LJ (Livia) Washburn: Wolf Creek & More #western @LiviaJWashburn

Wolf Creek: 
Book 1, Bloody Trail
Book 2, Kiowa Vengeance
Book 3, Murder in Dogleg City
Book 4, The Taylor County War
Book 5, Showdown at Demon's Drop
Book 6, Hell on the Prairie

by Ford Fargo

Romancing The West is featuring authors of the Wolf Creek series the last two weeks of November.  While Ford Fargo is on the cover, this series is actually written by fifteen of the best western writers today.  This is the last of five articles. If you missed out, here are the first four:

• Troy D. Smith: Wolf Creek
• Bill Crider & Chuck Tyrell: Wolf Creek
• James Reasoner, Clay More, James J: Griffin: Wolf Creek
• Cheryl Pierson: Wolf Creek

Today, another Wolf Creek contributor, LJ Washburn, tells us about her character as well as other projects in the works at Western Fictioneers.  Please welcome her to RTW!

Livia J. Washburn

Ira Breedlove could have grown up to be a cattleman. His father Tobias owns the T-Bar-B ranch near Wolf Creek, and Tobias always assumed that when the time came for him to step back, Ira would take over running the ranch. Ira had other ideas, though, and when his father sent him to St. Louis to complete his schooling, he rapidly fell in with the proverbial bad company and discovered his love for gambling, drinking, and other unsavory entertainments. Upon his return to Wolf Creek, Ira bought the Wolf's Den Saloon and winds up with his fingers in every somewhat shady pie in the area. He has what he considers his own code of honor, but it's a dubious one at best.

Ira is a particularly interesting character to write. He's not really a villain (although he does some pretty bad things from time to time) and he's certainly not a hero (although he might be capable of heroic actions under the right circumstances). The thing about Ira is, you just don't know what he's going to do . . . but you'd be wise to keep your eye on him if you're smart, or you might wind up regretting it.

Wolf Creek isn't the only Western Fictioneers publishing project with which I'm involved. The organization's first Christmas anthology was published recently. Six-guns and Slay Bells: A Creepy Cowboy Christmas isn't the usual Christmas anthology, though. All the stories feature paranormal elements along with being Western-themed Christmas tales. From vampires to Santa Claus, Six-guns and Slay Bells offers a wide array of entertaining stories by some of today's best Western writers and has already been praised by Publishers Weekly and Library Journal.

Also coming up next year will be an ambitious series with the overall title West of the Big River. These will be original traditional Western novels by members of Western Fictioneers. Each book is centered around a particular historical character or incident. I'll be editing this series, and I hope to be able to release a new book every month. The first book in the series will be The Lawman by Peacemaker Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author James Reasoner, which will be about the legendary Old West peace officer Bill Tilghman.

Livia J. Washburn, author

About 
LJ (Livia) Washburn:

I have been a professional writer for 30 years. Received the Private Eye Writers of America award and the American Mystery award for my first mystery, Wild Night, and was nominated for a Spur by the Western Writers of America for a novel written with my husband, James Reasoner. We live in a small Texas town near Fort Worth, where I am constantly experimenting with new stories and recipes. Harlequin published my paranormal romance, The Vampire Affair (by Livia Reasoner). Witch Got Your Tongue was published small press July 2011, and a sequel, A Peck of Pickled Warlocks, July 2012.

(Visit Livia at her website or blog.)

Excerpt from Six-guns and Slay Bells:
A Creepy Cowboy Christmas:

L.J. (Livia J.) Washburn’s 
“A Creature Was Stirring”

"I got him! I got me a skookum!"

Well, that was just rude, thought Buffalo as his face went under the icy water and he came up sputtering. True, he was pretty big, and there was no denying that he was pretty hairy as well, especially in the long, shaggy buffalo-hide coat he was wearing. But that didn't mean he could pass for a dang monster!

On the other hand, he told himself as he tried to crawl out of the stream, he supposed there was a slight resemblance . . .

Buffalo's muscles wouldn't cooperate with what he wanted them to do. His whole left side was numb. He wound up flopping around at the edge of the creek like one of those trout would have if he'd caught it and tossed it up on the bank. It was humiliating.

Not to mention dangerous, because whoever had shot him was still out there in the woods and might come along to finish the job. Buffalo lifted his head and looked around, searching for any sign of the bushwhacker.

Rugged mountains rose all around him. The trees that covered their slopes were mantled in white from the snow that had fallen a few days earlier, but most of the snow on the ground had melted. The winds off the Pacific kept it from getting too cold on this side of the Cascades, even in December.

It was beautiful country, but Buffalo didn't see anybody moving around in it. Even the birds had flown off, spooked by the shot.

Buffalo thought back on that shot. He'd heard the report at the same instant as he was hit. Hadn't sounded like a particularly big gun, he thought, but big enough to put him on the ground, obviously. And the voice that had called out exultantly, yelling about getting a skookum, it had been high-pitched, like that of a woman or a . . .

~^~

Buy links (print or digital)

Wolf Creek Book 1: Bloody Trail -- Amazon, BN.com

Wolf Creek Book 2: Kiowa Vengenace -- Amazon, BN.com
Six-guns and Slay Bells -- Amazon, BN.com

Authors and their Wolf Creek characters
Bill Crider - Cora Sloane, schoolmarm
Wayne Dundee - Seamus O'Connor, deputy marshal
Phil Dunlap - drifting bounty hunter Rattlesnake Jake
James J. Griffin - Bill Torrance, Livery owner
Jerry Guin - Deputy Marshal Quint Croy
Douglas Hirt - Marcus Sublette, Schoolteacher
LJ Martin - Angus “Spike” Sweeney, blacksmith
Matthew P. Mayo - Rupert "Rupe" Tingley, Town drunk
Kerry Newcomb - James Reginald de Courcey, artist (secretly the outlaw Sampson Quick)
Cheryl Pierson - Derrick McCain, small farmer
Robert J. Randisi - Dave Benteen, gunsmith
James Reasoner - G.W. Satterlee, county sheriff
Frank Roderus - John Hix, barber
Troy D. Smith - Charley Blackfeather, scout; Sam Gardner, town marshal
Clay More - Logan Munro, town doctor
Chuck Tyrell - Billy Below, young cowboy; Sam Jones, gambler
Jackson Lowry - Photographer Wilson “Wil” Marsh
Livia Washburn - Ira Breedlove, crime boss
Matt Pizzolato - Wesley Quaid, Anti-heroic shiftless type

Win Free Books!

