The Spirit of Hogmanay by Clay More in O DEADLY NIGHT @KeithSouter #western #Christmas

The Spirit of Hogmanay

by Clay More
(Dr. Keith Souter)

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 a western writer, who, in the spirit of Wolf Creek where everyone has a secret, is disguised as a Scottish doctor, Clay More. 

Dr. Keith Souter
writing as Clay More

About Clay

Clay More is actually my western pen name. My real name is Keith Souter and I live in England within arrow-shot of the ruins of a medieval castle, the scene of two of my historical novels. I am a part time doctor, medical journalist and novelist, writing in four different genres – westerns, crime, historical and YA. I also enjoy the challenge of short fiction for which I have won a couple of prizes, including a 2006 Fish Award for my story The Villain’s Tale.

Clay's story: 
The Spirit of Hogmanay

Doc Logan's road to Hogmanay — the Scottish New Year's Eve celebration — is littered with good intentions. And injuries and diseases galore. And to top it all off, someone has stolen his good Scotch...

About Dr. Logan Munro

Logan Munro, the Wolf Creek town doctor has had a pretty tough Christmas. He’s had some challenging medical and surgical cases to deal with and, as a true Scotsman, he is looking forward to Hogmanay when he can see out the old year and usher in the next. Like most of the town’s citizens he won’t be sad to see the end of one singularly turbulent year in the town’s history.

In preparation for Hogmanay he has had a special shipment of The Glenlivet, the finest malt whisky sent all the way from Ballindalloch in the Highlands of Scotland. He is peeved when he discovers that two bottles have been stolen – especially since he has a good idea who took them.

Yet there is more to the theft than at first meets the eye and Logan has further challenges ahead of him. And as the year’s end approaches he has a burning question he wants to ask a lady, but inexplicably, rather like the malt spirits, she has gone and he can’t find her anywhere.

Logan Munro is Scottish, as am I. He is a doctor, as am I, and he regards his Hippocratic Oath as the guiding principle in his life, as do I. I have always had an interest in medical history and when Troy Smith came up with the idea for Wolf Creek and asked for characters, it seemed too good an opportunity to miss. I packed my black bag with 19th century instruments and applied and was fortunate to gain the position of town doctor. I have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed practising in Wolf Creek – even if it is impossible to hold onto a couple of bottles of decent malt whisky.

What's new from 
Clay More

Double Dealing at Dirtville
Western Fictioneers Library

Dirtville is just a peaceful frontier settlement . . . until a sudden eruption of violence leaves two people dead and a mysterious stranger comes to town in search of vengeance, only to find that a web of corruption, greed, and murder hangs over the entire community! Once again, acclaimed author Clay More spins a fast-paced, engrossing Western tale featuring action, mystery, romance, and suspense. Nothing is quite what it seems in this thrilling new release from the Western Fictioneers Library except that it's pure Western entertainment!

What's new from Keith Souter

The Tea Cyclopedia
Skyhorse Publishing

Tea drinking has become a way of life. To put it frankly, it is a love, an addiction, and some would even go as far to say a philosophy. Dr. Keith Souter examines the perpetual impact that this adored beverage has bestowed upon the world for centuries, from its mystical origins in the East, to its inevitable influence on the West.

The Tea Cyclopedia is an indispensable reference for anyone interested in all things tea. Commencing each chapter with insightful quotes, it not only captures the historical beginnings of this beloved drink, but also explores tea's involvement in politics, health, the economy, and even fortune-telling.

This unprecedented beverage has united people in times of adversity; it has also divided nations, causing volatile revolutions, such as the Sri Lankan Civil War and the Boston Tea Party. But today you will most likely find that various cultures have developed their own unique style of enjoying tea, and the ritual of tea drinking itself is not only intriguing, but also highly rewarding.  

In this meticulously detailed guide, readers will rediscover tea, its cultivation, and all of its richness and intricacy as a worldwide beverage. The Tea Cyclopedia is an enthralling tribute to the illustrious, invigorating, and elusive leaf that has vehemently continued to inspire people for more than two thousand years.

