Pioneering Press - New Western Publisher

Endeavour Press – the UK’s leading independent digital publisher – has grown at an impressive rate since its inception in 2012. With the digital market on the rise and the demand for e-books at an all-time high, Endeavour Press now publishes 30 books a week across a range of imprints.

As part of its ongoing expansion strategy, Endeavour has recently launched an exciting new western imprint – Pioneering Press – which will cater towards the growing demand for traditional westerns in digital format.

Managed by Georgina Cutler, Pioneering Press is proud to publish both new and classic westerns by authors based in the US and the UK, including award winning author Robert J Conley, E C Tubb, John Russell Fearn and Christopher Kenworthy, to name but a few.

Pioneering Press believes that no book is an ‘old book’. Books can be, and indeed are, rediscovered on kindle every day. Good stories will always grip readers and will therefore always have a place in the market. Great care is taken in the production of our books, with exciting new covers commissioned to combine the traditional with the contemporary.

Our aim is to capture the history and spirit of the Old West by bringing back classic titles for old and new readers alike, whilst also pioneering authentic new material set on the American frontier.

We welcome submissions from both new and previously published authors in the western fiction genre. If you are an author of western fiction where the digital rights are available, and you are interested in discussing the possibilities of digital publishing, please feel free to contact Georgina directly at: georgina@endeavourpress.com

Pioneering Press is always keen to hear from its readers and we are always on the lookout for enthusiastic reviewers for our books. Please do not hesitate to get in touch.

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The Gunsmith is back in print

When Jove decided to stop publishing THE GUNSMITH series by J.R. Roberts with book 399: Death in the Family published March 2015, the man behind the pseudonym, Robert J. Randisi, searched for a new publisher so that the series could continue.

The ebook rights were quickly snapped up by Piccadilly Publishing and April 2015 saw #400: The Lincoln Ransom appear in ebook stores. A new ebook has been published every month since. 

It was hoped that a different publisher would produce paperback versions to tie in with the publication of the ebooks but for reasons unknown to me this never happened.

Almost a year later THE GUNSMITH has returned in print form. Published by Pro Se Productions books 400 and 401 have become available through Amazon in February 2016 (I’m not sure if they can be bought elsewhere). So for those of you who prefer books printed on paper and have missed buying your Gunsmith books in this form then what are you waiting for?

The Kerrigans A Texas Dynasty

By William W. Johnstone with J.A. Johnstone

Pinnacle, February 2014

A strong, beautiful mother of five, Kate Kerrigan has made do since losing her husband in the bloody Battle of Shiloh. Now, two years after the Civil War, there’s nothing left for them in Tennessee but poverty and bad memories. So Kate decides a better life awaits them in far-off West Texas. Thus begins a 1000-mile trek through some of the harshest and most dangerous territory on the frontier. But by pulling together, the Kerrigans discover the conviction to overcome the unimaginable hardships and the strength of spirit that will help them build one of the largest cattle empires in history of the American West.

It’s not that often that a western series has a woman as the lead character and that comes as a welcome change to the usual lone drifter. It’s interesting to see just how far she will go to protect her family. Kate is also a stunningly attractive woman and this has both positives and negatives depending on who is drawn to her.

This book begins in 1907 but after only a few pages the story moves back in time to tell of the ordeals that sees the Kerrigans decide to head to West Texas. So the vast part of this tale is a flashback and even this contains another jump back to tell of Kate’s husbands’ death.

The author doesn’t just stick with Kate Kerrigan, large parts of the book follow the fortunes and misfortunes of her children explaining the events that mould them all into the characters they are that set out to claim and build a cattle ranch.

The opening blurb taken from the book implies that much of the story will take place on the trail but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Most of the travel is glossed over and the story just deals with the meeting of people who will help the Kerrigans build their empire and of course the outlaws that do their best to stop them before they’ve even begun. Having said that there is an excellent section that covers the horror of being caught out in the open by a tornado.

This well-written, exciting and action-packed book ends with the Kerrigans arrival at what they hope will be their new home and the author concludes a number of storylines at this point, but also leaves some story threads dangling to ensure the reader will want to read the next book in the series, and that is something I will certainly be doing very soon.

