6 Chances to Win: Western Round-up Blog Hop!

Do you ♥ Westerns?

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We're giving away bunches of books, so be sure to click on all the links at the bottom of the page to win even more. Woot!  And I'm giving away...

THREE digital copies of

Muleskinners #1: 

Judge Not

by Jacquie Rogers

Western Trail Blazer

Traditional Western

Elsie Parry and her eight mules survived the war, but can they escape the wrath of the Danby Gang? She lived alone for five years after the Recent Unpleasantness and was overcome with happiness to be reunited with her father. Now, his fondest desire is to leave all the bad memories behind and see the Pacific Ocean, so she agreed to head west. All’s well until they approach Wolf Creek, where they’re set upon by the notorious gang of ex-Confederate guerrillas… intent on proving the war is not over, after all.

Kindle | Smashwords 

The Muleskinners series of single reads is my first foray into traditional westerns. For those of you who prefer romance, I'm also giving away

THREE digital copies of

Sleight of Heart

by Jacquie Rogers

Sleight of hand? or Sleight of Heart?

A Straight-Laced Spinster

Lexie Campbell, more comfortable with neat and tidy numbers than messy emotions, is determined find the sharper who ruined her little sister and make him marry her. When his lookalike brother Burke appears, she greets him with a rifle and forces him to help her. Can she resist his magic charm?

A Gambler With Magic Hands

To claim the family fortune, smooth-dealing Burke O'Shaughnessy has to find his brother Patrick, despite being saddled with an angry spinster. But when Lexie shows an astounding talent for counting cards and calculating odds, he figures she might be useful after all. Can he draw the queen of hearts?

"... a fun and fast paced read with a charming and sexy hero!" ~Jennifer Haddad

Kindle | Print

All you have to do is comment, and tell me how long it has been since you read a straight western story, or why you enjoy westerns or western historical romance. Be sure to include your email address with your comment. Drawing will be at midnight, July 31st, Pacific Time.

Be sure to check these terrific authors and book bloggers!

#NewRelease Muleskinners #1: JUDGE NOT #western http://amzn.com/B00LMC6RS4

New Release! 

Judge Not

Muleskinners #1

by Jacquie Rogers

The first installment of the Muleskinners series, Judge Not, is now available.  This is my first traditional western story and I hope you enjoy it.  I really loved writing it, and four more stories are planned, the second installment will be released later this summer.  

Judge Not was first printed in Wolf Creek, Book 6: Hell on the Prairie.

About Judge Not

Elsie Parry and her eight mules survived the war, but can they escape the wrath of the Danby Gang? She lived alone for five years after the Recent Unpleasantness and was overcome with happiness to be reunited with her father. Now, his fondest desire is to leave all the bad memories behind and see the Pacific Ocean, so she agreed to head west. All’s well until they approach Wolf Creek, where they’re set upon by the notorious gang of ex-Confederate guerrillas… intent on proving the war is not over, after all.

About Elsie

Elsie's had a rough time of it.  In 1863, border ruffians abducted her brother, Zeb, along with the neighbor boy, Hank, from the family farm in Missouri.  The next year, more came – she didn't know which side – and burned the farm to the ground.  Elsie was given responsibility for eight draft mule foals and sent to live on a forested hill out of harm's way.  She had little contact with the outside world, but her father visited infrequently.

She learned her mother had passed away, whether from sickness or hunger, Elsie didn't know, and neither did her father.  In fact, he disappeared the last year of the war and Elsie thought he was dead, too, but imagine her elation to find him alive and relatively well five years later. Meantime, those eight mules were her only friends and she'd named them after the Greek gods in her mother's book.  They have a good communication, and she's very protective of them.  Her father was born with the gift of blarney, and he's a lot better at making deals than actually coming through with them.  Still, he's her father and she loves him dearly – her only family other than the mules.

Excerpt
Muleskinners #1: Judge Not
by Jacquie Rogers
Copyright 2013 Jacquie Rogers

My pa wanted to see the Pacific Ocean. He’d flapped his lips all the way from Missouri to the middle of Kansas, and I reckoned by the time we did get to the ocean, I’d be ready to dunk him in it.

“One of the mules is lagging.”

“Hermes,” I hollered. “Quit sniffing that bush and get over here.” Sure, my mules were coddled, but they’d been my only company for a year during the war, and the six years since, my best friends. “You know you’re supposed to stay by the wagon.”

