California Cocina

California Cocina is my most recent effort in the world of cooking and the kitchen, however it's a long time endeavor of mine.  Each time I've seen a reference to cooking and the kitchen in old journals I've made a note of it, and many make up the hide, hair, and bones of this look at history and the California Cocina (kitchen).  This has been a book of great interest, and fun, to me, and I hope it is to you as well.
This from California Cocina:

A Little Sittin'-Round-The-Fire

 Cookin' Philosophy!

Don't you dare be afraid to cook!  Eggs are the toughest things a chef has to master and I'll bet you've conquered them long ago.  If you can fry an egg, you can master any recipe in this cookbook, or any other.

     As I mentioned in the introduc­tion, adaptability and creativity are the hallmarks of a good cook.  I've had my share of flops--all good cooks have.  If they haven't, they're not trying hard enough.

     I learned to cook at home from age eight, with a mother who worked and an older brother who was more than glad to share the chores.  I went on to cook my way through college, manning a grill 3' deep by 18' long, feeding 1,500 at lunch and dinner--not much for style but it did wonders for charge-forward and damn the torpe­does.  As fast as I could, I threw the hamburgers or chops on, ran back, salting on the way, and turned them on the way forward again, only to run back salting again--then I could im­mediately begin picking them up with a three-patty spatula.  Like a machine gunner, I had a loader who walked alongside, only this one carried a tray to fill with food.  And God help the irate student who wanted his "a little more done," or, worse, complained about over-cooking.  Later in life, I had four sons only a couple of years apart, which was almost as crazy as cooking for 1,500.  They, by the way, are all good cooks.

     During and after college, I did a stint counseling and wrangling horses at a boy's camp, and had to do the cooking for as many as twenty at a time over a campfire with only what we carried on our backs.  I also seemed to get the cooking job for many a horseback hunting, fishing, or just lookin' trip into the back country, and still do as my wife and I try to get into the high Sierra at least once a year-- usually with an entourage of a half dozen or more who work up big ap­petites.  There are a lot of tricks to making camp cooking easy, and I'll share a few here.

     Notice, I refer to myself as a cook, not a chef.  Standing over an open campfire, before dawn, not able to see if you're burning the flapjacks and having to judge by nose power alone, is not the bailiwick of a la-ti-da chef.  More than once I've made a lantern out of an empty coffee can and bacon grease, so I could see in the pre-dawn to cook.  Most chefs would quit under far better cooking cir­cumstances, but just try and quit when you've got a camp full of hungry hunters or fishermen or cowhands--at worst, you might quit more than just a job, at best, you'd leave camp a'skippin' with cans tied to your tail.

     In everything else I'm hell for prompt--not cooking.  I learned a long time ago that the most appreciative eaters are damned hungry, or movin' on toward drunk, so I've always made it a habit to serve about an hour after I said I would.  You can get by with this in polite society, don't try it at a campfire.

     Now that you know my back­ground, I will tell you that I can set as fancy a table as most chefs.  I can Wellington a beef and bone a chicken and crown a rib roast and flambeau and all the rest—and yes, I own French Cooking Volumes 1 & 2.  But its sel­dom I use a recipe book when cooking for friends.  After cooking a while, you develop a sense of what will work and what won't.  Some of my best meals have come about from the habit of using left-overs (having grown up poor I always cook too much) but not as originally served.  Day-old mashed potatoes can become wondrous treats in the hands of an imaginative cook. 

     So don't be afraid to add to or subtract from or change most of these recipes.  I stole most of them from other cooks, and changed them (or didn't) to suit me.  You do the same, and if you hate cilantro or lemon pep­per, leave it out and add what you love.

     After all, they're your pork chops.

This is typical of the historical recipes included:

Blossom Fritters

·      12         male squash or pumpkin blossoms

·      3/4      cup warm flat beer

·      2           eggs

·      T          oil

·      1/4      t salt

·      1/4      t sage

·      4 oz     Monterey Jack or other white cheese

Separate eggs and beat yolks with beer, salt, and flour until smooth.  Beat egg whites until stiff, then fold gently into batter.  Remove all stems and stamens from blossoms  Fill each blossom with enough cheese so you can twist blossom ends and seal, dip in batter, fry in hot oil.  Drain and serve warm.

And this:

Pemmican

1 pound white suet

2 cups chockcherries

1 pound jerked meat

sugar

Roast jerked meat over open fire until bone dry.  Pound to a dust.  Add it, chokecherries, and as much sugar as you can afford and roll into balls the size of hen's eggs.  This will keep in your polk for a good long spell.