Cheryl Pierson is itching to give you a treat!  So one commenter in the next two weeks will win a print copy of 

Wolf Creek: Book 1, Bloody Trail

(USA mailing only)

Comment on every post for extra chances!

Also, comment on this post and you'll be entered to win a Kindle copy of your choice of Troy Smith's Blackwell series (short stories).  (And you'll also be entered to win the Wolf Creek book!)

Drawing for both will be held December 1, 2012, at 9pm Pacific Time.

Please include your email address so we can contact you; otherwise, we'll draw another winner.

Cheryl Pierson: Wolf Creek #western @Cherokeegirl57

Wolf Creek: 
Book 1, Bloody Trail
Book 2, Kiowa Vengeance
Book 3, Murder in Dogleg City
Book 4, The Taylor County War
Book 5, Showdown at Demon's Drop
Book 6, Hell on the Prairie

by Ford Fargo

Romancing The West is featuring the authors of the Wolf Creek series the last two weeks of November.  While Ford Fargo is on the cover, this series is actually written by fifteen of the best western writers today.  If you missed out, here are the first three articles:

• Troy D. Smith: Wolf Creek
• Bill Crider & Chuck Tyrell: Wolf Creek
• James Reasoner, Clay More, James J: Griffin: Wolf Creek

Today, another Wolf Creek contributor, Cheryl Pierson, tells us about her two characters and the series in general.  Please welcome her to RTW!

Cheryl Pierson, author

Cheryl Pierson

I truly loved working on this first Wolf Creek 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.

I have two characters in Wolf Creek: Book 1 Bloody Trail; Derrick McCain and Carson Ridge.

Derrick McCain 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. Derrick is 18 when the War Between the States begins. His two older brothers leave immediately, refusing to take him with them. A few days after they leave, Derrick strikes out on his own, determined to make his own way. 

He joins up with the regular Confederate Army, with the hope that one day he will return to Wolf Creek and marry his sweetheart, Jolene. Things don't work out as he'd thought. His brothers are killed at Shiloh, and not long after, he receives word that his father, Andrew, has been murdered for his outspoken politics by a band of Jayhawkers. At this news, Derrick deserts to join up with Jim Danby's guerrilla band, who ride with Quantrill and Bloody Bill Anderson, to seek revenge on the Jayhawkers who murdered his father.

The day comes when Danby intends to do something so heinous that Derrick rebels, refusing to obey direct orders from the gang leader. Derrick tells him that he will not torture and murder their captives, a small band of black Union soldiers who were sent to attack Bloody Bill Anderson during the Centralia Massacre. Danby has Derrick beaten and left for dead, giving orders for the others in his band to shoot the Union soldiers. But one of the black men, Charley Blackfeather, manages to get away, never knowing that Derrick stood up for them.

Derrick is found by a farmer who lives nearby and taken to the man's house, where he's cared for. The end of the war comes as Derrick heals enough to ride once more. He returns to Wolf Creek, not sure of his place in the world—Jolene has married a Yankee, and he finds himself the only male survivor of the McCain family. He steps into the unwanted role of settling into the life of a farmer, his younger sister less than welcoming since she has married due to necessity because of his absence. Derrick's world is turned upside down a few years down the road when the Danby gang comes to pay the citizens of Wolf Creek a call. Derrick is sure of only one thing this time around: in order to make peace with himself, he has to ride with the posse to avenge what Danby's gang has done to his town. He swears to kill or be killed, on the Bloody Trail.

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. Carson is a full-blood Cherokee and Derrick McCain's childhood best friend. Raised in the eastern part of Indian Territory in the Cherokee Nation, he's well-educated having attended the Indian school where Derrick's father was headmaster for several years. When Derrick's family moves to Wolf Creek, Kansas, Carson hopes that once Derrick learns the reason for the move, he will someday return to Indian Territory and the heritage that belongs to him. Carson's past is something he doesn't talk about much. He has become a Lighthorse officer for the Cherokee Nation. As the years pass, he believes he will never see his friend again...until fate brings them together under the most unlikely circumstance.

Along with the Wolf Creek series characters, I also have a short story The Keepers of Camelot, in the Western Fictioneers paranormal Christmas anthology, Six-guns and Slay Bells: A Creepy Cowboy Christmas.

“When King Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot are again united on the 1880’s western frontier, can forgiveness bring them the peace that has eluded them for centuries? It’s an unforgettable Christmas brought about through one young boy’s steadfast belief in rekindling the glorious hope of the greatest legend of all time.”

I’ve just had an anthology of my own stories released, A Hero for Christmas, a collection of four western and Civil War short stories that each have a touch of “something special” for the Christmas season. To see all my anthologies, short stories, novellas and novels, go to my Amazon author page.

It’s been my pleasure to be here today as Jacquie’s guest, sharing the time with my Wolf Creek co-writers on Romancing The West!

Below is an excerpt from Wolf Creek: Book 5 Showdown at Demon’s Drop, scheduled for release in the spring of 2013. Derrick has given himself up to the ruthless gang he was once a member of in order to save his younger sister, Kathleen. He’s been double crossed, and the gang has plans for him. Even if Charley Blackfeather and the posse from Wolf Creek make it to Demon’s Drop before Derrick and Kathleen are murdered, there isn’t much hope of escape for any of them. They’re badly outnumbered by the brutal men of the Clark Davis gang. One thing Derrick knows: If Charley and the others do get there in time, blood will flow on both sides, and the outcome will be uncertain. They’ll make their stand with hell to pay in a Showdown at Demon’s Drop...

Wolf Creek Book 5: Showdown at Demon’s Drop

The surviving members of the Danby Gang want revenge –especially against Derrick McCain, whom they believe betrayed them. They kidnap his sister, and threaten to kill her unless McCain comes to their mountain hideout in Indian Territory, Demon’s Drop, alone. But Derrick McCain’s friends won’t let him face the outlaws without help...

