Western Fiction News

WESTERN BOOK READERS

A new Facebook group has been launched called Western Book Readers. It's only been going for a few days and already has over one hundred members, who are a mix of readers and authors. If anyone would like to join here's a link:  http://www.facebook.com/groups/westernbookreaders/ If that doesn't work then email me and I can invite you. (My email can be found under the 'about me' section of this blog)

The latest issue of Black Horse Extra is now available and contains the usual mix of info and articles which include a few authors discussing The Rights and Wrongs of eBooks. Greg Mitchell also compares Real Cowboys with Reel Cowboys. Black Horse Extra is essential reading for all western fans.

Long time favourite fictional hero Morgan Kane looks set to appear in not one, but three English speaking movies and many of the books are to be released as ebooks, again in English. I really hope they get Kane's character right in the movies as his flawed character is one of the main appealing aspects of this series. For those who don't know Morgan Kane was written by Kjell Halbing under the pseudonym of Louis Masterson. Find out more about the films here.

Western Fictioneers have realeased a massive collection of all new western short stories in an anthology called The Traditional West. This is available now as an eBook but a paper version will follow shortly. Look out for a review soon.

Western Fiction News

The latest issue of Black Horse Extra is now online here.

As usual it contains a great mix of articles, including a look at the costs of producing ebooks. 

Chap O'Keefe writes about creating a believable series character.

Hoofprints, as usual, provides a number of short, entertaining, articles covering a variety of western topics.

Gary Dobbs ponders the revival of the western movie.

David Whitehead and Alfred Wallon talk about their second book collaboration.

Author David Robbins has given his blog, 'The Write Life', an overhaul, and is adding regular new posts that look at books and films, many of which are about westerns.

Near the end of 2008 Jove published two Longarm Doubles: Deputy US Marshal, and Longarm of the Law. The first of which contained the first two Longarm books, Longarm, and Longarm on the Border, the second following this pattern with book three, Longarm and the Avenging Angels, and book four, Longarm and the Wendigo.

This May sees the publication of the third Longarm Double: Frontier Fury. This contains original books number five: Longarm in the Indian Nations, and book number six: Longarm and the Loggers.

Finally an apology to those of you that use Internet Explorer. It's been brought to my attention that the post below this one, and a similar post I did at the end of the previous month, don't display correctly in IE. I'm not sure why IE shows all the book covers in a single line instead of in rows of threes, as seen by people who use Firefox or Google Chrome. I am trying to correct this but at the moment am drawing a blank. If anyone has any ideas please get in touch through the email address you can find in the 'About Me' section.

Western Fiction News

WILLIAM JOHNSTONE / J.A. JOHNSTONE

Many new books have been announced, including new series, and a new book in a series I thought long passed by. There hasn’t been a new book in the Town Called Fury series since 2007 but July 2011 will see the publication of the fourth titled Redemption.

New books will be appearing in all the main series as well as J.A. Johnstone’s Loner series. New series include MacAllister: The Eagles Legacy and Savage Texas.

BLACK HORSE WESTERNS

For the past few months Hale have upped the number of Black Horse Westerns they publish each month from seven to eight.

So with this increase and the Johnstone family putting out new series does this mean the western might be becoming a little more popular?

BLACK HORSE EXTRA

The latest edition of Black Horse Extra can be found here. As usual it contains an excellent mix of articles, observations and chat.

The main theme of BHE#20 is what books writers read and there are some great thoughts and reflections from Keith Hetherington. Three other writers also comment on their reading material, these authors being Nik Morton, Matthew P. Mayo, and Gary Dobbs.

There’s also a fascinating article by Greg Mitchell on the history of the telegraph.

DORCHESTER

Seems Dorchester has a new CEO who is, apparently, making big changes to solve the problems within the company that has stated it’s not on the verge of bankruptcy.

It’s said that Dorchester will now begin to sell paperback’s starting in January 2011, possibly fuelled by the many complaints of readers not being able to get paper books by their favourite authors. Whether these will be regular mass-market paperbacks or trade paperbacks only time will reveal. These will be available through normal retail outlets such as B&N and Amazon. They will still be producing ebooks in a big way.

Let’s all hope the above comments turn out to be true.