And this from one of my own novels, a look into a California rancho kitchen:

In the cocina, sides of meat and a few plucked chickens hung from hooks, adorn­ing one wall alongside iron skillets, pots, spoons, spatulas, and a hand-held coffee grinder.  Red peppers, green peppers, dried tomatoes, garlic flowers, and bay leaves, all strung together in multicolored bunches, hung from a wrought-iron roof-hung rack in the center of the room, directly over a butcher-block table where two women stood working.  Their speed belied the flesh that vibrated pendoulously un­der their arms.  Fat fingers flashed and flour hung in the air as they formed, twirled, and patted tortillas into shape with the staccato rhythm of chubby, slapping palms.

     Bins of wheat, beans, lintels, dried peas, and fresh vegetables lined the wall opposite the meat and utensils--a flash of warm natural color that contrasted with the cold metal hanging overhead.  Two six-burner black-iron stoves huddled side by side against one wall, each flanked by a through-wall wood box that could be loaded from the outside.  One stove, and part of the stovepipe that rose through the red-tile roof glowed red-hot in the dim light.  This was the reason for the cocina being sepa­rated from the main house: the threat of fire.  The stove supported a variety of steaming pots and an iron pitcher bubbling with hot water that did a thousand vio­lent jigs in little droplets on the glowing surface before roiling upward in vapor.

     The room smelled pleasantly of spices, and roasting meat--and of coffee.

     A smiling Indian woman had a cup poured and hot rolled tortillas waiting by the time Clint had stored the musket.  She handed him a mug laced with sugar carved from a Barbados cone, and whitened with thick rich cream...

                                                           

from the novel

Against the 7th Flag                                                             

by L. J. Martin

And this from on of the other contributors:

....the ink was taken from the mill pond fresh this morning, being composed of three parts water, two of mud, and one of tadpoles well ground.

from a letter

Hugo Reid to Don Able Sterns

Los Angeles, 1838

The vineyard is walled around.  It contains vines totaling 22,730 and ground sufficient to make up the number of 40,000, besides 430 varieties of fruit trees: 20,500 parras (vines on stakes) of uba prieta (dark grapes), 2,070 uba blanca (white grapes), 160 uba cimarrona (maroon grapes), in all,...  21 fig trees, 7 plums, 25 pears, 5 apples, 32 ornages, 40 granadas (pomegranates), 2 alvechegos (honey mesquite trees), 240 duraznos (peaches), 8 capulines (blood oranges), 3 nogales (walnut trees), 7 olivos (olive trees), 40 limones (lemon trees), in all 430 trees.

     I don't include my tuna (cactus fruit) patch.

                                                                                               

from a letter

Hugo Reid to Don Able Sterns

Translations are mine, not the author Reid's                                 Los Angeles,  1844

The above is typical of the content of California Cocina.  It's an entertaining and educational look at a wonderful time past.  Here's a link to pick up a copy:

http://amzn.to/WY1XgV

Review Roundup: The Quick and the Dying

Wolf Creek Book 7: The Quick and the Dying
By Ford Fargo
Western Fictioneers, August 2013
$8.09 paperback, ISBN 0615887309
$2.99 Kindle, ASIN B00F6B4KX6
$2.99 other e-formats, ISBN 9781301457243
118 pages

The last time former outlaw leader Sampson Quick encountered his old gang, he had to kill a couple of the ingrates to convince them he was out of the business for good. Now the notorious Hounds gang is back, looking for Quick’s help with a raid on Wolf Creek’s bank — and they’re not inclined to take “no” for an answer.

Since his arrival a few short months ago, the good folks of Wolf Creek have embraced Quick, whom they know as effete British painter James Reginald De Courcey. They consider him a mite odd, but mostly harmless. If only they knew….

The Quick and the Dying, the seventh book in the Wolf Creek series, seems almost a transitional piece. Things have settled down a bit in town now that the Kiowa are talking peace, the gang of leftover border ruffians that terrorized everyone in books 1 and 5 have been dispatched once and for all, and the megalomaniacal rancher nearby was handed his hat, at least temporarily.