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

Clay More: The Oath (Wolf Creek 6, Hell on the Prairie) #western @KeithSouter

The Oath
by Clay More
A short story in
Hell on the Prairie
Wolf Creek: Book 6

This week Romancing The West features the July 2 release, Wolf Creek: 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 guest 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 D. Smith, who also writes two characters. 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.

Dr. Keith Souter
writing as Clay More

RTW: The third story in Hell on the Prairie is The Oath by Clay More (Dr. Keith Souter). This story involves some unexpected twists for Dr. Logan Munro. Today, RTW is featuring Dr. Munro's creator, Clay More. So to get us going, Clay, please tell us a little about yourself.

CM: Clay More is my western pen-name. My real name is Keith Souter and I live in England within arrowshot of the ruins of a medieval castle. I am a part time doctor, medical journalist and novelist working in four genres – westerns, crime, historical and YA. I also write short fiction, for which I have won prizes, including a 2006 Fish Award. A lifelong Agatha Christie fan, I try to include an element of mystery and at least one red herring in all of my stories.

Click to enlarge

RTW: And there's definitely a red herring in The Oath! Also, for some terrific Old West medical information you won't find anywhere else, check out Keith's monthly column, The Doctor's Bag, at the Western Fictioneers blog. But back to The Oath – give us an idea what this story is about.

CM: Logan Munro is the Wolf Creek town doctor. He is Scottish and has served as a surgeon in three wars on three continents, the last being the Civil War. He has certainly seen life, but he has a heavy heart, since he lost his soul mate during the Indian Mutiny. Now, the Hippocratic oath that he took when he qualified as a doctor back in Scotland is the guiding principle of his life. An unexpected shadow from his past soon tests everything that he holds dear, including life itself.

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

CM: Basically, I love the genre, having been brought up with it. You can tell that in my choice of pen-name, since Clay More is a homage to Clayton Moore, the Lone Ranger (as well as being a Scottish sword).

I have always been fascinated by the history of medicine and as a doctor myself, I am a little in awe of the doctors who practiced on the frontiers, providing medical, surgical and obstetric services with rudimentary facilities, a handful of effective drugs and a completely pragmatic approach to medicine and surgery.

That is a long-winded way of saying that I wanted to get inside the mind of those Old West doctors, like the real-life Dr. George Goodfellow and the fictionalized Doc Galen Adams of Gunsmoke fame.

I keep writing in the genre because I find it intensely exciting to pitch stories back in time, in such a turbulent period of American history.

Not only that, but since joining Western Fictioneers and having the opportunity to work with some legendary names in the business, and contribute to the WF anthologies which are so ably published by Livia Washburn, and the Wolf Creek series pioneered by Troy D Smith, I feel very at home in and around Wolf Creek. I can honestly say that working on the Wolf Creek collaborative novels has been one of the most enjoyable times of my writing career.

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, Doctor Logan Munro?

CM: I guess I might be another town doctor, although I am not sure if my surgical skills are up to those of Logan Munro. I wouldn’t mind being a dentist, or maybe even a foot doctor.

Of course, as a fellow Scot I am sure we would get on, pretty well. He was born in Dundee and I was born in St Andrews, which is just over the River Tay. You may have heard of St Andrews, the home of golf? I went to medical school in Dundee and he went to Edinburgh. Both of us play…

But that is enough for now.

19th Century Surgical Tools

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

CM: I am surprised at the streak of ruthlessness that he has at times. All doctors have to have self-belief. You can’t start an operation and then stop halfway through or start again, for example. But Logan can adopt a line of thought and he sticks to it, even if it might seem in conflict with his chosen profession. I find that a bit scary.

I am also surprised at how much hurt he still has inside him. Until he gets over that, then he probably cannot achieve true happiness.

Oh yes, there are more surprises ahead!

RTW: What would give Doctor Logan Munro the ultimate happiness?

CM: To get over his loss of Helen and find someone to share his life.

RTW: Please set up your excerpt for us.