Wolf Creek Book 6: Hell on the Prairie

Our latest volume is an anthology of short stories, shifting the spotlight to several of Wolf Creek’s citizens. In the title story, Marshal Sam Gardner must face down a killer whose skill surpasses his own.

Excerpt from Book Five, Showdown at Demon’s Drop

(Cheryl Pierson’s chapter):

Something was burning. The smell of cooking meat was near. The hiss of it permeated the darkness, followed by indescribable pain.

“God dammit,” Derrick muttered, biting back the scream that threatened just behind the low-pitched curse.

“Yep, he’s awake,” someone announced.

A rough finger prodded his eye open, and Derrick tried to turn away from it. Someone held his head tightly to prevent him from moving.

Davis’s freckled face swam into view. “So glad you’re awake to join us, you murderin’ bastard. You killed one of my best men!”

“Four,” Derrick corrected hoarsely. “Four, so far.”

“By God, that’s the end of it for you, McCain!”

“Not...not yet,” he managed to grit out.

In the next instant, the burning heat of a brand neared his stomach. He hung by his arms, suspended from the tree. As the brand scorched into his flesh, he couldn’t hold back the harsh, agonized groan that escaped him.

From somewhere far away, he heard Kathleen scream, then plead with Davis to stop.

Davis laughed, breathing into Derrick’s face. “You might not beg, but your sister’s doin’ enough of it for both of you. Seems she’s had a change of heart about how she feels.”

“Kiss my ass, Davis.” Derrick slitted his eyes open to look into the redhead’s leering face. Then, he spat, hitting Davis’s cheek.

Davis jerked a filthy bandana from his back pocket, scrubbing at his face. “You damn filthy redskin!” He drew back his fist, but the blow never came.

Dawn’s first red streaks were lighting the gray of the sky. Dawn...the best time for attack, according to what Charley Blackfeather had always said.

Davis gave a startled cry of pain as an arrow ripped into his side. He fell to the ground on top of the still-hot brand he’d dropped, writhing in pain.

Derrick’s hands were cut free and he was gently lowered to the ground. When he opened his eyes again, Charley Blackfeather’s face was above his, concern etched deep in the Black Seminole’s rugged features.Gunfire and cries of alarm erupted from the camp, as the attack began in earnest.

“Don’t go anywhere, Cherokee,” Charley said quickly as he released Derrick.

“I’ll...be here...you damn fool...”

Charley’s deep laughter, accompanied by Clark Davis’s screams, were the last thing he heard.

~^~

Buy links (print or digital)

Book 1: Bloody Trail -- Amazon, BN.com

Book 2: Kiowa Vengenace -- Amazon, BN.com

Authors and their characters
Bill Crider - Cora Sloane, schoolmarm
Wayne Dundee - Seamus O'Connor, deputy marshal
Phil Dunlap - drifting bounty hunter Rattlesnake Jake
James J. Griffin - Bill Torrance, Livery owner
Jerry Guin - Deputy Marshal Quint Croy
Douglas Hirt - Marcus Sublette, Schoolteacher
LJ Martin - Angus “Spike” Sweeney, blacksmith
Matthew P. Mayo - Rupert "Rupe" Tingley, Town drunk
Kerry Newcomb - James Reginald de Courcey, artist (secretly the outlaw Sampson Quick)
Cheryl Pierson - Derrick McCain, small farmer
Robert J. Randisi - Dave Benteen, gunsmith
James Reasoner - G.W. Satterlee, county sheriff
Frank Roderus - John Hix, barber
Troy D. Smith - Charley Blackfeather, scout; Sam Gardner, town marshal
Clay More - Logan Munro, town doctor
Chuck Tyrell - Billy Below, young cowboy; Sam Jones, gambler
Jackson Lowry - Photographer Wilson “Wil” Marsh
Livia Washburn - Ira Breedlove, crime boss
Matt Pizzolato - Wesley Quaid, Anti-heroic shiftless type

Win Free Books!

Cheryl Pierson is itching to give you a treat!  So one commenter in the next two weeks will win a print copy of 

Wolf Creek: Book 1, Bloody Trail

(USA mailing only)

Comment on every post for extra chances!

Also, comment on this post and you'll be entered to win a Kindle copy of your choice of Troy Smith's Blackwell series (short stories).  (And you'll also be entered to win the Wolf Creek book!)

Drawing for both will be held December 1, 2012, at 9pm Pacific Time.

Please include your email address so we can contact you; otherwise, we'll draw another winner.

James Reasoner, Clay More, James J: Griffin: Wolf Creek #western

Wolf Creek: 
Book 1, Bloody Trail
Book 2, Kiowa Vengeance
Book 3, Murder in Dogleg City
Book 4, The Taylor County War

by Ford Fargo

Romancing The West is featuring the authors of the Wolf Creek series the last two weeks of November.  If you missed out, here are the first two articles:
Troy D. Smith: Wolf Creek
Bill Crider & Chuck Tyrell: Wolf Creek

Today, three of our Wolf Creek contributors weigh in on their characters and the series in general…

James Reasoner

My character in the Wolf Creek series is G.W. Satterlee, the sheriff of Taylor County. This is actually the first law enforcement job Satterlee has held. In the past he was a civilian scout for the army as well as a buffalo hunter. At this point we don't know what prompted Satterlee to run for sheriff in the first place, but once elected he found himself settling into the job with surprising ease. He has a natural politician's ability to get along with people, and he enjoys the more adventurous aspects of the job, such as chasing after outlaws and battling Indians (something he did in the past while he was working for the army). G.W. (the initials stand for George Washington) doesn't care as much for the mundane, day-to-day details of the job, but to his way of thinking, that's why he has deputies. They can handle all that.

Working on the Wolf Creek series has been a lot of fun, primarily because creator and editor Troy Smith did such a great job laying the foundation for the books. It must be a big challenge to pull together the contributions of half a dozen different authors and make them read seamlessly as a novel, but somehow Troy manages to do it. I've also really enjoyed the passion and enthusiasm that everyone involved in this series has brought to it. Writing is work, of course, but it should be fun, too, and Wolf Creek is.