Nothing is ever as it seems in Wolf Creek, though. Even the peace isn’t very peaceful, as town drunk Rupe Tingley discovers when the mugging he’s trying to avoid turns into accidental arson. Tingley’s creator, Matthew Mayo, does a remarkable job of conveying a drunk’s alcoholic haze in the first chapter. While the flophouse in which he lives burns around him, Tingley descends into an imaginary hell of flashbacks interspersed with eerie lightning strikes of clarity in the present. By the time De Courcey shocks the entire town by singlehandedly dragging Tingley from the inferno, readers will be ready to hop on the sobriety wagon themselves.

From there, the story departs into a rattlesnake’s nest of plots, subplots, counterplots, double-dealing, and assorted intrigue that is nothing short of dizzying. Quick/De Coursey (written by Kerry Newcomb) and his dilemma, which form the spine of the tale, rapidly recede behind a handful of other schemers who seem to be laying foundations for double-crosses in the future. Chief schemer to watch: photographer Wilson Marsh, who’s scummier than ever before. In Marsh, Jackson Lowry has created a skin-crawling everyday evil that fascinates.

Except for town marshal Sam Gardner (Troy Smith) and deputy Seamus O'Connor (Wayne Dundee), the point-of-view characters in The Quick and the Dying are ones who haven’t been heard from in a while. In addition to De Coursey, Tingley, and Marsh, bounty hunter Rattlesnake Jake (Phil Dunlap) is back and as casually intimidating as ever. Frank Roderus’s barber John Hix continues his understated channeling of Sweeney Todd in the Old West. By the time all the unusual suspects finish laying their plans and forming unholy alliances at the climax, a shootout in the bank should be the least of anyone’s concerns.

The Quick and the Dying ties up one loose series thread quite tidily. At the same time, the book opens so many new cans of worms that the writers should have enough bait for years. How all of the new threads ravel ought to be interesting to watch.


Kathleen Rice Adams is a Texan, a voracious reader, a professional journalist, and an author. She received a review copy of Wolf Creek Book 7: The Quick and the Dying 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.

FRIDAY FIVE WITH ROD MILLER

An interesting fact about my genealogy.
My great-great-grandfather on my mother’s side, Benjamin Franklin Stewart, had three wives (at the same time). He was in the first group of Mormon pioneers who came to Utah with Brigham Young in 1847, but stayed behind to run a ferry across the Platte River where Casper, Wyoming, is today, so he did not arrive at the shores of the Great Salt Lake until September.

The favorite car I ever owned.
Unlike most American males, I was born without an automobile gene. I don’t care a whit about cars as long as they run. So, on that basis, I guess our current conveyance, a 2003 Toyota Camry, is my favorite. We bought it used from Enterprise Rent-a-Car and it’s just about to turn over 200,000 miles and hasn’t given us ten minutes of trouble in all that time. Not too exciting, I know.

My favorite food.
Potatoes. No matter how you cook them, they’re tasty—fried, baked, roasted, boiled, mashed, hash browns, home fries, french fries, scalloped, au gratin, chips…. You can’t hardly screw up a potato. Besides, they’re cheap. And good for you.

My favorite song.
I like lots of music. But one of the best songs ever is “Faded Love” by Bob Wills. His recordings of it are great. Unfortunately, the two most famous versions—by Patsy Cline and Ray Price—are too slow, turning it into a dirge. The best of all is a duet by Lyle Lovett and Shawn Colvin on an Asleep at the Wheel album. It swings like Western Swing is supposed to.

The words are beautifully written: “I miss you, darling, more and more everyday /
As Heaven would miss the stars above” with its subtle simile makes the faded love affair sound otherworldly. “As I think of the past and all the pleasures we had / As I watch the mating of the doves” is euphemistically magnificent. And, “It was in the spring time that you said goodbye” is just so sad—more heart wrenching, somehow, that getting dumped in November.

Something you may not know about me.
I won the trophy for Fitting & Showmanship of pigs at the Utah State Junior Livestock Show in 1970. (And I may have had a hangover at the time.)


To learn more about Rod Miller and his writing, visit www.writerRodMiller.com or his Amazon page, www.amazon.com/author/rodmiller

A BEAUTIFUL CHOCTAW CHILDREN'S TALE by CHERYL PIERSON

Many of us have talked several times about how to get the younger generation of readers interested in historical and western stories. It's not an easy feat, but I wanted to introduce you today to my favorite illustrator (who happens to be my daughter) and her thoughts on illustrating a book that was recently released through Publishing by Rebecca J. Vickery.

