Wolf Creek #17: Comanchero Trail

Troy D. Smith

The newest Wolf Creek book is here -and it is intense.

Abby Potter and several of her soiled doves are traveling by wagon to the Breedlove ranch -to help the hands enjoy a barn dance -but they never make it. Kiowa war chief Stone Knife is back in Kansas, and he takes the girls captive, also killing several settlers along the way. Stone Knife takes the women southwest to the Llano Estacado to trade them to Comancheros.

A small rescue party from Wolf Creek goes after them: Ben Tolliver, Charley Blackhorse, Derrick McCain, Rev. Obadiah Stone, Jimmy Spotted Owl... and young cowboy Billy Below, whose true love Brandy is among the captives. Along the way they meet new allies: a Texas Ranger troop that includes Rangers Jake Blackwell and Jim Blawcyzk (from western series by Troy D. Smith and James J. Griffin). They also meet an enigmatic farmer, Tom Sallee, who is looking for the Comancheros for reasons of his own.

As I said at the outset, this volume is intense. In order to be true to the historical period and to demonstrate the stakes faced by women taken captive at that time, there are a couple of scenes that might be disturbing to some readers. The authors taking part, however, believe we have produced a powerful story.

Those writers are Jacquie Rogers, James J. Griffin, Chuck Tyrell, myself (Troy D. Smith), and John Neely Davis, in his first Wolf Creek appearance. If you are unfamiliar with our series, it is a Western Fictioneers production in which at this point almost thirty WF members have created their own unique characters who interact in collaborative novels. They appear under the house name "Ford Fargo." We have as much fun writing them as you do reading them.

Another Wolf Creek volume is coming along soon -in November -a short story anthology titled Hunter's Moon. It will feature events that will change the lives of several Wolf Creek citizens... watch for it.

Buy Comanchero Trail HERE

Western Trail Blazer Day: Kevin Crisp

Troy D. Smith

For our first Western Trail Blazer Day of the New Year, we are shining the spotlight on brand-new Western Fictioneers member Kevin Crisp. I'll turn the space over to Kevin in a moment, but first I want to say a few words about WTB.

This imprint was founded by Rebecca Vickery and her associate Laura Shinn in 2010. As of yesterday my wife Robin and I have assumed the reins, but Becca is staying on for awhile as an adviser- and truth to tell, since WTB was her brainchild, her touch will always be on it. I speak for many of my fellow authors and WF members when I sing her praises as a publisher, author, friend, and human being in general.

Robin and I are ready to forge ahead. We have a lot of exciting projects in mind... and are open for more. If you have a western novel or short story manuscript you'd like us to consider, send it to us at CaneHollowPress@gmail.com.

Now let's let Kevin introduce himself!

KEVIN CRISP:

This morning, as I write this in my home in a small town in the middle of nowhere in Minnesota, it's eleven degrees below zero.  Over a century ago, the historian Judge Charles Flandrau wrote that our state's "climate, taken the year round, surpasses in attractive features that of any part of the North American continent."  This morning, Mr. Flandrau is staring up at a couple of feet of frozen soil in a cemetery about twenty miles from here.  It never ceases to amaze me how the early settlers prospered here.  These pioneers braved furious winters as cold as sixty-five degrees below zero, and tornadic summers with heat that occasionally reached 115 degrees.   They survived famines and blizzards and plagues of grasshoppers.  They lived among the American Indians, trading, warring and intermarrying.  These men and women must have had incredible stories of courage, sacrifice and perseverance, but like pioneers everywhere, they took most of these stories to their graves with them.  I love western fiction because it immortalizes the pioneer spirit.

I grew up in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, but always considered myself a midwestern transplant.  My summers were spent between relatives in rural Illinois and at camp, where I learned to shoot, ride, camp and love the outdoors in general. On weekends, I spent countless hours watching westerns at my neighbor's, whose dad was in the army and a transplant as well.  I don't suppose today you can run around the Washington streets waving a toy gun around, but in the '80's that was still considered healthy boyish behavior and we did much of it.