The mule sent me a guilty look and trotted to his spot by the rear wheel with the other three. I have eight mules, but a harness for only four, so four mules pulled half a day, then I traded them out.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to tie the spare mules to the wagon, Elsie?” My father, Obadiah Parry, had lost his wife, son, home, and thought he’d lost me and the mules in the war, but he’d run into me a few years back. 

Believe me, the moment I saw that man was the happiest day of my life. His brown hair had grayed and he’d hunched over and slowed down considerable, but his blue eyes still had that sparkle – the one that let you know there very well could be a frog in the sugar bowl, so watch out. I wouldn’t call him a moocher, but he did let me do the working while he did the talking.

“Maybe, but I ain’t tying them up. They know their jobs.” Unlike Pa, who was more of a dreamer than a doer. The one dream he had that worked out was when he decided to start a draft mule business with a mammoth jack he’d won in a card game. He talked the local farmers who had quality draft horse mares into giving him one foal for every two breedings. The result was more than a dozen draft mule foals the next year, but then the war broke out.

Now his dream was to go to California. I had eight of the mules, the wagon, nowhere else to go, and I was happy to make up for lost time with my pa. He had the gift of gab and a hefty dollop of charm, which got me more than one well-paying freight job. We had a light load this time, though – supplies for the trip west. But we had to take a detour to Wolf Creek to pick up a wagon he’d won playing euchre last week.

Amazon | Smashwords

Another grand Wolf Creek adventure - STAND PROUD #western #kindle

Wolf Creek #11

Stand Proud

by Ford Fargo

This has got to be the most fun a writer can have!  It's a Western Fictioneers collaborative novel, the brainchild of Troy Smith, who is also one of the authors (his characters are Marshal Sam Gardner and Charlie Blackfeather).  We all write under the name of Ford Fargo.  I have two characters, Abby Potter who isn't in this novel, and Gib Norwood.  Actually, Gib is head of the Norwood family so I have the whole family. 

When Troy put out the call for characters, I thought Wolf Creek needed some milk.  I grew up on a dairy farm and one thing I know is milk cows.  In fact, I know way too much about milk cows and that's why I live in the 'burbs. LOL.  But one thing about dairymen, they work hard, lift lots of milk cans, bags of grain, and an occasional calf, so you can bet they'd be someone to stay away from in a fight.  And that's how the Norwood Dairy happened--there's Gib, his half-brothers Peter and Paul who are octoroons, and their mother, Glory, who is Gib's half-aunt.

In Stand Proud, the Norwoods are minding their own business, when the nasty bad guy, Andrew Rogers (um, no relation) uses the dairy as a decoy for his other objective, Matthias.  So the Norwoods start off the book.  I wrote chapters one and three.

This book has quite a line-up of authors.  Jory Sherman is one of the most talented writers of today, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, and his chapter is a thing of beauty--nearly ripped my heart out.  Robert J. Randisi is incredibly prolific and has written around 700 books to date--good books, too, so check them out.  His chapter in Stand Proud rocks.  Troy D. Smith has won both the Peacemaker and the Spur awards--he's the glue that holds these novels together (if you haven't read his Blackwells series, do it!  You won't be sorry.).  Jerry Guin has contributions in several Wolf Creek books, and then... there's me!  So here's the blurb:

Welcome to Wolf Creek.

Here you will find many of your favorite authors, working together as Ford Fargo to weave a complex and textured series of Old West adventures like no one has ever seen.

Greedy and ambitious cattle baron Andrew Rogers has caused a lot of trouble around Wolf Creek, intimidating farmers into selling out to him and hiring a small army of gunmen who have proven themselves capable of almost anything. But now he has set his sights on clearing out a whole town – Matthias, a hamlet near Wolf Creek settled by former slaves. Sheriff G. W. Satterlee has a plan to protect them… but it may be too late.

Writing as Ford Fargo in this volume:

Jory Sherman

Robert J. Randisi

Jacquie Rogers

Jerry Guin

Troy D. Smith

Wolf Creek: Stand Proud

Kindle | Smashwords

Western Trail Blazer presents WESTERN TALES! #NewRelease #amreading #kindle

Western Tales!