This book is called "SARAH'S MUSIC" and the story belongs to one of my former writing students, Stella Long, who is a very well-known and sought after storyteller for the Choctaw Nation here in Oklahoma. I can't begin to describe what an interesting life Stella has led, from being sent to an Indian orphanage at the age of about 9, along with her younger brother, and from there, going to a tuberculosis hospital for Indians at about age 17. This book is one that will appeal to 6-10 year olds, but there is something beneath the surface of this simple story that appeals to all ages. Now, I'll let you see this project from Jessica's eyes, and why she was so honored and thrilled to be a part of this beautiful story.


JESSICA PIERSON

Over the course of the last two years, I’ve been lucky enough to work with Choctaw storyteller Stella Long on the illustrations for her children’s book, Sarah’s Music.

At out last meeting, I struggled clumsily to explain to Stella why I thought Sarah’s Music was so special, and ended up saying something incredibly articulate, like “It’s just…I mean…it’s a great story.” She hadn’t asked me, but I desperately wanted to tell her why I had been so grateful for the opportunity to work on her story. “You know…” I began, “when I think of the books the girls I work with like to read, I mean, there’s nothing like this. There’s nothing…relatable. It’s all just… princesses.” (Slow clap) Well said, Jessica. Well said. Maybe you could have been less specific, but I doubt it. Not to be dissuaded, however, what follows is another more targeted stab at using my words.

Why Sarah’s Music is a “Great Story”: A Book Review by Jessica Pierson

Sarah’s story begins when she discovers that she is inspired by music, but seems to have no way to share her songs with others. With the help of her animal friends, Sarah goes on a journey all by herself and receives the gift of a musical instrument made especially for her by her. When she fails initially to make it sound, she becomes discouraged, but she doesn’t give up. Instead, she tries again, and practices, and learns at last to release the songs that have been locked in her heart.

Sarah’s Music is a moving glimpse at a worldview long forgotten by our dominant culture. In Sarah’s world, the creatures she encounters in the woods are not strange or frightening, but her closest friends. The natural world isn’t Sarah’s adversary. There is no “big bad wolf,” or “dark forest.” Rather, the natural world around her is generous, helpful, and inclusive. Sarah is a member of the forest community, not a stranger or an interloper. She isn’t superior to the plants and animals around her, but considers them her loved ones and her wise teachers. She lives comfortably among her relations in nature, learns from them humbly, and is ultimately only able to accomplish her goal because of the gifts she receives from her friends. Imagine the improved health of our planet if more children began to see themselves not as separate from the natural world, but as members of a community of living creatures.

In what is yet another departure from our established modern archetypes, Sarah is a child, a girl, and an empowered individual all at once! Her parents have shown her how to meet her needs, and allowed her the autonomy to make her own discoveries. It is no surprise, then, that she is brave enough to embark on a journey all by herself because she feels confident that she is prepared. Throughout the story, Sarah chooses for herself, and asks for help and guidance when she needs it. As a result, her learning process is unhurried and unstructured, the result of her own unique experiences. Her self-knowledge is completely uncontrived, and part of her accomplishment. Sarah isn’t a helpless object waiting for someone to save her, or take care of the hard parts. She is an active participant in making her dream a reality.

Perhaps the most subtly beautiful and surprising element is Sarah’s wish itself. Sarah’s greatest wish is not to gain anything for herself, but to share her music, which is already inside of her. She doesn’t dream of a husband, or a crown, or a treasure, or wish to be something she isn’t or to attend a ball. She wishes for an ability, not so she can gain something, but so she can use her own gifts for the enjoyment of those around her. What a delicate, wise wish for our world!

In addition to the opportunity to revisit a familiar and yet foreign traditional reality, there is one final facet of Sarah’s Music that I fell in love with as I worked to create the images. The final item that would make me want to read this book to my child every night at bedtime is that there is not one singular mention of Sarah’s physical appearance.

In our image conscious world, this might seem, at first, like a glaring omission. Our fairy tales are often about girls who are described as beautiful. “Once there lived a beautiful princess.” Stories about girls are almost always about their extraordinary beauty, as though these precious women/children had no other important or distinguishing qualities. If beauty doesn’t figure heavily into the story (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, etc.) it is almost guaranteed that as soon as the heroine is introduced, a physical description is provided. Sarah is not described as beautiful or in any other way, because it is utterly unimportant what she looks like. This is refreshing! She is a girl, acting to bring her goals about, and it doesn’t matter to anyone if she is beautiful. She has many praise-worthy qualities, and in the story, she learns new ones (patience, perseverance, etc.) It is lovely to find a story about a girl where literally everything else about her matters more than her appearance.