I spent college between Philadelphia and London, England, but after graduation I moved west to Minnesota, and other than a brief stint in Miami have been here ever since.  I married a beautiful girl with a farm and horses, and we bought a house in the country south of the Twin Cities where things are nice and quiet, and weekends are filled with day trips to trout streams and long hikes in the woods.

I've loved to write as far back as I can remember.  When I was a teenager, I had a story rejected from Isaac Asimov magazine.  The rejection letter was personalized, which is to say it was a from letter with the words "Please proof read your next submission!" handwritten across the bottom.  I was very proud of that rejection letter, although my "next submission" was delayed a few decades by the wonderful business of starting a family, getting my PhD and then tenure, and writing a lot of science articles and book chapters.  In the last few years, I've published a few western short stories in Frontier Tales eZine, and a few horror stories here and there, and it feels great to be writing fiction again!

Perhaps not surprisingly, my first novel, Trouble at Timber Ridge, is about a cowboy named Harlan Shea who's returned after a long a mysterious hiatus.  In the book, he's working to unravel a plot against his former employer that involves a crooked telegraph agent.  This particular plot was inspired by my efforts as an amateur radio operator  to master the international Morse code, a form of electronic communication which has changed little since before the American Civil War, and has been common in radio since the 1890s.  As I started to study the Morse code, it struck me how much power these telegraphers held at their finger tips.  Imagine if every phone message, email, letter, and text message you received arrived in a code you had to trust someone else to translate!  Seemed like these agents were in a position to stir up a heap of trouble, given the right motivation...

Buy it at amazon

Buy it at smashwords

And check out these two new Western short stories, by recent Peacemaker Award nominees...

 A FIRE IN BRIMSTONE


A new short story by Peacemaker nominee Tom Rizzo, author of the acclaimed western novel Last Stand at Bitter Creek. Cass Ryan is the trusted sheriff of Brimstone -but he has a dark secret. Now the past has caught up with him, and a day of reckoning is at hand...

amazon
smashwords

 "It had been an accident—a trick of the relentless, shimmering heat—that had made Luke pull the trigger. At least, that had been the story he told, and the tale he stuck to in his own mind, until he had almost come to believe the fabrication himself."

This tense psychological thriller by acclaimed author Cheryl Pierson begins with envy and makes its way to madness, as a young farm boy on the American frontier finds his life unraveling due to a moment of rage..

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smashwords

Western Trail Blazer Day

Troy D. Smith

A few months ago, I decided to post a blog meant to be a tribute to Rebecca J. Vickery, founder and publisher of Western Trail Blazer and other imprints. Becca has been a great help to many western authors just starting out, and just as great a help for more established ones who were ready to expand their ventures into the world of digital publishing. I had no difficulty finding several Western Fictioneers members eager to sing her praises- you can read it HERE.

Since that blog was such a success, and since Western Trail Blazer is a patron, or "deputy", member of Western Fictioneers, I scheduled a monthly day to either highlight one of WTB's authors or talk about their new releases (hint: patron membership is available to other publishers and related professionals, as well.)

That date has rolled around again, but this time there are some changes to Western Trail Blazer I thought folks should be aware of. Becca has been suffering some serious health problems for awhile now, and it has impacted her ability to run the business the way she would like. She has very reluctantly decided to relinquish the reins of her western imprint, and focus her attention on her other publishing ventures instead. This was a terribly hard decision for her to make -WTB is her baby.

Beginning January 1, my wife Robin and I will be assuming the publishing duties at Western Trail Blazer. We will endeavor to maintain the proud tradition Rebecca (and her tireless associate Laura Shinn) began, working closely with authors to provide the finest in western novels and short stories to readers around the world. Over the next few months we will be making the transition with those WTB authors who choose to remain with us, and those who have submissions pending. Meanwhile, we will be accepting new submissions as well.

And as always, my hat is off to Rebecca, my favorite trail blazer.

Christmas Comes to Wolf Creek

Several months ago, we decided to do a special Christmas anthology of Wolf Creek stories, with all the tales taking place in the Christmas season of 1871. I encouraged new folks to join our writing team, with these short stories an ideal way to introduce a new character to our town.

And boy did Western Fictioneers respond.

We wound up with what would have been a 90,000 word book, when our regular books range from 25,000 to 35,000 words. We decided, then, to break the anthology up into two volumes.