James Reasoner, author

About James Reasoner:

I write novels and short stories for money (although I'll occasionally write a short story for a non-paying market if it's something I really want to do) and book and movie reviews for fun on my blog. I started out as a mystery writer nearly 35 years ago and still work in that genre and others, but I've done more Westerns than anything else. I've been married to best-selling, award-winning author, uncredited collaborator, editor, and plotter Livia J. Washburn for nearly 35 years. (Note the similarity between the length of my marriage and the length of my writing career. Coincidence? I don't think so.) We live in the same small town in Texas where we both grew up, although it's not so small anymore. (We have a Wal-Mart now!) After all these years, I still love to write and can't imagine doing anything else.

(Visit James Reasoner at his website or on Facebook.)

Clay More

Dr Logan Munro is a Scottish doctor who has seen action in three theatres of war – The Crimean War, The Indian Mutiny and The Civil War. He has endured personal tragedy, having lost Helen, his wife to Malaria in India. He feels guilty that he was unable to save her. He is battle weary, having certified too many deaths and performed too many battlefield amputations on young men.

Logan is the town doctor and he sets the scene in Bloody Trail. As we follow him on a brief morning round, several of the Wolf Creek characters and their relationships are described. As a former military man he springs into action to assist when the town is attacked, and then he tends to the sick and the dying, ensuring that everything that can be done is done, so that he can join the posse. He aims to look after anyone that gets injured, including any of the gang. But, he emphatically tells Sheriff Satterlee, he’ll do whatever is needed to keep them alive, as is proscribed by the Hippocratic Oath, until the legal process takes over and they can hang them.

When Troy came up with the concept of writing a collaborative novel based on the citizens of Wolf Creek I volunteered to write about the town doctor. The old adage is that you should write about what you know, so because I am a town doctor, albeit far-removed from Wolf Creek both in time and distance (I actually live in England, within arrowshot of the ruins of a medieval castle) I thought I could drip some realism into my effort.

Having said that, I must admit that I was somewhat apprehensive when Troy gave me the opportunity to open the story, since not many readers in the USA will have heard of my name. To my mind there was a good chance of losing readers at the outset, so I thank Troy for taking that gamble. Yet the way that we wrote the story panned out well. Troy had worked out the skeleton plot and we all developed our characters and then were given free license to write our part within the framework. We wrote Bloody Trail sequentially, so that I wrote my piece then handed on to Jim, who handed on to Troy and so on. We collaborated as we went along so that each writer engineered for characters to be in the right place at the right time, ready for action.

Troy’s editing was masterful. He dovetailed the whole thing together so that it flowed smoothly. I can honestly say that this has been one of the most enjoyable writing experiences of my career. It was a privilege to work with such a group of fine writers, whose work I know and respect and I am proud that Logan Munro is the Wolf Creek town doctor.

Keith Souter
writing as
Clay More

About Clay More:

My real name is Keith Souter and I was born in St Andrews in Scotland. I studied Medicine at Dundee University and then practiced as a family doctor in the city of Wakefield in England for thirty years. While I was at medical school I started to write children’s stories for a family magazine, but after qualifying as a doctor the exigencies of the job were such that the focus of my writing was on medicine. I have also been a health columnist for almost thirty years and have written about a dozen medical and health books. I am a member of the Society of Authors, The Crime Writers’ Association, Medical Journalists’ Association, International Thriller Writers, Western Writers of America and Western Fictioneers.

(Visit Clay More at his website, blog, or Facebook.)

James J. Griffin

Bill Torrance, the owner of the Wolf Creek Livery Stable, is ostensibly a man who has never touched a weapon. He has only one close friend in town, horse wrangler Jed Stevens. Bill is very much the loner, preferring the company of horses to humans. His ability to communicate with equines is almost mystical.

However, when Wolf Creek is invaded by the Danby gang, Bill turns out to be quite the fighting man. When a posse is formed to go after the outlaws, Bill joins them. His instincts save the posse from disaster when they ride into an ambush. Bill is badly wounded, and some of his past is revealed, including his real name. Much more of that past will be revealed in Book Six, including a surprise even I wasn't expecting. There will also be an unexpected interaction between Bill and Edith Pettigrew, the self-appointed moral arbiter of Wolf Creek.

It's been both an honor and a pleasure to work on the Wolf Creek series. I'm especially grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with so many fine authors whose work I admire. It's also pretty amazing how well everyone has worked together, with no fits of pique or egos run amok. Everyone has labored to produce the best stories possible, and it shows in the quality of the books.

James J. Griffin, author

About James J. Griffin:

I've been in love with horses and fascinated by all things Western, in particular the Texas Rangers, since I was a kid, so when I started writing it was only natural I would write Texas Ranger novels. Luckily, I have my good friends, Texas Ranger Jim Huggins of Company A, and Karl Rehn and Penny Riggs of KR Training in Manheim, Texas, to help with my research. Jim provides advice on the Rangers, while Karl and Penny lend their expertise on weapons of the period. I also travel out West every chance I get for research and relaxation. My two main series are about Texas Rangers Jim Blawcyzk and Cody Havlicek. The books are all very traditional Westerns, and most are suitable for almost all ages.

(Visit James J. Griffin at his website.)

Wolf Creek, Book 4:
The Taylor County War
Andrew Rogers has one of the biggest spreads in Taylor County –but that’s not enough. He wants to eliminate his competition and be the biggest rancher in the state, maybe even run for governor. He’ll stop at nothing to achieve his goals, not even murder. Can Sheriff G.W. Satterlee, and the hands from the T-Bar-B, stop Rogers and his hired killers before the county erupts into a full-scale range war?

Excerpt from Book 4, 
The Taylor County War
(Clay More’s chapter):

Tsu Dong grunted irritably then yanked the door open and strode out, banging it shut behind him.

“A petulant young man,” Logan said, smiling at Mrs Li. And with that thought he again wondered whether the young man’s anger betrayed the sort of personality that could be channelled into the sort of tasks that he suspected Tsu Chiao ordered his nephews to perform.