If you happen to be looking for a new bedtime story or a Christmas gift, consider sharing Sarah’s Music with your family. It is…healing. That’s the word I wanted to find for Stella, but somehow I suspect that she knows this already.

Sarah’s Music is currently available in print and as an ebook, thanks to Publishing by Rebecca J. Vickery. Print and ebook copies can be purchased at the link below for under $10.00. The book is also available at B&N.

http://www.amazon.com/Sarahs-Music-ebook/dp/B00FZX25Q4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383164606&sr=1-1&keywords=Sarah%27s+Music#_

It isn’t possible to say an adequate “Thank You” Rebecca J. Vickery, Laura Shinn, and Cheryl Pierson for their hard work. Cheers, ladies.

To follow Jessica's personal blog, CAUTION TO THE WINDS, go here:
http://cautiontothewindsblog.wordpress.com/2013/10/20/sarahs-music-a-book-report/

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

Now Available From The Western Fictioneers Library -- Potter's Fields and Double Dealing at Dirtville

POTTER'S FIELDS by Frank Roderus

The classic, Spur Award-winning novel by Frank Roderus is now available again. 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.

Kindle
Nook
Smashwords

DOUBLE DEALING AT DIRTVILLE by Clay More

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!

Kindle
Nook
Smashwords

Peacemaker Awards Reminder

Submissions are still open for this year's Peacemaker Awards. If you've written Western fiction published this year, no matter what the length, whether traditionally published, small press, or self-published, there's a place for it in the Peacemaker Awards competition. You can find all the details here, and if you have any questions feel free to email me. The address is on that page as well. Avoid that last minute rush! Submit your stories and novels now! (This offer void where prohibited, which is, uh, nowhere. Send 'em in!)

Wolf Creek 8: Night of the Assassins

I know I'm a little prejudiced, being the editor of this series, but I think most people who follow it would agree with me: Wolf Creek just keeps getting better and better.

Several people have told me they think Night of the Assassins is one of the best ones yet- that's hard to gauge, but it is definitely the most different story we've told so far.

Here's the official description:

"Wolf Creek, Kansas, is not peaceful on a good day –but things really escalate when Tsu Chiao, owner of the Red Chamber, decides to edge out his competitors in the seedy part of town with the aid of Tong assassins sent from San Francisco. All-out war ensues, with peaceful Chinese citizens like the Li family caught in the middle. Can the lawmen of Wolf Creek hold the town together in the shadow of a threat they have never faced before?"

In this volume we learn a lot about the Chinese inhabitants of our fictional town- and there are some huge surprises. You don't want to miss it!

And if you've been eagerly awaiting more Wolf Creek adventures -due to some scheduling surprises, our two-part Christmas anthology will be out next week. After that, we'll give you a break till January -you'll need it, because these are some exciting tales.

Here are the links to Night of the Assassins-

amazon

smashwords

createspace

barnesandnoble.com (any day now!)

Tyson the Cowardly Chicken

I'm taking a slight departure the next couple months from my usual posts; a swing into something just for fun, sumpin easy-going heading into the holidays; hoping for a few smiles, maybe a chuckle or two. Figure we all could use a little of that. 

Thought I'd share some vignettes from the life of White Oxley, a minor character in two of my novels. In this post, because the topic deals with a chicken, not a turkey, we'll say it has a pre-Thanksgiving flavor, so to speak.

Let me tell you a little about White. He's country AND western, laying claim to both titles as a farmer and small-time rancher, and by virtue of having lived his entire 68 years in Oklahoma. For the past fifty years, he has owned and worked a few acres of land near the small town of Tsalagee where he grows mainly soybeans and corn, and runs a few head of cattle. And, of course, he has the requisite yard of chickens.

White doesn't have much formal education, but does own an innate, resident wisdom born from a lifetime of hard work, hard times, and life experiences both sublime and tragic. Like all of us, White struggles with life and all its confounding vagaries, but the best thing about him is that he never takes himself too seriously.

I've always liked White, maybe because I see a little more of myself in him than I care to admit, excluding the wise part. Here's one of his stories:

White Oxley had purchased the rooster at a discount.

"Well, there is one I can let go for half price," the chicken fella said.

He'd made the trip to the Siloam Springs hatchery to find a replacement for his main rooster who'd fallen victim to a coyote. White hadn't been surprised after it happened. The old boy was past ten and apparently didn't see very well. He'd guessed the cock mistook the coyote for one of his dogs. Most likely Stumpy, who had somewhat of a coyote appearance, and liked to wander around the chicken yard looking for misplaced or un-attended eggs.