Western Tales! is a new, ongoing anthology series from Western Trail Blazer. It will appear monthly, and probably a little more frequently than that. We have the first 6 issues in various stages of preparation, and will be showing you the covers not only of Volume 1 but a couple of others, as well.

Volume One features:
Wearing Out a Welcome by John D. Nesbitt
Shot for a Dog by Cheryl Pierson
Four Gold Coins by Frank Roderus
Man of Iron by Chuck Tyrell
Judah King by Troy D. Smith

Each volume will have five short stories. Here are comments from some of the first volume’s contributors, and a couple of short excerpts…

Frank Roderus

 Western Trail Blazers is fast becoming one of the players in high quality e-books. I am delighted to be counted among their authors, the names of which are among the best in the business. I heartily recommend the Western Trail Blazer list of publications. Anyone who loves westerns, as I certainly do, will be in for hours of pleasure.

Excerpt
Four Gold Coins

“I got money. I got….” A burp interrupted him for a moment. “I got….” He reached into his pocket, ignoring the dampness in the cloth, and pulled out four coins.

When he laid them on the bar, Jason was as astonished as Pete, or more so, to see that they were gold. Four twenty-dollar double eagles, gleaming and beautiful.

“That’s…I can drink on that, can’t I?” Jason said, hiding another nasty tasting belch.

“Jesus!” Pete blurted. He raised his voice and shouted, “Boys, see what I found here.”

A partial hush spread through the crowd as men crowded even closer in an attempt to see.

“Damn you, Myers, where’d you get money like that?” Otis Riordan bawled. “You never had that much in your pocket since the day you was born.” It was a statement of fact, not an idle accusation. Jason indeed never had had so much money at one time in his whole miserable, useless life.

“All right, Jason, what gives? Where’d you get that money?” Burt Kyle wanted to know.

“I…I don’t know,” Jason said. It was the truth. He had no idea where those coins might have come from or why they were in his pocket now.

John D. Nesbitt

 Wearing Out a Welcome is one of my most recent short stories.  This story came about as a result of two ideas coming together.  One idea was about the difficulty a person has in dealing with someone who is unduly interested in the person’s wife.  I have seen this problem in other situations as well as in my own.  People cross the line, and it is difficult for someone to say, “Look, I don’t care for you hanging around and ogling.” 

 The other idea I was working with was about people who point guns at one another.   I just don’t like it.  I know people do it in movies and in stories for purposes of suspense, but I don’t like the emphasis it receives, especially in television advertisements.  So I thought I would write a story about a fellow who has to deal with someone taking interest in his wife and also pointing a gun at him.  I conceived of this story, then, as being about civility, respecting other people’s privacy, and not having to resort to violence to solve a problem.   It is not a conventional story with a gunfight at the end.  Rather, it is a story that stretches the bounds of the genre a little, and I hope it seems real.

I am very happy to see this story produced by Western Trail Blazer.  I have been working with WTB for a few years now, and I have had several different things published under this imprint—short stories, traditional western novels, a contemporary western mystery, and a collection of western poetry.  I appreciate the courtesy and the honesty with which the WTB people have treated me, and I appreciate the distribution my work has enjoyed.  I have more work scheduled to come out with WTB, and I look forward to continued success.

Excerpt
Wearing Out a Welcome

Decker worked at odd jobs in the barn the next morning.  He expected Hayden to come out in his own good time and go on another ride, but the man stayed in the house.  In the latter part of the morning, Rosalie came to the barn and watched without speaking as Decker finished splicing a rope.

“He’s getting on my nerves,” she said.  “He just sits around reading a book, and I can feel his eyes on me.  He’s worse than the grub line riders.”

Decker nodded.  The first year he and Rosalie were together, their house had been a favorite stopping place.  Word must have gotten around that Rosalie was easy on the eyes as well as a good cook, and a couple of the riders had been pretty shameless about sitting around and gawking and not even helping with chores.  Then when Decker put them to work mucking stalls and had them sleep in the barn, word must have gotten around again.

“It shouldn’t be much longer,” he said.  “This is his second day.  If he doesn’t leave tomorrow, I can give him a hint.”