“Again, I am sorry, Doctor. We do not want our children to have anything to do with Tsu Chiao or any of his ruffians They are not – like us.”

Logan concurred. The Li family were sober, upstanding members of the Wolf Creek Chinese community, whereas Tsu Chiao was, in his opinion, nothing more than an opium dealer, brothel keeper and a ruthless gang boss. Logan despised him and was aware that Tsu Chiao disliked him simply because he was British. He had heard from patients that Tsu Chiao often boasted about having fought in the Opium Wars against the British when he was a young man.

Suddenly the door was violently thrown open.

“Get behind me,” Logan cried to Mrs Li as he spun round, fully expecting to be confronted by an angry Tsu Dong.

Instead it was a red headed young man of about twenty-two, dressed in range clothes, covered in a patina of trail dust. Logan recognised Chris Hartman immediately.

“Doc! Thank god! I’ve been looking for you everywhere. My pa sent me. You’gotta come with me back to the Lazy H?”

“What’s the emergency, Chris?”

“It’s my baby brother, Ethan. He’s been shot!”

~^~

Buy links (print or digital)

Book 1: Bloody Trail -- Amazon, BN.com

Book 2: Kiowa Vengenace -- Amazon, BN.com

Authors and their characters
Bill Crider - Cora Sloane, schoolmarm
Wayne Dundee - Seamus O'Connor, deputy marshal
Phil Dunlap - drifting bounty hunter Rattlesnake Jake
James J. Griffin - Bill Torrance, Livery owner
Jerry Guin - Deputy Marshal Quint Croy
Douglas Hirt - Marcus Sublette, Schoolteacher
LJ Martin - Angus “Spike” Sweeney, blacksmith
Matthew P. Mayo - Rupert "Rupe" Tingley, Town drunk
Kerry Newcomb - James Reginald de Courcey, artist (secretly the outlaw Sampson Quick)
Cheryl Pierson - Derrick McCain, small farmer
Robert J. Randisi - Dave Benteen, gunsmith
James Reasoner - G.W. Satterlee, county sheriff
Frank Roderus - John Hix, barber
Troy D. Smith - Charley Blackfeather, scout; Sam Gardner, town marshal
Clay More - Logan Munro, town doctor
Chuck Tyrell - Billy Below, young cowboy; Sam Jones, gambler
Jackson Lowry - Photographer Wilson “Wil” Marsh
Livia Washburn - Ira Breedlove, crime boss
Matt Pizzolato - Wesley Quaid, Anti-heroic shiftless type

Win Free Books!

Cheryl Pierson is itching to give you a treat!  So one commenter in the next two weeks will win a print copy of 

Wolf Creek: Book 1, Bloody Trail

(USA mailing only)

Comment on every post for extra chances!

Also, comment on this post and you'll be entered to win a Kindle copy of your choice of Troy Smith's Blackwell series (short stories).  (And you'll also be entered to win the Wolf Creek book!)

Drawing for both will be held December 1, 2012, at 9pm Pacific Time.

Please include your email address so we can contact you; otherwise, we'll draw another winner.

Bill Crider & Chuck Tyrell: Wolf Creek @ChuckTyrell @macavityabc #western

Wolf Creek: 
Book 1, Bloody Trail
Book 2, Kiowa's Vengeance
Book 3, Murder in Dogleg City

by Ford Fargo

This is the second installment of our Wolf Creek-athon.  Every few days for the last two weeks in November, Romancing The West will feature some of the finest Western authors today.  All are members of the prestigious Western Fictioneers.  They've collaborated to create a new series called Wolf Creek, and are writing under the name of Ford Fargo. To catch up, be sure to read the first installment.

Comment on any or all of the articles and you'll be entered into a drawing to win a print copy of Wolf Creek: Book 1, Bloody Trail, donated by Cheryl Pierson.  See details below.

Today, two of our Wolf Creek contributors weigh in on their characters and the series in general…

Bill Crider

Cora Sloane is on her way to Wolf Creek to become the school teacher. She appears to be quite a prim and proper young woman, just the kind of person the townspeople are expecting. Her dresses are modest, and she can quote Shakespeare when the occasion arises. She seems perfect for the job.

But Cora has a secret. Her real name is Amanda Hall, and she’s wanted for murder. She and her mother helped hide Amanda’s outlaw brother when he was on the run, and in a shoot-out with the law, one of the lawmen was killed. So were Amanda’s brother and mother. Amanda escaped and took her new name. When she heard of a job opening for a school teacher in Wolf Creek, she figured that a small frontier town would be an excellent place to start her life over. How was she to know that the stagecoach would be attacked by Indians before she even arrived? Good thing she has a pistol in her reticule. People are in for a surprise when they mess with Cora Sloane.

Working on a book in the Wolf Creek saga was great fun for me. I was lucky enough to draw the opening chapter of Book 2, Kiowa Vengeance, so I got to start the action while introducing both my own character and a couple of others who’ll figure into the action on down the line.

Even better, since Troy Smith was the overall editor of the series, he provided a great outline and series bible for me to read. Everyone who writes for the series already has plenty of information about the town, its people, and the general outline of the books. It’s a pleasure to work with an efficient editor and to be a part of a story that so many of my favorite western writers are participating in. How cool is that?

Bill Crider, author

About Bill Crider:

I’m a native Texan and former college teacher and administrator living in scenic Alvin, Texas, near enough to the Texas Gulf Coast to have been through two hurricanes. I’ve written around seventy-five novels in various genres, including both standalone westerns under my own name and series western novels under various house names. My mystery novels featuring Sheriff Dan Rhodes have been appearing just about every year since 1986. I’ve been nominated for the Edgar Award and the Shamus Award for my novels, and I’ve won the Anthony and Derringer Awards for my short crime fiction. My wife, Judy, is my proofreader and constant inspiration. I owe everything to her, and she never lets me forget it. If you want to learn more about us, check out my website or follow my peculiar blog.

Chuck Tyrell

My major character in the Wolf Creek series is Samuel Jones, a gambler and an expert with pistol, sword, or knife. At one time in his life, Jones was an assassin. In the prewar days of New Orleans, duels were the way quarrels were settled, and young Philippe Beaumont used this custom to kill those whom rich people wanted dead. At long last, he grew uneasy with such work, and spared a young man he’d been paid $500 to dispatch. He gave the victim, whom he had deliberately missed, the bank draft that should have bought his life, and suggested that the young man stay away from the woman he courted.