Unfortunately, King George–that was the departed rooster's name–had come to tolerate Stumpy, probably because his repeated floggings of the dog didn't seem to deter the mutt's trespassing; and with the rooster's advancing years, apparently keeping up the chicken yard marshaling came to be more trouble than it was worth.

Funny, though, that old George couldn't tell the difference between a coyote and Stumpy, as the dog had only three and a half legs, and moved about with a pronounced hop. On the other hand, chickens weren't known for their intelligence.

There was a young cockerel in White's flock, but he wasn't quite up to speed for taking on the responsibilities of Head Rooster, hence White made the buying trip to Arkansas.

Oxley eyed the chicken man suspiciously. He'd told him coming in he didn't want no dang high dollar rooster, and had turned down the first two prospects. "Why half price?" White asked.

The fowl in question didn't look like a half-price rooster. He sported a high comb and long bright red wattles. Head and neck feathers shined a reddish-golden; his body and leg feathers glinted in mottled blue and rust and green; those off his back flowed from burgundy to red to orange; his tail feathers sprung high in black and blue-green arches. He was sure enough a handsome bird, and seemed to know it; strutting about the large cage, his head high, his beak slightly opened, his red eyes wide and fierce.

"He ain't much of a crower," the chicken seller said. "Sounds sorta like a tornado siren with laryngitis."

White nodded. "What else?" he asked.

The man sighed and crossed his arms on his chest trying to decide the best way to say it. "There's some signs that this feller ain't very aggressive, you know, with the ladies."

"Whadda you mean?"

 "I mean he has a tendency to get henpecked."

White took off his crumpled straw hat and scratched the top of his head. He studied the rooster in silence. "Well…" he said presently. "For the price I reckon I can live with that."

"Great!" the man said. "I'll go write him up." And hurried off toward his office.

After the fella got out of earshot, White turned to the caged rooster and muttered, "Henpecked, huh? Guess I know how that feels."

Back at the farm, White was about to release the new rooster into the chicken yard when his grandson came running up. The boy was smart like his momma and ornery like his gramp. That made him White's favorite.

"Hey, Gramp," the boy said excitedly. "Who's this?" He jumped up onto the pickup's lowered tailgate peering into the cage.

"Ain't give him a name yet. Thought you might have one."

"Let's call him Tyson."

"Like the fighter?" White asked.

"Who?"

"You know, the boxer," White answered. The boy gave his gramp a puzzled look. "Before your time, I guess," said White.

"No, I meant like the chicken brand mom buys at the store."

White grinned and nodded. "Seems about right." He opened the cage door and prodded the rooster out. "Welcome to your new harem, Tyson."

The rooster alit with some squawking, gathered himself, ruffled his feathers out some, did a little preening, then looked about. The group of hens gathered across the yard looking back at Tyson, muttering amongst themselves. The rooster raised his head high, puffed out his breast and strutted toward them.

A fat old hen, white with brown neck feathers who they called Maybelline, walked out from the group and stopped in front of Tyson, cocking her head left, then right. The rooster threw back his head to crow, but only a scratchy screech came out. He stuck out his left wing, lowered his head and started waltzing in a circle in front of the hen, then put the right wing out and circled back, describing a figure eight. The big hen watched him for several seconds clucking a few comments during the dance. In the middle of Tyson's third circuit, Maybelline walked over and pecked him soundly on top of his head. Tyson squawked moving back a step or two, then turned and fled to a far corner of the yard, flapping atop a fence post.

"How much you pay for that rooster, Gramp?" the boy asked.

At Sunday dinner the next day , White would reflect that, though tasty, Tyson was the most expensive fried chicken he'd ever et, even at half price.

You can read more about White Oxley in Phil's novel Legends of Tsalagee. He has authored three of what he calls, “Oklahoma-centric” novels.  Red Lands Outlaw, the Ballad of Henry Starr,  a historical western about the life and times of an Oklahoma outlaw, was a 2013 Peacemaker Award nominee and finalist for the 2013 Will Rogers Medallion for Western Fiction. His novel GAME, an American Novel is a sports inspirational about small town schoolboy football. Legends of Tsalagee weaves a tale of mystery and adventure in a small town. His western short story “Last Will for an Outlaw” appears in LaFrontera Publishing’s anthology, Dead or Alive, released June 2013.

Phil's website is http://philtrumanink.com/