Cheryl Pierson

 Shot for a Dog is the story of a teenage boy’s descent into madness. Is it from hydrophobia, or from his own sick jealousy of his younger brother? At sixteen, Lucas Marshal is eight years older than his younger half-brother, Jeremiah. His hatred and jealousy of Jeremiah is all-consuming, and though their mother is aware of it, she is passive about it until one dark day when it gets the best of him. Luke and Jeremiah are working in the corn patch and Jeremiah decides it’s time to quit. This makes Luke so angry he does the unthinkable, and decides to shoot the family dog, Shadow. But Jeremiah runs to prevent it and is shot, as well. Forced to leave home by what he has done, he tries to convince himself that he doesn’t care, and is not going for the doctor.

But as he journeys into the nearest town, he finds he has a companion he didn’t count on, and can’t get rid of. A river runs with blood, he hears voices, and starts to believe he has hydrophobia. He knows the doctor is his only chance. But when he gets to town, somehow, the townspeople already have learned what he’s done. Will they help him? The sheriff has a terrible secret of his own that may be the death of Lucas Marshal.

Excerpt
Shot for a Dog

It had been an accident—a trick of the relentless, shimmering heat—that had made Luke pull the trigger. At least, that had been the story he told, and the tale he stuck to in his own mind, until he had almost come to believe the fabrication himself

.

He and his younger brother, Jeremiah, had been finishing up hoeing the corn. The late afternoon sun had begun to relent, and though this July day would never cool off enough to be comfortable, at least it was becoming tolerable.

“I’m hungry,” Jeremiah declared.

“We gotta finish,” Luke answered flatly. At sixteen, he was responsible for Jeremiah, who was only half his age—and with no more brains than a turtle.

After a moment, Jeremiah stopped hoeing. “I’m goin’ back to the house,” he stated, straightening to stretch his back muscles.

“You ain’t goin’ back ’til I say we’re done, brother,” Luke said mildly, but when his blue gaze met Jeremiah’s dark eyes, the animosity couldn’t be hidden, nor did he bother to try.

Troy D.Smith

 I never come right out and say so, but “Judah King” is actually Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar set as a western –just as the movies Boss of Texas and Jubal are western versions of King Lear and Othello. I think The Bard’s blend of action and passion would have been perfectly suited for westerns, actually.

My version is not about a Roman general who wants to become Emperor, and his trusted lieutenant who fears for the country if that happens- it’s about an outlaw leader who conspires to become a town marshal, and his loyal lieutenant-turned-deputy who fears for the town. It’s one of my favorites from among the short stories I’ve done.

Excerpt
Judah King

No matter who they were or what they did, everyone loved Judah King. It was a certain air he had about him, I guess¾it was in the way he smiled at folks, the way his eyes looked straight into them. When Judah King grinned and looked at you¾whether you were man or woman¾it made you feel like the only person in the world, and you would do just about anything he asked of you.

People would just smile right back at him, and hand over their money and jewelry like they were doing a favor for their best friend. When Judah would shoot a man down for daring to stand up to him, most of the witnesses would conclude that he had it coming.

Chuck Tyrell

Excerpt 
Man of Iron

God, I wish I hadn't shot that woman.

She was Chiricahua, plain as day, and that meant only one thing. She was one of Massai's people, and he'd sworn to kill me on sight. But there she was, down and bleeding from my bullet, and almighty weak   from bearing a baby boy.

What in heaven could I do with an Apache girl and a new-born babe, only a stone's throw from Hell's Gate?

For a while, I just stood there, rifle cocked and pointed at her belly. She stared back, not about to let me see how scared she was, and clutched the newborn to her.

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Western Tales!

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O Deadly Night by Troy D. Smith in WOLF CREEK 10: O DEADLY NIGHT #western @paladin_68 #Christmas

O Deadly Night

by Troy D. Smith

a short story in

Wolf Creek, Book 10:

O Deadly Night

Romancing The West is pleased to present a double feature: Wolf Creek, Book 9, A Wolf Creek Christmas, and Wolf Creek Book 10, O Deadly Night.  Each volume contains six Christmas stories, all centering around Wolf Creek in 1871, written by award-winning western authors.  Today, RTW is pleased to host the president of Western Fictioneers and the mastermind of this series, Peacemaker and Spur Award winner, Troy D. Smith. 