Beaumont left New Orleans and took the name of Sam Jones, which, because of his southern gentlemanliness, morphed into Samuel Jones. He spent some years on the Santa Fe Trail, at first a hunter, then as an organizer, but his love was the sense of danger that came with gambling and the joy of easy living. This love took him to the magnificent riverboats of the Mississippi in the postwar years. But the family he’d shamed in New Orleans still wanted his life, and he had to kill a man on the Delta Princess, a man hired by the Delacortes of New Orleans. Again, Samuel Jones disappeared, or shall we say, he moved, all the way to Wolf Creek. Although he was once a killer for hire, Samuel Jones had become a gambler with scruples. No one is allowed to cheat at his table. But the Delacortes had not given up their hunt for Samuel Jones aka Philippe Beaumont.

A secondary character I suggested to editor Troy Smith is Billy Below, one of the young cowboys who came up the trail with the Texas herds. Like young Henry Antrim, no one knows or cares what Billy’s real name is. They only know he prefers to be “below” during his trail-end encounters with dirty doves, hence he’s called Billy Below. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes.

The series is an exciting project. Troy Smith, our editor in chief, knows exactly where the stories are going, and even though we “writers” do a chapter or two apiece for any particular book, Troy makes sure the transitions are seamless. And they are amazingly seamless. For anyone who likes towns inhabited by three-dimensional and sometimes four-dimensional characters, I cannot recommend the Wolf Creek series more heartily.

Chuck Tyrell, author

About Chuck Tyrell

Charles T. Whipple, an international prize-winning author, uses the pen name of Chuck Tyrell for his Western novels. Whipple was born and reared in Arizona’s White Mountain country only 19 miles from Fort Apache. He won his first writing award while in high school, and has won several since, including a 4th place in the World Annual Report competition, a 2nd place in the JAXA Naoko Yamazaki Commemorative Haiku competition, and the first-place Agave Award in the 2010 Oaxaca International Literature Competition. 

Raised on a ranch, Whipple brings his own experience into play when writing about the hardy people of 19th Century Arizona. Although he currently lives in Japan, Whipple maintains close ties with the West through family, relatives, former schoolmates, and readers of his western fiction. Whipple belongs to Western Fictioneers, Western Writers of America, Arizona Authors Association, American Society of Journalists and Authors, and Tauranga Writers Inc. Find out about his latest books on his website, or visit him on Facebook or Twitter.

Wolf Creek Book 2: 
Kiowa Vengeance

In our latest adventure, Wolf Creek is threatened by marauding Kiowa warriors who seek to avenge the deaths of their comrades at the hands of buffalo hunters. While the town fortifies itself, and a cavalry detachment looks for the raiders, the stage from Wichita is attacked –leaving a handful of Wolf Creek citizens alone and on foot in hostile territory...

Excerpt from Book 2 
(from Bill Crider’s chapter):

The coach lurched forward, and Cora heard the driver slap the reins and yell encouragement to the horses.

“They aren’t coming to welcome us to Wolf Creek,” Benteen said, as the coach picked up speed. He spoke as calmly as if he were taking tea in the family parlor. “You have a gun, Hix?”

Hix was as imperturbable as Benteen. He shook his head and said, “I prefer other weapons.”

Benteen didn’t ask what those might be. He said, “But you can shoot.”

Hix hesitated for a moment, as if considering his answer. “Of course,” Hix replied. “If my life depends on it, I reckon I can.”

“Good.”

Like Cora, Benteen also had a bag at his feet. He bent down to it and came up with two revolvers, both Smith & Wesson Americans. He left a third inside.

“It’s a good thing I brought along a few pistols to sell in my new shop.” Benteen handed one of the guns to Hix. “It’s fully loaded, and I have more cartridges.”

Hix took the pistol and looked at Weatherby, who was now hiding in the floor of the coach.

“I don’t think the drummer will be needing one of these,” Hix said, hefting the gun.

“What about you, ma’am?” Benteen asked Cora.

Cora rummaged through her bag and brought out an old cap-and-ball Navy Colt. It felt heavier and more awkward than she remembered, but she could hold it steady if she used both hands. The coach was bouncing so wildly now that she wondered if it would be possible for her to hit anything

“I can shoot,” she said, and as she spoke, she recalled the smell of burned powder, the dying lawman, her brother’s capture, her own escape. She pushed those hard memories away—that had been another life, and she was starting a new one now. But only if she lived to do so.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” she said.

~^~

Wolf Creek Book 3: Murder in Dogleg City

They call it “Dogleg City” –the dangerous part of town, where life is cheap and corruption is rampant. People die there all the time, but this murder is different. Unless Marshall Sam Gardner and his deputies can solve it, the town just may be blown wide open...

Excerpt from Book Three

(from the chapter by Matthew P. Mayo):

“What can I get for you, Marshal?”

“Sadly, I’m not here for a drink. I’m looking for Rupe.”

The big man nodded toward the front door. “You must have walked right by the little soak, Marshal. He wobbled on out of here not a minute ago, maybe less. He always heads off to the alley.” He nodded to his left. “He was in here flapping his gums about that killing. Claims he’s your only witness. Provided us with quite a show, he did.”

“That damn fool.” The marshal shook his head, then thought maybe that meant Rupe had remembered something useful.

“This is not my best day,” muttered Gardner. “Thanks, Charlie. I’ll—”

The distinctive clap of close-by pistol shots, one, then another hot on its heels, sliced through the noisy room and killed all sound. Marshal Gardner had already shucked his sidearm and stiff-legged it to the door, then bent low and peered out the frame. He couldn’t see any smoke hanging in the air. He hoped Croy or O’Connor would have heard it, too, and come running.

“Charlie! You keep everybody in here don’t let anyone leave. I’ll be back.”

“But Marshal, I can’t—”

“Do it, damn you, or you’ll answer to me.” With that, Gardner skinned low out the left side of the door and hugged the face of the building. “Rupe!” He whispered loud enough for anyone out there to hear him, but he had to know if that big-mouthed drunk was still alive.