Outlaw Town

A Ralph Compton novel by David Robbins

Signet, January 2016

Chancy Gantry and Ollie Teal are honest cowpunchers riding herd on fifteen hundred longhorns from Texas to Kansas. Their trail boss, Lucas Stout, is tough but fair. He’s never lost a hand on a drive and doesn’t aim to start now. So when a cowhand needs a sawbones bad, Stout sends Chancy and Ollie to escort the man to a town called Prosperity, which none of them has ever heard of.

At first glance, the town looks deserted – but the saloon is full. The dusty denizens of Prosperity are happy to help the ailing cowboy, especially when they hear about the herd grazing a few miles away. Chancy and Ollie are about to discover that some towns are a lot easier to ride into than to ride out of….

David Robbins presents the reader with a very interesting mix of characters, not least Ollie Teal, a man whom some would label as being backwards, his childlike wonder at everything and non-stop babble get on some peoples’ nerves but his loyalty to the brand and his pard, Chancy, are second to none.

There are other memorable characters too, both amongst the cowboys and the townspeople. The crippled doctor for instance and a handful of fast guns that will have you wondering who will come out on top should they have the need to face each other, something that has just got to happen, hasn’t it?

As one would hope for in a book written by David Robbins you get plenty of cracking dialogue, descriptions that portray the land, town, and emotions perfectly, placing you right there sharing the joys, laughter, horror and fear with the characters. And then there is the action, fast and brutal at times, that becomes almost non-stop when the cowboys realize the true intentions of those living in Prosperity.

There are plenty of edge-of-the-seat situations, surprises too, and it soon becomes apparent that you cannot predict who will be left alive at the end, if anyone. David Robbins ties everything up neatly and to say more would surely spoil the book for those intending to read it. My final thoughts are that this is a western all fans of the genre should enjoy.

Fire Canoe Finnegan

By Denis J. Harrington & Charlie Steel

Condor Publishing, Inc., December 2015

Captain Glazer of the steamboat, The Dakota Dawn, hires Clint Finnegan to become his second in command and to learn to pilot the dangerous snag-filled waters of the Missouri River. What Finnegan didn’t expect on his very first trip was to have the army payroll stolen and a beautiful woman kidnapped. Risking his life, he chases after the girl and the money, ultimately encountering angry plains Indians protecting their hunting grounds. 

From the blurb, and cover illustration, you’d be forgiven expecting a book set mainly on a riverboat. True a fairly lengthy first part of the tale is, and this contains some fascinating information about the workings of a riverboat, but once the payroll is stolen and the young woman kidnapped and the riverboat disabled the story becomes land-based and changes from a story of life on the river to a much more straight-forward western full of deadly, brutal action as Finnegan encounters Indians, deserters, and gunrunners in his quest to retrieve the stolen payroll and, more importantly for him, the abducted woman.

The authors tell their tale from the point of view of many of the large cast of people, and at times Finnegan seems to become a secondary character but you know he’s there, in the background, never giving up his relentless pursuit.

Sadly Denis J. Harrington passed away in July 2015, before the book he had drafted was published. Charlie Steel had already teamed up with Denis to add polish and historical detail to the manuscript and I must say he has done a fine job.

Between them Harrington and Steel have come up with a very fast-paced tale that is extremely well-written making this a book all fans of westerns, and riverboats, will enjoy.

Death School

HERNE THE HUNTER #14

By John J. McLagen

Piccadilly Publishing, January 2016

Originally published by Corgi, 1980

Herne had been reluctant to ride along with Sheriff Abernathy in a fool-hardy search for Senator Jackson’s daughter, who’d been captured by a ruthless Mescalero raiding party. The $5000 reward helped to change his mind. But he hadn’t reckoned on meeting those five savage white children, fresh out of Death School, or that ghost from the past hell-bent on revenge…

Death School is one of my favourite entries in the Herne the Hunter series and it is a book everyone who is following the series should not miss as we find out more about Herne’s past, his father in particular, and then there’s one of those killer kids who just may be….nope, I can’t reveal that here as I don’t want to spoil that storyline for those yet to read the book.

The author hiding behind the John J. McLagen pseudonym this time around is Laurence James and as would be expected you’ll find many references to western films and people in the book industry at the time it was written, for instance two artists who painted many of the covers for the westerns from the group of writers to become known as The Piccadilly Cowboys, the artists being Chris Collingwood and Colin Backhouse. There’s also mention of two other western series heroes, Crow and Cuchillo Oro.