Troy D. Smith

About Troy

Troy D. Smith has published several short stories and novels, and is a past winner of the Peacemaker and Spur Awards, and current president of Western Fictioneers. He is also a history professor at Tennessee Tech, specializing in American Indian history. His article “Nations Colliding: The Civil War Comes to Indian Territory” is in the current issue of Civil War History. His most recent westerns have been the two Blackwell Chronicles books from Western trail Blazer, collecting his previously published short stories about the Blackwell family (more to come!)

Troy's story: O Deadly Night

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.

About Sam Gardner

In “O Deadly Night,” Marshal Samuel Horace Gardner discovers that, in a town like Wolf Creek, you’re not even guaranteed a night off at Christmas. The story opens with the lawmen (both county and city) celebrating the holiday together, but when trouble erupts, Sam volunteers to be the one to go out and take care of it. The trouble winds up being a lot more than he bargained for.

I can’t tell you how much fun I have writing for Sam Gardner. He is a classic Old West town-tamer, in the Hickock/Earp mold, but he is more. The son of an Illinois lawyer, Sam has a way with words. He can be bitingly sarcastic, long-winded at times, and is ever ready with a quip. He is also vain and sometimes borderline corrupt.

In the books leading up to this one, though, we’ve been seeing a different side of Sam Gardner. They say every cynic is a disappointed romantic; Sam is a deeply lonely man, and this story in particular takes us inside his mind and lets us see – despite his apparent cavalier attitude – just how heavily his responsibilities can sometimes weigh on him. And in future books, we’re going to see that play out in some unexpected ways.

More stories from Troy

The Blackwell Chronicles, Volume 1: The first story in Volume 1, The Blackwell Claim, introduces the four Blackwell brothers: Max, Duke, Caleb and Jake. After that, my tales about the family jump around in time – Blackwell's Run occurs in 1864 with Max in the US Calvary fighting Indians. Next, The Stealing Moon takes place in 1855 and tells of Jake, a Texas Ranger, meeting a boy struggling to become a man. Blackwell's Stand is set in 1864 where Caleb has an unfortunate meeting with a grizzly and The Windigo is about Max's son Billy, and takes place during the Klondike gold rush.

Kindle | Smashwords | B&N | Print

RTW Note: Blackwell Chronicles, Volume 2 is also currently available!

Wolf Creek Book 9: 

A Wolf Creek Christmas

The Last Free Trapper 

by Jory Sherman

A Savior is Born 

by Meg Mims

That Time of Year 

by Jerry Guin

‘Twas the Fight before Christmas 

by Jacquie Rogers

A Kiowa Christmas Gift 

by Troy D. Smith

Renewal of Faith 

by James J. Griffin

Wolf Creek, Book 10: 

O Deadly Night

Sarah’s Christmas Miracle 

by Big Jim Williams

Irish Christmas at Wolf Creek 

by Charlie Steel

A Home for Christmas 

by Cheryl Pierson

The Angel Tree 

by Chuck Tyrell

The Spirit of Hogmanay 

by Clay More

O Deadly Night 

by Troy D. Smith

'Twas the Fight Before Christmas by Jacquie Rogers in A WOLF CREEK CHRISTMAS #western

'Twas the Fight Before Christmas

by Jacquie Rogers

a short story in

Wolf Creek, Book 9:

A Wolf Creek Christmas

Romancing The West is pleased to present a double feature: Wolf Creek, Book 9, A Wolf Creek Christmas, and Wolf Creek Book 10, O Deadly Night.  Each volume contains six Christmas stories, all centering around Wolf Creek in 1871, written by award-winning western authors.  Today, RTW hosts, well, me, and what an honor it is to be included in this anthology.   

Jacquie Rogers

About Jacquie

I’m a country girl at heart, raised on a dairy farm in Idaho — a great place to grow up.  My friend and I rode our horses all over the Owyhee Mountains and managed to get ourselves in just about every sort of pickle.  Now I live in the suburbs of Seattle with my husband who is also my cheerleader (sans pompoms) and proofreader.  I write in several genres including fantasy romance, and YA fantasy, but mostly western historical romance.  My latest release is Sleight of Heart.  The fourth book in my award-winning Hearts of Owyhee series, Much Ado About Miners, will be released later this month.

I love to hear from readers!  Please visit my website, sign up for my newsletter, or join the fun at the Pickle Barrel Bar & Books at Facebook.  I also wrangle Romancing The West.