A FEW STATS

It would seem that the interviews I do are some of the most viewed items I post on this blog. There’s almost always six of them in the top ten slots of the all-time posts with cover artist Ken Laager usually claiming top place. Ralph Cotton can be found in second place regularly too – is this because both of these people have links to WFR on their own sites? The only other artist I’ve interviewed, Tony Masero, has never been lower than fourth place.

At one time there was only one book in the top ten, and this often claims second spot, this being The Outlaw Josey Wales. I reckon this gets many hits from people searching for the film as much as the book. Since reviewing Beat to a Pulp, this has claimed sixth place as it’s own. The only other book in the top ten is Larry D. Sweazy’s The Rattlesnake Season.

And just where do the majority of my blogs readers come from? Yeap, America. Over three times the number of visitors to second placed UK. Filling out the rest of the top ten are: Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Australia, Denmark, France, and finally Brazil.

By far the majority of people searching for the blog use either google com or UK and the site that many people link to WFR from is James Reasoner’s Rough Edges – thanks for adding the link James.

Western Fiction News

EDGE first appeared in 1972 and continued until 1989. The EDGE series ran for 61 books and the half-breed teamed up with one of George G. Gilman’s other anti-heroes, Adam Steele, in 3 more books. The series sold in excess of eighteen million copies.

Today these westerns are much sort after, particularly the latter books in both series – the final EDGE book often commanding a three-figure sum on auction sites.

Now EDGE is available to buy once more as ebooks. The covers carry new artwork from the artist, Tony Masero, who painted the UK covers all those years ago.

The first book in the series, The Loner, is available now for just £2.01 ($3.11). Get it direct from the publisher Solstice or sites such as Smashwords. The books will also be available from other major Internet booksellers soon.

The latest issue of Black Horse Extra is now available, and as usual features a wonderful mix of articles and comments. Chap O’Keefe introduces readers to one of his series characters, Joshua Dillard. Matthew Mayo talks about how his hopes to see his books published by Dorchester have taken a blow with the publisher’s announcements to switch to ebooks, and Greg Mitchell continues his examination of the artwork of Frederick Remington. Along with these there is the usual selection of news items that cover a broad variety western topics.

Sky Movies magazine has done a four page feature to tie in with their Westerns Week at the end of September. Picking some of their favourite stars from the western genre they’ve named them thus:

The Anti-Hero – Clint Eastwood

The Deputy – Dean Martin

The Loner – Gary Cooper

The Icon – John Wayne

The Cowgirl – Jane Russell

The Villain – Lee Van Cleef

The Gent – James Stewart

Along with this they’ve picked five must see western moments and these are:

The Duel –The final showdown with the winding down musical pocket watch in For A Few Dollars More.

The Exit – Wayne’s Ethan walks away from the home at the end of The Searchers.

The Gunfight – The final bloody shootout that ends The Wild Bunch.

The Punch-Up – The fistfight in Blazing Saddles that spills from the western set into other sets and buildings.
The Song – As the heroes await death in Rio Bravo.

Western Fiction News

The latest issue of Black Horse Extra is now available. There's some great articles including David Whitehead discussing how to increase interest in the western and another article that looks at back cover blurbs. There's also the second part of Greg Mitchell's look at the artwork of Frederic Remington. Hoofprints, as usual, offers some fascinating observations.

Whilst on the subject of Black Horse Westerns, Hale will be releasing books by a couple of well known American western writers latter this year, namely in September 2010 comes Wade's War by Chet Cunningham, and Twin Rivers by John Nesbitt (a new publication of an old story) in October or November 2010. August 2010 sees Bonito Deputy as by Jack Slade - I wonder who is behind this name?

Finally, for those who enjoy western films, it looks like another John Wayne western is to be remade. It seems Warner Brothers are planning to remake The Cowboys. The original hit the screens in 1972 and came from the book by William Dale Jennings.

Liberty and a Law Badge

as by Chap O’Keefe
A Black Horse Extra book, January 2010

Crazy Bob McGill played Peeping Tom at Devil’s Lake and his old heart was pierced. The young woman Sheriff Dan Vickers had brought to share the isolation of his fishing retreat was McGill’s sweet daughter, Liberty. What McGill didn’t learn was that Liberty had been blackmailed. Her self-sacrifice was to preserve the dubious security of marriage to a spineless rancher Tom Tolliver, caught changing a cattle brand with a running-iron.