Death School is a brutal book. Filled with hard characters, graphic violence and strong language. The five children will certainly remain in your mind for a long, long time after the shocking truth about them has been revealed as they led Herne into a deadly trap.

The story has a very powerful and memorable dark ending, the type of conclusion that keeps me coming back to this series time and again.

‘Boys nowadays. No pride, no self-respect. Plenty of gall but no sand.’ 

Westerns read during 2015

The amount of westerns read this year is much lower then previous years due to a rekindled interest in one of my other hobbies, photography. This has been taking up a lot of my time meaning the hours I have for reading has become much less. Clicking on a number will take you to the review.


JANUARY READS – 5 books

1. Broken Arrow by Dale Mike Rogers
2. The Revenant by Michael Punke
3. Misty Blue #1: The Last Mountain Man by Tony Masero
4. Death Comes Easy by Will Black
5. Dead Man River by Tyler Hatch


FEBRUARY READS – 5 books

6. The Evil Men Do a Ralph Compton novel by David Robbins
7. The Curly Wolf by M.R. Kayser
8. Wanderlust Creek and other stories by Elisabeth Grace Foley
9. Hanging Day by Rob Hill
10. The Gunsmith #399: Death in the Family by J.R. Roberts


MARCH READS – 6 books

11. Arkansas Bushwhackers by Will DuRey
12. Longarm #436: Longarm and the Model Prisoner by Tabor Evans
13. The Landon Saga #5: Yancy by Tell Cotten
14. All Must Die by I.J. Parnham
15. Rawhide Express by Jake Douglas
16. Sundance #6: The Bronco Trail by John Benteen


APRIL READS – 4 books

17. Lords of an Empty Land by Randy Denmon
18. Outlaw Ranger by James Reasoner
19. Crossroads by Logan Winters
20. The Lightning Kid by James Clay


MAY READS – 4 books

21. .45-Caliber Left to Die by Peter Brandvold
22. The Landon Saga #6: Lee by Tell Cotten
23. Reins of Satan by Lee Clinton
24. Emmett Strong #1: Strong Convictions by GP Hutchinson


JUNE READS – 6 books

25. I Am the Law! By Hank J. Kirby
26. Once More into the Breech by Peter Brandvold
27. The Gun Master by Rory Black
28. The Spanish Bit Saga #22: Track of the Bear by Don Coldsmith
29. Gila Monster by Colin Bainbridge
30. Morgan Kane #12: Storm over Sonora by Louis Masterson


JULY READS – 4 books

31. Shawn O’Brien #2: Manslaughter by William W. Johnstone with J.A. Johnstone
32. Gunn #3: Death’s-Head Trail by Jory Sherman
33. Blind-Sided by Billy Hall
34. Buckshot Ridge by Jake Douglas


AUGUST READS – 3 books

35. The Law and the Lawless a Ralph Compton novel by David Robbins
36. The Iron Horse Chronicles #2: Bear Claws by Robert Lee Murphy
37. Bandit’s Gold by Alex Frew


SEPTEMBER READS – 3 books

38. Jefferson’s Saddle by Will DuRey
39. Desperate Straits by Janet Squires
40. Guns on the Prairie by David Robbins


OCTOBER READS – 4 books

41. The Gamblers of Wasteland by Jim Lawless
42. Bodie meets Brand: Two Guns North by Neil Hunter
43. Coyote Moon by Ralph Hayes
44. Shadow of the Hawk by Ron Honthaner


NOVEMBER READS – 4 books

45. The Smiling Hangman by Owen G. Irons
46. Misfit Lil Rides In by Chap O’Keefe
47. The Landon Saga #7: They Rode Together by Tell Cotten
48. Texas Hills a Ralph Compton novel by David Robbins


DECEMBER READS – 5 books

49. Scattergun Smith by Max Gunn
50. Abilene #5: The Half-Breed by Justin Ladd
51. The Badge #7: The Imposter by Bill Reno
52. Herne the Hunter #14: Death School by John J. McLagen
53. Fire Canoe Finnegan by Denis J. Harrington & Charlie Steel