgins (written by Big Jim Williams) and Irish drifter Kelly O’Brian (Charlie Steel). O’Brian, formerly a track-layer for the railroad, may become a rancher in partnership with his long-lost brother and an easterner…if the three of them survive a white-slavery ring operating way too close to Wolf Creek for comfort. Steel’s “Irish Christmas at Wolf Creek” introduces the sort of never-say-die character Wolf Creek needs with the body count rising as it has been lately.

In Williams’ “Sarah’s Christmas Miracle,” Wolf Creek gets another man trying to live down a shameful past in anonymity. By the time Higgins gets his Christmas wish—a miracle cure for his dying daughter—readers will be privy to the farmer’s darkest secrets, but the citizens of Kansas have no idea the kind of trouble Higgins’ mere presence could attract.

While Cheryl Pierson’s contribution, “A Home for Christmas,” doesn’t exactly introduce new characters, the stars of the story have played only minor roles previously. When Kathleen Hyder decides to leave her abusive, minister husband, she little suspects a chance encounter with a childhood friend, Cherokee Lighthorse officer Carson Ridge, will lead to an affair of the heart. Readers who have followed the series from the beginning probably will delight in seeing judgmental, mean-spirited Rev. Dill Hyder get his comeuppance, and Kathleen and Carson fairly sizzle together.

Chuck Tyrell’s “The Angel Tree” is the most touching of the six stories. Soiled dove Brandy, who previously appeared only long enough to deal with series regular Billy Below’s embarrassing gunshot wound, befriends a group of starving urchins. Outcast because their mothers work as whores in the low-rent cribs, the kids are convinced an angel will deliver them from infamy on Christmas. Tyrell wrings sniffles and smiles from readers with this heartwarming tale.

“The Spirit of Hogmanay,” by Clay More, drops readers into the middle of Dr. Logan Munro’s busy holiday and a minor mystery involving some expensive scotch. As usual, More entertains and educates, providing fascinating—often surprising—medical details laced with Scottish wit and no little charm. Hogmanay, the Scottish New Year’s observance, is a melancholy period, but More spices Munro’s experience with hope for the future.

Smith’s “O Deadly Night,” which lends its title to the entire volume, is the darkest of the tales. As 1871 draws to a close, Marshal Sam Gardner is called upon to put a literal end to a local troublemaker. The deed must be done, and Gardner faces that knowledge with typical stoicism. Afterward, reaction from the townsfolk has him doubting himself and mankind in general. Usually a wiseacre to the core, the marshal reflects on the year in an uncharacteristically morose exchange over a drink with Munro.

O Deadly Night is an entertaining end-of-the-year read—but more than that, it displays the depth and breadth of life in Wolf Creek in a new way. Taken together, the two Wolf Creek Christmas anthologies hint that 1872 may be one heckuva year in Kansas.


“The Art of Dipping Candles”
By Judy Alter
Self-published, February 2011
$0.99 Kindle, ASIN B004M18Q1I
$0.00 other e-formats, ISBN 9781458181565
6 pages

A Comanche raid on a North Texas farm leaves lasting scars on a mother and her preteen daughter in Judy Alter’s ultra-short, powerful “The Art of Dipping Candles.” Told from the young girl’s point of view, the story resonates with fear, a mother’s all-consuming love for her children, and a daughter’s aching loss.

Alter has said she based the story on a real incident that took place in the 1880s, but the emotional punch is universal and timeless.

Read this one. It will haunt you.


Kathleen Rice Adams is a Texan, a voracious reader, a professional journalist, and an author. She received a review copy of Wolf Creek: O Deadly Night from the publisher. 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.

A REVIEW OF WOLF CREEK: BOOK 1, BLOODY TRAIL BY CHARLIE STEEL

When I first heard that Western Fictioneers was going to write a series of books about a fictional western town in Kansas by multiple writers under one name, I thought, yeah—right, that’ll work. My cynicism was wrong. IT DOES WORK.

Under the fertile mind of Dr. Troy Smith, (current Western Fictioneers President and Professor of American Indian History at Tennessee Tech University) he single handedly developed the original concept of having multiple writers create a series of books under the fictional name of Ford Fargo. The imaginary town where interaction of the multiple characters would take place was Wolf Creek, Kansas. Spending a great deal of time and creative thinking, Dr. Troy Smith developed a “bible” of names, dates, and history of the town and its characters. With each character having a back story, the participating multiple writers of Western Fictioneers utilized this data and plot information to write individual chapters that could be combined into one cohesive book. The result, Voila! As to date: Nine Wolf Creek series books have been written and published by Western Fictioneers.

Not only is this a new concept in writing (for westerns), it’s one that has caught on with the readers---and the book series is reportedly selling well.