Jacquie's story: 
'Twas the Fight Before Christmas

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.

About Gib Norwood and Abby Potter

When I came up with this idea, the notion of a Confederate veteran, a fifth-generation slave owner, whose only remaining family was his half-aunt, a quadroon who was his father’s and his slave, and her twin sons, who are also Gib’s half-brothers.  So here we have a man who fought for the South, but now his family are all considered “colored” even though the octoroon twins look Caucasian as long as they keep their hats on.  Gib sees the injustice here, and his goal is to create a prosperous living for his family, even though he knows they’ll never be accepted in white society.  But money always talks.

Abby Potter is the madam and owner of Miss Abby’s Boardinghouse, the high-class brothel in Wolf Creek.  She’s short in stature but tall in business acumen.  No one puts anything over on Abby.  And no one needs a Christmas more than she does, either.

What's new from Jacquie

Sleight of hand? or Sleight of Heart

A Straight-Laced Spinster
Lexie Campbell, more comfortable with neat and tidy numbers than messy emotions, is determined find the sharper who ruined her little sister and make him marry her. When his lookalike brother Burke appears, she greets him with a rifle and forces him to help her. Can she resist his magic charm?

A Gambler With Magic Hands
To claim the family fortune, smooth-dealing Burke O’Shaughnessy has to find his brother Patrick, despite being saddled with an angry spinster. But when Lexie shows an astounding talent for counting cards and calculating odds, he figures she might be useful after all. Can he draw the queen of hearts?

Recipe for a hero: Take one Maverick, add in a little Remington Steele. Blend. Maybe throw in a little James Bond (shake, don’t stir), and mix in some of my dad’s unique brand of humor. Go off half-baked, and there you have it — Burke O’Shaughnessy.

Available on Kindle, and soon at other online stores and in print.

Wolf Creek Book 9: 

A Wolf Creek Christmas

The Last Free Trapper 

by Jory Sherman

A Savior is Born 

by Meg Mims

That Time of Year 

by Jerry Guin

‘Twas the Fight before Christmas 

by Jacquie Rogers

A Kiowa Christmas Gift 

by Troy D. Smith

Renewal of Faith 

by James J. Griffin

Wolf Creek, Book 10: 

O Deadly Night

Sarah’s Christmas Miracle 

by Big Jim Williams

Irish Christmas at Wolf Creek 

by Charlie Steel

A Home for Christmas 

by Cheryl Pierson

The Angel Tree 

by Chuck Tyrell

The Spirit of Hogmanay 

by Clay More

O Deadly Night 

by Troy D. Smith

L.J. Martin: Nemesis #western

Nemesis
by L.J. Martin

Romancing The West welcomes author L. J. Martin, the author of over 30 book length works from such major NY publishers as Bantam, Avon, and Pinnacle. He also writes the daily conservative political blog, From The Pea Patch. His works of fiction include westerns, thrillers, mysteries, and historicals; and of non-fiction include a book on killing cancer (he’s a two time cancer survivor), a cookbook, a how-to book on writing, a book of cartoons, and a political thesis. His avocations include photography (with over 100 videos on youtube.com, search ljmartinwolfpack), cooking, travel, gardening, shooting, fishing and hunting.

L. J. lives in Montana with his wife, Kat, an NYT bestselling internationally published author of over 55 historical and romantic suspense novels. When not writing, the Martin’s travel extensively, both stateside and abroad, gaining new material, making new friends, and enjoying this great world. They live in Montana in the shadow of that state’s beautiful Sapphire Mountains, on a small horse ranch with the two million acre Lolo National Forest as their backyard, and winter in California near the Santa Barbara channel.

He's a member of The Society of Professional Journalists, Mystery Writers of America, Western Writers of America, Western Fictioneers, and Thriller Writers of America. Accomplished in Western History, he’s available as a speaker on that subject and writing (see his Write Compelling Fiction), and has spoken and given seminars at several writer’s conferences. More about the Martin’s on ljmartin, wolfpackranch, and katmartin, (all .com). Or on facebook at L. J. Martin, Larry J. Martin, The Kitchen at Wolfpack Ranch, From The Pea Patch, and Kat Martin (both friend and fan page).