Meanwhile, Joshua Dillard, ex-Pinkerton agent and range detective, came to Montana working undercover for Vickers’ boss, cattle baron Barnaby Lant. He quickly clashed with Vickers’ deputies, supposed allies, and Vickers’ wife Sophie, on her own vengeance trail.

Then lynching and gunplay muddied the picture. Could Joshua bring justice to the range and save Liberty?

This is Chap O’Keefe’s 9th Joshua Dillard book, the previous eight being published by Hale under their Black Horse Western line, and the second book the author has published as a Black Horse Extra book, the first being Misfit Lil’ Cheats the Hangrope.

From the very beginning this book moves at speed and then races along like a runaway train heading for a collision and destruction. As Chap O’Keefe introduces more and more characters, so the plot deepens through twists and turns, and all sides are brought together for a final, exciting, clash of wits, guns and knives.

Chap O’Keefe’s writing style is very readable and soon sucks you into the plot making this book very difficult to put down. There are plenty of strong male characters and a couple of memorable women, namely Liberty and Sophie, who take two of the leading roles in this tale. And if it’s action you want, this story is brimming with it.

Liberty and a Law Badge can be bought directly from the publishers here. Fans of Chap O’Keefe’s work (real name Keith Chapman) – in particular those who follow his Joshua Dillard series – will be pleased to know that the end of this month also sees the official release of the eighth Dillard book, published as a Black Horse Western by Hale, titled Faith and a Fast Gun; this should be available from all the usual Internet book sellers now.

Misfit Lil Cheats the Hangrope

as by Chap O’Keefe
A Black Horse Extra book, July 2009

The irrepressible Misfit Lil was riding for a fall. She'd chosen to intervene in the fortunes of a wagon train of emigrants led on wrong trails by Luke Reiner, their incompetent guide. And Reiner, hiding an outlaw past, didn't care to have Lil messing with his reputation. Lil's first mistake was in saving a bunch of buttons when the wagons were caught in a ferocious blizzard. Then she recommended her hero, frontiersman Jackson Farraday, to help out, which pitched him into a bloody fight with Reiner. Tangles tightened when the wagonmaster's pretty daughter, Honesty Petrie, took a flirtatious hand. . . . But worse was to follow. Jackson was accused of murder! Could Lil save him from the noose into which she'd run his neck?

The first book from Black Horse Extra is the never before published Misfit Lil Cheats the Hangrope. Misfit Lil has appeared in six other books and has become a favourite leading character for fans of Chap O’Keefe’s work.

The plot is very fast moving and features some superbly written set pieces, such as an breakout that’s made possible due to the use of a rat, and an ingenious method of escaping from a hangrope. The book has plenty of the more traditional action you’d expect to find in a western, which includes an exciting gunfight with outlaws set on wiping out the wagon train Lil finds herself involved with.

The main plotline, of murder, sees Chap O’Keefe explore a different type of killing than one would normally expect to find in a western, proving that there are still new storylines to be found in the genre. Even though I did suspect the right person of this killing I was way out with the how and why and the answers definitely provide a memorable conclusion to this book.

Misfit Lil Cheats the Hangrope can be bought directly from Lulu or Amazon US or Amazon UK (Amazon perhaps the cheapest option as it qualifies for free postage) and I’d urge you to consider buying a copy, not least because you’ll receive a well written and very entertaining western but if this book is successful then Black Horse Extra will publish more quality westerns helping to keep this genre alive.

Western Fiction News

As some of you may have already seen elsewhere, Black Horse Extra is publishing it's first paperback book: Misfit Lil Cheats the Hangrope as by Chap O'Keefe. If this venture proves successful it's hoped that more BHE publications will follow. If you'd like to order a copy, and take advantage of a 10% discount then do so now, as this offer ends early in August. You'll need this coupon code KHCHAPMANATCLEARDOTNETDOTNZPTZO which is entered at checkout. To order go here.

More can be read about the publication of this book in the latest edition of Black Horse Extra along with other great articles related to the world of western fiction, including the thoughts of western writers Paul Lederer and Steve Hayes.