In reading the first book of the series, Wolf Creek: Book 1, Bloody Trail, I was blown away with the complex plot and multiple characters introduced in the first two chapters by writer Clay More (Dr. Keith Souter). There is a plethora of western characters introduced, such as you would find in any other town. Many of these individuals have been hardened by life, struck with grief, tragedy, and scarred by the Great Conflict. They have fled their secret pasts to start anew in Wolf Creek, a thriving community established on the stream by the same name. With the coming of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, shortly after the Civil War, Wolf Creek became a growing cow town.

Chapter Two is one of the most exciting and dramatic episodes I have ever read in any book. Wolf Creek is suddenly raided by over twenty ex-soldiers, all experienced killers, former members of Quantrill Raiders. They ride into town, guns blazing, and in the process of thieving and robbing the bank, they execute a well planned military type raid by shooting down men, women, children, and horses and setting fire to various buildings. How the town endures and barely survives this unwarranted attack of over twenty killers, is an unforgettable and complex scene no reader will want to miss.

Chapters Three and Four are written by James J. Griffin. An experienced horseman himself, Griffin describes in detail how a posse is formed and rides out and begins to chase down the town killers, thieves, and bank robbers. Griffin’s expertise and horse knowledge show the importance of proper rest and treatment of the equines along the trail, or else their chase would end before it began. The interaction between the members of the posse describes men with tragic and hardened pasts, which as westerners, ends up serving them well in their long bloody chase after the outlaws.

The book then, in the following consecutive chapters, as the title indicates becomes a bloody tale of pursuit and justice.

However, this is no ordinary story of outlaw versus good guy. Intertwined in the following chapters written by Troy D. Smith, James Reasoner, L. J. Martin, and Cheryl Pierson, is a well developed interplay of specific characters who reveal their hidden pasts along the outlaw’s trail.

Quickly we learn that there are no innocents, even among the posse. We follow their rugged pursuit as they face ambush. Some in the posse are killed, others are wounded, all face hunger, thirst, and deprivation in their pursuit of the killers. Conflict arises between former union and confederate soldiers. The character interaction increases in intensity as the posse moves forward. It is only the ambushes and dangers they face from traps left by the outlaws that manage to keep them focused and together.

With each chapter we continually learn more about many of the posse members. Of most interest, were four distinct characters. The first is Dr. Logan Munro, a man of the world. He served as a physician and British soldier in the Crimean War and was later stationed in India, where he encountered the Indian Mutiny of 1857. During that time, his beloved wife became ill and died. Grieved that he could not save her, Dr. Munro ended up traveling to America and serving as a doctor in the Great Conflict. Having served in so many wars, and operated on countless wounded young soldiers, Munro is tired of death. He wants only to settle down in Wolf Creek and treat the town’s patients and live out the remainder of his life peacefully. With the raid on Wolf Creek and with so many of his acquaintances killed, he again picks up his Beaumont-Adams revolver and joins the posse to serve as doctor and experienced soldier.

Charley Blackfeather, half black/half Seminole has been hardened by the circumstances of his birth. At an early age he fought American soldiers who had come to Florida to forcibly remove and combat his tribe. In the swamps of Florida he learned stealth and the abilities to silently use knife and tomahawk. Having seen his family, friends, and fellow half black Indians stolen and sold into slavery, murdered, or forcibly assimilated and sent west, and to escape slavery himself, he joined an Indian Union regiment and fought in the Civil War. During the conflict he fought members of Quantrill’s Raiders who murdered many of his best friends. For Charley Blackfeather, this raid is not just to seek vengeance for the attack on Wolf Creek. It was to seek justice and find and kill those who murdered his friends. Above all those in the posse, Blackfeather is the most skilled in the art of weapons and death.

The third most interesting character for me, is Spike Sweeney. He is Wolf Creek’s blacksmith, and an ex-confederate soldier. Scarred by the war, he plans to live out his life tending to his trade and minding his own business. When the raid on Wolf Creek occurs, he sees he must act. Using his former military skills, he is a great asset to the posse, although somewhat distrusted. This trail of justice and revenge has hidden rewards for Sweeney as he learns to heal, through coming to the realization that many soldiers he fought against were human beings much like himself.

Last, Bill Torrance, the livery owner, watches as his best friend was shot down and killed, as was the woman he had great affection for. Putting on guns he swore he would never use, he joins the posse. On the trail a secret of his past was revealed, making him uniquely suited for this lawful pursuit.

This review does not in any way begin to do justice to this first book of the Wolf Creek series. The reader will have to take my word that regardless of genre interest, everyone will find this a well-written and exciting book. I predict a great future for the Wolf Creek series and easily see a Hollywood movie, or a long playing television program come from this exciting creation.

So, without reservation, I say: Wake up America! Pay attention Hollywood! This is an extraordinary Western epic of Americana and a great story any reader of any genre would want to buy and enthusiastically consume.

Review by Charlie Steel, author of Desert Heat, Desert Cold and Other Tales of the West.