~^~

Authors and their characters
Bill Crider - Cora Sloane, schoolmarm
Wayne Dundee - Seamus O'Connor, deputy marshal
Phil Dunlap - drifting bounty hunter Rattlesnake Jake
James J. Griffin - Bill Torrance, Livery owner
Jerry Guin - Deputy Marshal Quint Croy
Douglas Hirt - Marcus Sublette, Schoolteacher
LJ Martin - Angus “Spike” Sweeney, blacksmith
Matthew P. Mayo - Rupert "Rupe" Tingley, Town drunk
Kerry Newcomb - James Reginald de Courcey, artist (secretly the outlaw Sampson Quick)
Cheryl Pierson - Derrick McCain, small farmer
Robert J. Randisi - Dave Benteen, gunsmith
James Reasoner - G.W. Satterlee, county sheriff
Frank Roderus - John Hix, barber
Troy D. Smith - Charley Blackfeather, scout; Sam Gardner, town marshal
Clay More - Logan Munro, town doctor
Chuck Tyrell - Billy Below, young cowboy; Sam Jones, gambler
Jackson Lowry - Photographer Wilson “Wil” Marsh
Livia Washburn - Ira Breedlove, crime boss
Matt Pizzolato - Wesley Quaid, Anti-heroic shiftless type

Win Free Books!

Cheryl Pierson is itching to give you a treat!  So one commenter in the next two weeks will win a print copy of 

Wolf Creek: Book 1, Bloody Trail

(USA mailing only)

Comment on every post for extra chances!

Also, comment on this post and you'll be entered to win a Kindle copy of your choice of Troy Smith's Blackwell series (short stories).  (And you'll also be entered to win the Wolf Creek book!)

Drawing for Wolf Creek will be held December 1, 2012, at 9pm Pacific Time.  Drawing for the Troy Smith book will be November 24, 2012, at 9pm Pacific Time.

Please include your email address so we can contact you; otherwise, we'll draw another winner.

Troy D. Smith: Wolf Creek

Wolf Creek: 
Book 1
Bloody Trail
by Ford Fargo

For the next two weeks, we'll be visiting with some of the finest Western authors today.  They've collaborated to create a new series called Wolf Creek, and are writing under the name of Ford Fargo.  (Find out why below.)  To begin, the Romancing The West welcomes the president of Western Fictioneers, a historian, teacher, overall great guy, and the trail boss of the Wolf Creek series:

Troy Smith

I’ve had the honor to serve as Western Fictioneers’ president this year, and of serving as series editor on our collaborative effort Wolf Creek. Jacquie Rogers has generously given us the floor here at Romancing The West, and we’re going to have different content up every couple days, as well as an opportunity for anyone who comments, on any of the days, to win a free book courtesy of Cheryl Pierson.

Troy D. Smith, author

I’m going to begin today by telling you a little about our project. Our series takes place in the fictional town of Wolf Creek, Kansas, in 1871. Right now we have about twenty authors involved. Each has developed one (and in some cases two) original, unique characters to inhabit our town. Each volume in the series features six writers and their characters, with each author writing a chapter or two from their character’s POV; as editor, I write one of the chapters each time and provide the other contributors with a story outline so they’ll know where they come in. Then, when everyone has done their section, all six of us look over the manuscript to make sure everything fits together. Then, in the next book, we have a different team of writers/characters, with me being the only constant. So after we’ve done several, and you’ve perhaps developed some favorites among our cast, in any given book there’s a chance one or more of your favorites may show up.

For more details about our town, including lists of writers and characters and some cool maps, go to our Wolf Creek site, or the Western Fictioneers site.

We have a great team working on this project, but I want to single out two members who have gone the extra mile by helping me in my editorial duties. Livia Washburn and Cheryl Pierson have both been invaluable in their willingness to make suggestions and serve as sounding boards, and Livia has served as our last line of defense in formatting, proofing, and distribution.

We decided to have a “house name” on the front cover for continuity, and went with Ford Fargo. All six contributors, however, are identified on the back and interior. We went with Ford Fargo because that name has a storied history (pun intended) among many of our members. Over a decade ago, before our organization was formed and when many of us exchanged emails informally, one of the guys told us of a typo that editors had introduced into one of his books- a character was supposed to say “I give you my word, Fargo,”, but it came out in the final product as “I give you my ford, Fargo.” I believe it was Kerry Newcomb who said that Ford Fargo would be a great name for a western character, and several of us started using the name playfully in our books, always as a peripheral character. Now, many of us are Ford Fargo.

I have two characters in the Wolf Creek series:

1. Charley Blackfeather, an Army scout and trapper. His father was a runaway slave and his mother was a Seminole. Charley is around fifty, and has spent practically his whole life at war, from the Seminole conflicts in Florida to the Civil War. He is very imposing physically, but has a wry sense of humor –and he can track anything, and kill it when he finds it.
2. Samuel Horace Gardner. Sam is the marshal of Wolf Creek. Son of a small-town Illinois lawyer, Sam was a Union cavalry officer before becoming a lawman. He is arrogant, showy, and a bit of a dandy –and not above taking a percentage of the saloons’ gambling profits –but has a steel backbone, a strong sense of fairness, and an uncanny precision with handguns.

We have three volumes finished, and three more in the works. Every few days for the next two weeks we’ll offer a synopsis for one or two of the books, and one very short excerpt. On Friday Livia Washburn will be talking about, not only her Wolf Creek character, but some of the other exciting Western Fictioneers publishing ventures that are available or coming soon. Several of us will be checking in every day to answer any questions and respond to comments.

And remember... in Wolf Creek, everyone has a secret.

Today I offer a synopsis and excerpt from the first book in our series:

Wolf Creek Book 1: Bloody Trail

In our first adventure, the town of Wolf Creek is assaulted by a small army of former Confederate guerrillas, who rob the bank and leave dead innocents in their wake. Sheriff G.W. Satterlee and his posse must overtake the outlaws before they reach Indian Territory—but the chase is complicated by the secret pasts of several posse members...