RTW: Here's the back cover blurb for Nemesis:

The fools killed his family...then made him a lawman. This wild and wooly western, in the Louis L'amore tradition, comes from renowned author L. J. Martin, whose over 25 novels have brought compelling reading to so many. McBain, broken and beaten from the Civil war, is reluctant to return to his family, as a snake dwells in his belly and he can't get the images out of his mind...until he learns his sister and her family have been murdered. Then it's retribution time.

RTW: Another book for my TBR! Why do you write Westerns? What aspect of life in the Old West intrigues you the most? Did you work that into Nemesis?

L.J. Martin, author

LJM: I was raised in central California, but in the state's number one cattle and sheep county. I wrangled horses and packed for a boys camp when I was young. I come from a long line of Texans and Okies and speak the language of the west, so it was natural to both read, and eventually write, westerns. I also, of course, write thrillers, mysteries, and some non-fiction.

RTW: If you lived in 1872, what would you visit first? Is there something you’ve been curious about that you can’t find in your research sources?

LJM: If I had to pick an individual city it would be San Francisco, then Sacramento. At the terminus of the transcontinental railroad, both cities were fascinating and the most eclectic cities in the world, just subsequent to the largest migration in the history of the world at the time, the California gold rush.

RTW: If a person who had never read a Western, any sub-genre, asked you for a recommendation, what novel or movie would you recommend and why? What did the author do to bring the story alive for you?

LJM: Lots of great western movies out there. Lonesome Dove, Dances With Wolves, Open Range, and on and on. And an equal amount of great novels. My list is long as my arm.

RTW: Why must McBain take this particular story journey? What does he have to prove?

LJM: McBain is on a journey of retribution, and revenge, and gets it. A number of secondary characters effect him and his story.

RTW: Set us up for your excerpt, please.

LJM: If a novel doesn't hook you in the beginning, the novelist has not done his/her job, so here's the first couple of paragraphs of Nemesis:

Excerpt of Nemesis

by L.J. Martin

It’s been fifteen years since I’ve killed a man.

At least a man against whom I held a grudge, the recent unpleasentries excluded as in the smoke and haze of battle you seldom saw the face of a man you dispatched. And that whole affair seemed President Lincoln’s grudge and only my duty as a sworn soldier. Not that the taste in your mouth is any sweeter for the small difference. After all, killing is killing. But that man fifteen years ago, when I was a younger of only fifteen years, came against my family, and he was well known to me and mine.

I have now carefully cleaned and sighted my weapons again, and cast a few bullets, as I have a task before me.

But I hoped the task would never shadow my door nor sour the taste in my mouth again. I’d hoped no man would offend or threaten me or mine so much I’d feel the need…the requirement…to put them in hell.

The devil of it is it looks like I now have an even half dozen lowlifes on my list of chores.

Five of the six offenders, seeming dry and dusty, rode into my sister’s homestead, three hundred twenty acres in the middle of thousands more of federal free-graze land, feigning needing the well for their horses and their own parched throats. Sarah McBain MacIntosh was as fine an upstanding Christian woman, a lady, a sister—and at one time a friend—as God ever created, and would never turn a man away from a mere drink of water or a hot meal for that matter.

Available at Amazon

RTW: You hooked me, that's for sure. So what’s next? Is Nemesis a part of a series?

LJM: Yes, and I'm putting Mr. Pettigrew up this week as a print book (a novella), it's already up on Amazon as an ebook.

RTW: Anything else you’d like to add?

LJM: If you enjoy good history with your novels, try my Rush To Destiny, accurately based on the west's most unsung quintessential hero, Edward Fitzgerald Beale. My six book series, the Clint Ryan Series, is set in California during our Mexican war, and shortly thereafter, and has lots of good history included. My Montana Series is also a half dozen books, all in the classic Louis L'Amour tradition.

RTW: In the spirit of Christmas, a little mouse told me you have a nice gift for all of us!

LJM: I will give anyone a free ebook copy of my cookbook, Cooking Wild and Wonderful, just for the asking.

RTW: Thanks so much for visiting with us today, L.J.  And what a gracious offer--this is a wonderful cookbook!  

Lots of  delicious recipes are included in Cooking Wild and Wonderful, and L.J. gives easy to understand step-by-step instruction--anyone can cook if you follow his recipes.  As he says, you can make the mundane into magnificent.  So leave a comment and you'll get a free cookbook.  

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.