Both of which are available now.

Here is a rundown of the stories and authors:

WOLF CREEK BOOK 9: A WOLF CREEK CHRISTMAS

"The Last Free Trapper" by Jory Sherman. Mountain man Roman Hatchett has spent decades int he Rockies,but has finally admitted to himself the beaver aren't coming back. He comes south to Wolf Creek, where his long-ago partner Casto Haston is running a tannery, to try out the buffalo hunting trade. But Roman's past has tracked him to the Plains, and he will have to face it down...

"A Savior Is Born" by Meg Mims. Phoebe Wright, fearless reformer, hits Wolf Creek in search of her sister. Phoebe Wright is always right -and will allow no one to intimidate her. Not even Ira Breedlove, owner of the Wolf's Den Saloon and controller of much of the town's vice.

"That Time of Year" by Jerry Guin. Deputy Marshal Quint Croy is a straight-forward young man, dedicated to preserving the peace. In the days before Christmas, however, he finds himself caught up in a dispute between several of the toughest people in town. Including his own boss. Can he kindle their Christmas cheer?

"'Twas the Fight Before Christmas" by Jacquie Rogers. Gib Norwood owns a large dairy operation outside town, along with his brothers Peter and Paul (whom his late father conceived with a slave, Glory, who also lives with them.) Christmas finds them in a dispute with the troublesome ranch hands of cattle baron Andrew Rogers -a dispute that involves a wagonload of prostitutes from Abby Potter's School for Wayward Girls, including Miss Abby herself.

"A Kiowa Christmas Gift" by Troy D. Smith. Cavalry Captain Tom Dent and Seminole scout Charley Blackfeather find themselves conducting an important parley with Kiowa leaders on Christmas Eve. Dent hopes they can finish negotiations so he can be with his family on Christmas; Charley fears that, if antagonistic warrior Stone Knife has his way, they won't get home at all.

"Renewal of Faith" by Jim Griffin. Texas-Ranger-turned-livery-owner Ben Tolliver and his son Danny get a very unexpected Christmas gift. Then they meet and befriend the new Catholic priest who has come to establish a mission at Wolf Creek, in time to perform Christmas Mass- but Ben finds much of the town opposed to the father's presence. Ben is determined that the Mass will be held, if he has to fight a mob to see it done...

WOLF CREEK 10: O DEADLY NIGHT

"Sarah's Christmas Miracle" by Big Jim Williams. Farmer Hutch Higgins -haunted by his own Civil War secrets, like many in Wolf Creek -must brave a snowstorm to find help for his sick little girl.

"Irish Christmas at Wolf Creek" by Charlie Steel. Kelly O'Brian has been a railroad worker and a buffalo hunter -now he has his heart set on becoming a rancher. His plans are interrupted, though, when he is kidnapped by a a cruel gang who intends to use him, and their other prisoners, for forced labor.

"A Home for Christmas" by Cheryl Pierson. Derrick McCain's sister Kathleen has not recovered from her experience at the hands of the Danby Gang -and her judgmental husband, Reverend Dill Hyder, cannot accept what he now considers an "impure woman." Then someone from her family's past shows up, and everything changes...

"The Angel Tree" by Chuck Tyrell. The soiled dove known as Brandy has previously only shown up as the object of cowboy Billy Below's desire. She takes center stage in this story, though... when she learns that the innocent children of the prostitutes at Cribtown are barred from attending school by the town fathers because they are "undesirable," and sets out to do something about it.

"The Spirit of Hogmanay" by Clay More. Doc Logan's road to Hogmanay -the Scottish New Year's Eve celebration -is littered with good intentions. And injuries and diseases galore. And to top it all off, someone has stolen his good Scotch...

"O Deadly Night" by Troy D. Smith. Marshal Sam Gardner learns that, for a lawman in a town like Wolf Creek, there is no such thing as a night off. Even on Christmas.


Both volumes out now for kindle, due soon at smashwords, b&n, createspace, and etc.

Get 'em here:

Wolf Creek 9: A WOLF CREEK CHRISTMAS

Wolf Creek 10: O DEADLY NIGHT