Jerry Guin: Asa Pepper's Place (Wolf Creek 6:Hell on the Prairie) #western

Asa Pepper's Place
by Jerry Guin
A short story in
Hell on the Prairie
Wolf Creek: Book 6

This week Romancing The West features the July 2 release, Wolf Creek 6: Hell on the Prairie. It's an anthology of seven short stories, all featuring characters in or connected to the Wolf Creek series, and offering  in-depth understanding of your favorite Wolf Creek residents.  There'll be giveaways on each post, so please check back each day.

• Monday: Troy Smith discusses his character, Marshal Sam Gardner, and his role in Wolf Creek.
• Tuesday: In Drag Rider, Chuck Tyrell has some fun with Billy Below--how'd this character get his name?
• Wednesday: Clay More tells us about doctoring in the Old West and in his story, The Oath, how Wolf Creek's Dr. Logan Munro deals with the conflicts his oath.
• Thursday: Cheryl Pierson's story, It Takes a Man, gives us an in-depth look at Derrick McCain.
• Friday: Jerry Guin tells us how his character, Quint Croy deals with his new job as a lawman, and how Asa Pepper ended up owning a bar in the rough part of Wolf Creek, called Dogleg City in Asa Pepper's Place.
• Saturday: Jacquie Rogers penned a guest appearance by a special character in her story, Muleskinners: Judge Not, that runs concurrent with Wolf Creek 1: Bloody Trail.
• Sunday: In New Beginnings, James J. Griffin gives us insight into the past of the town's blacksmith, and how a surprise changes his life.

If you're not familiar with the Wolf Creek series, you're missing out! Written under the house name Ford Fargo (the house name for Western Fictioneers), each book is the collaboration of some of the best western writers in the business, steered by Troy Smith, who also writes two characters: Marshal Sam Gardner and Charley Blackfeather. Links to all the Wolf Creek books are at the end of this article, just above the contest announcement.  For more information on the story world, visit Wolf Creek, Kansas.

RTW: Jerry Guin wrote the fifth story in Wolf Creek 6: Hell on the Prairie  showcasing his character, Quint Croy, in Asa Pepper's Place. Welcome, Jerry! First, we'd like to know a little about you.

JG: I wrote my first western story, “Caught Red Handed,” for Western Digest in 1995 with six other stories to follow, all of which are included in the short story collection “Trail Dust,” 2007.

I am a member of Western Writers of America and the Western Fictioneers. I have stories in the anthologies, White Hats, The Traditional West, Six-guns and Slay Bells, Award Winning Tales, Outlaws and Lawmen, and Wolf Creek, Book 3: Murder in Dogleg City.

My first western novel was “Drover’s Vendetta,” 2011.

RTW: Tell us about your story, Asa Pepper’s Place.

JG: Deputy Quint Croy hears threats from outside Asa’s Place. He enters only to be shot, then in turn shoots the shooter. Quint then prevents Asa Pepper from killing Watson Brown.

Upon grilling Asa, Quint learns, Watson (Watty) Brown, had years earlier killed an innocent man in Texas while he and his partner, Burl Stimson, were drunkenly attempting to rape Asa’s wife Ruby. Stimson was killed in the assault. Watty Brown and Asa recognized each other; each intent on revenge; Brown sought vengeance for Burl Stimson’s death and Asa wanted Watty to answer for the attempted rape and the murder.

Asa relates how he became a business owner in Wolf Creek and is now fearful that Marshal Gardner will close him down.

Quint tells what the future holds for Asa’s Place.

RTW: What prompted you to write Westerns? What keeps you writing them?

JG: When I was in my teens I enjoyed reading Zane Grey’s westerns. It wasn’t until later in life that I began reading others such as Louis L’amour and Max Brand. What better to write about than something you like? I love the genre. I feel at ease putting my stories together because there is nothing to compare them to. I hope my voice is distinctive as I know others would tell the same tale a little differently.

I keep writing because I enjoy it. I get a feeling of accomplishment each time one of my stories is published. If I had a goal, it would be simply to have a story that is remembered as a good one.

RTW: If you lived in 1871 at Wolf Creek, Kansas, what would your job be and how well would you get along with your character, Quint Croy?

JG: I would most likely be the town’s lumber supplier. There isn’t much timber around Wolf Creek so it has to be brought in. I would freight the lumber in and get to know Quint on a friendly basis. I believe we would get along fine as we would be close to the same age and we both came from somewhere in Texas.

RTW: What surprised you the most about Quint Croy? Are there more surprises coming in future Wolf Creek books?

JG: Despite the rough life he’s endured as a cowboy and now becoming a sincere deputy marshal that quells violence daily, Quint is able to maintain his easy going nature. He is tough but also thoughtful.

I intend to make sure there is a surprise of some sort in each episode with Quint.

RTW: What would give Quint Croy the ultimate happiness?

JG: At some point he needs to meet up with the gun man that killed his friend, in Abilene, before Quint came to Wolf Creek broke and looking for a job.

RTW: Quint Croy is an interesting character and I look forward to reading more of his adventures.  Give us an intro to an excerpt from Asa Pepper’s Place.

JG: Quint has just shot a man and kept Asa from killing another and he wants some answers.  This is an excerpt from page 97.

Excerpt from
Asa Pepper's Place
by Jerry Guin
a short story in
Hell on the Prairie
Wolf Creek Book 6

Asa shrugged his shoulder. “It’s like I said, he’s crazy drunk.”

“Do you know him?” Quint asked.

Asa stood. He was still breathing hard. He looked around. “He came in while I was clearing one of the tables. He would of never got ahold of me if I was behind the bar. I got an axe handle and a loaded shotgun back there.”

“I asked if you know him,” Quint said. “I want to know why he attacked you.”

Wolf Creek: Hell on the Prairie

Available in print, or ebook at

Amazon | Smashwords 

and soon at other online stores

♦♣♥♠ All Wolf Creek buy links ♦♣♥♠

Wolf Creek, Book 1: Bloody Trail

Wolf Creek, Book 2: Kiowa's Vengeance

Wolf Creek, Book 3: Murder in Dogleg City

Wolf Creek, Book 4: The Taylor County War

Wolf Creek, Book 5: Showdown at Demon's Drop

Wolf Creek, Book 6: Hell on the Prairie

RTW: Tell us about your other current releases.

JG: “Who Shot Billy Dean,” is my story in the anthology Dead or Alive from La Frontera was released June 15.

My short story, Justified is an eBook from High Noon Press and was published in April.

Charlie’s Money, an eBook novella from High Noon Press was released earlier this week.

My novel, Drover’s Bounty, a Black Horse Western from Robert Hale is to be released on August 30.

RTW: Anything else you’d like to add?

Oh, I’ll produce some more short stories and hopefully a novel or so. I’m currently working on a novel about a bounty hunter around 1872.

Thanks to Jerry for visiting RTW today.

Be sure to check back for more interviews with other Wolf Creek authors.

You can enter to win books all this week!