Excerpt, from Book 1 (James Reasoner’s chapter):

Satterlee and Charley Blackfeather were both good trackers, and Danby and the rest of the outlaws didn't seem to be taking any particular pains to cover up their trail. They followed the tracks without much difficulty. Satterlee knew they were counting on beating any pursuit to Indian Territory.

By midday, the posse hadn't come across any sign of the gang except the hoofprints they were following. Satterlee's keen eyes scanned the southern horizon for a dust cloud or anything else that would indicate they were closing in on their quarry. Frustration was growing stronger inside him.

He motioned Blackfeather up alongside him and said, "How much farther you think it is to Indian Territory, Charley?"

"If we make camp again tonight, we ought to reach there about the middle of the day tomorrow."

Satterlee frowned and lifted a hand to scratch his jaw.

"Danby's liable to be close enough by nightfall that he'll push on. If he doesn't stop and we do, we'll never catch him."

"If we keep ridin' after dark and he heads off in another direction, we're liable to lose the trail entirely," Blackfeather pointed out.

Satterlee sighed and shook his head. "You're not tellin' me anything I don't already know, Charley."

Quietly enough that the others couldn't hear, Blackfeather said, "We ain't gonna catch them before they reach the Nations anyways, Sheriff. I reckon you know that. What happens then?"

"Don't say that. I don't plan to turn back until I have to. Maybe we'll get lucky."

Blackfeather grunted. The sound was enough to make it clear he had his doubts about that.

~^~

Available at Amazon or Barnes & Noble (print or digital).

Authors and their characters

Win Free Books!

Cheryl Pierson is itching to give you a treat!  So one commenter in the next two weeks will win a print copy of 

Wolf Creek: Book 1, Bloody Trail

(USA mailing only)

Comment on every post for extra chances!

Also, comment on this post and you'll be entered to win a Kindle copy of your choice of Troy Smith's Blackwell series (short stories).  (And you'll also be entered to win the Wolf Creek book!)

Drawing for Wolf Creek will be held December 1, 2012, at 9pm Pacific Time.  Drawing for the Troy Smith book will be November 24, 2012, at 9pm Pacific Time.

Please include your email address so we can contact you; otherwise, we'll draw another winner.

La Curandera: A Traditional Healer #western

Jude Johnson, author

La Curandera: 
A Traditional Healer
by Jude Johnson
Author of Dragon's Legacy
Read Jude's interview and an excerpt of Dragon's Legacy

In the desert southwest, where Native American and Mexican culture mingled for centuries before “settlers” arrived, those who helped the sick get well were highly respected. While many Americans mistakenly think Geronimo (Goyahkla to the Chiricuhua Apache) was a chief, his position as medicine man was far more influential—and fearsome. The medicine man worked with powers of the Unseen and his decisions on which plants to use literally made the difference between life and death.

In the Sonoran Desert—an enormous ecosystem expanse from northern Mexico to Phoenix—Native cultures mixed with Spanish influences in all aspects of life, from language to social interaction and healing traditions. The medicine man or woman of Native tribes became La Curandera in Mexican communities. As the Catholic Church gained influence and control, often a curandera was also called bruja—witch. But among the people, that didn’t carry the negative connotation the Church intended. Native culture saw no conflict with following the church and still believing in the powers of The Unseen. It was all the same to their way of thinking.

My mother’s mother—my Nanita—was a curandera.

La Curandera was first and foremost a keen observer of human behavior. When a family called upon her, her first step was often to sit quietly, watching every member’s interactions while she listened to their situation. Psychology was in its infancy in Europe, but the Maya, Aztec, Apache, Navajo and other Native cultures understood all too well that the patient was not an isolated collection of conditions but under the influence of his or her surroundings.

Herbs and local plants were dried or concocted into syrups and teas. So a healer was also an herbalist, botanist, and chemist, calculating what combination would be beneficial as well as how much would be too much. Most of our modern medicines have been developed from plants used for centuries all over the world, so these healers often weren’t too far off the mark.

Ritual was an integral part of a healing. Was it part of the psychological component similar to placebo effect? Perhaps, but for many the comfort of ceremonial steps such as lighting sage, candles, and incense calmed their anxiety. And who knows if that wasn’t half of the problem with their health anyway?

Una curandera was chosen and trained by the elder healer of a community and apprenticed for years before attaining permission to do a healing on her own. Partly to be certain she had a firm grasp of her herbology, an apprenticeship also ensured acceptance by the clientele and confidence in her skills.

Oh, and one never offered a curandera money for a healing. Flowers or food gifts were acceptable but money was considered crass and insulting.

When allopathic doctors came west, they disregarded these healers and dismissed their traditions as “superstitious hogwash”—often to the detriment of the patient. Over the past few years on the Navajo and Apache reservations, the shaman/medicine woman is now brought in as an equal consultant to give the doctor insight into the patient’s life and calm the patient as well.

Mexican communities never dismissed their curanderas Botanicas and yerberias flourish in the barrios of most Latin communities, including Tucson.

My grandmother treated people in the Barrio Historico area until her death in 1960. Unfortunately, I never had the honor of meeting her, since I was two when she passed. But I have many of her recipes and ritual steps from my cousin who knew her well. As a chiropractic physician in Tucson, I like to think I’m sort of following in her footsteps.

I based one of the main characters in my Dragon & Hawk series—Reyna, the curandera who saves the life of and falls in love with Welsh immigrant Evan Jones—on her.

Nanita, I hope I’ve done you proud.

If you would like to read more about a modern curandera, here is the link to a recent article in Tucson’s Arizona Daily Star: Tucson Herbalists.

Contest!

Comment with the title of your favorite Western book or movie (no later than 11:59 pm Pacific Time on November 16th) and I’ll have my deranged cat, Fritz, choose a name at random to win a PDF copy of your choice of my novels PLUS a $10 Gift Certificate to Champagne Books (So you can purchase the others in the series if you like!).

Drawing will be held at High Noon, Tucson time on Saturday, November 17, 2012. Please leave your email address so I can contact you if you’re the winner. (If you type it in this manner: myemail AT whatever DOT com, it won’t be picked up by spammers.)