CM: Doctor Logan Munro has been up half the night treating a young patient. He is just contemplating having some breakfast when a patient, a veteran of the War calls on him. The man is an amputee and he is in agony and desperate for relief from the pain he is feeling in his phantom limb.

Excerpt from
The Oath
by Clay More
a short story in
Hell on the Prairie
Wolf Creek, Book 6

Barclay Patterson wiped some perspiration from his brow and gave a wan smile. ‘That’s a relief to know that I’m not mad.”

Logan crossed the room and picked up a magazine from a pile in the corner. ‘This is the latest issue of Lippincott’s Magazine of Popular Literature and Science,” he explained as he thumbed through it and returned with it folded open at a page. “Curiously, here is an article by Dr Silas Mitchell of Philadelphia. He started up a ‘Stump Clinic’ back there the year after the War ended. He calls them ‘Phantom limbs.’”

Barclay Patterson ran his eye over the page then to Logan’s surprise tossed his head back and laughed. “So I’m not mad,” he said after he stopped laughing. ‘I’m just haunted. Haunted by my own godamned leg!”

Wolf Creek: Hell on the Prairie

Available in print, or ebook at

Amazon | Smashwords 

and soon at other online stores

RTW: Tell us about your other current releases.

CM: I have a couple of medical books coming out this month, one on Understanding and Dealing with Depression and one on Understanding and Dealing with Stroke. Then later in the fall I have a non-fiction book coming out with Skyhorse, called The Tea Cyclopedia. It is all about the drink, its history, its health benefits and some quirky science experiments you can try.

I also have a crime novel that comes out next week, written under my crime writer pen-name of Keith Moray. It is called Death in Transit and is the fifth in a series about Inspector Torquil McKinnon. It is set on the Outer Hebridean island of West Uist. It is a contemporary Scottish crime novel set during a transit of Venus. There is conflict among astronomers and astrologers and the Zodiac Killer is on the loose.

In the western field, I have just contributed to Wolf Creek 4: The Taylor County War. My story The Oath is due out in Wolf Creek 6: Hell on the Prairie, of course. Then later this year I have contributed to Wolf Creek 8: Night of the Assassins, and I am working on a story for the Christmas anthology.

My other main western project is my ebook series of short stories with High Noon Press – The Adventures of Doctor Marcus Quigley. He is a dentist, gambler and bounty hunter on a quest to avenge a murder committed some years ago. The trouble is he has only a few clues about the murderer. The series builds into a complete novel. The third in the series The Covered Trail comes out at the end of June.

RTW: You're definitely keeping yourself busy, especially since you're still doctoring.  Anything else you’d like to add?

CM: I am also halfway through a Clay More novel for Hale, entitled Dry Gulch Revenge. As soon as that is done, I will be writing a novel about Dr George Goodfellow, entitled The Doctor, for the Western Fictioneers West of the Big River series.

And I’ll be writing my next YA novel in the Adventures of Jack Moon series. They are about an Oliver Twist-like orphan set in misty, Victorian London.

RTW: Thanks for being with us today, Clay/Keith.  I loved your story, The Oath, and I'm sure others will love it, too.  Dr. Logan Munro is a fabulous character in the Wolf Creek series.

Readers, for more great stories featuring Clay More's character, Dr. Munro, try all the Wolf Creek books:

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

Contest!

Keith (Clay) will be giving away two books.  The winner of this competition will be chosen at random, from all those who leave a comment on the blog.

Wolf Creek, Book 6: 

Hell on the Prairie

and

Death in Transit 

by Keith Moray

Please just be patient, since these will be coming from England.  Drawing will be held July 6, 9pm Pacific Time.  Be sure to include your email address in your comment.

Thanks to Clay More 

(Keith Souter/KeithMoray) 

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!

#NewRelease Judge on the Run by @KeithSouter #western

Judge on the Run
by Clay More
aka Keith Souter

Wesley Talbot is a respected frontier judge devoted to the law. So why does he adopt the identity of wanted desperado Diamond Jim Chance and go on the run? Why is the ruthless bounty hunter known as The Deacon on a bloodthirsty quest to track down the judge? What dangers lurk in a hidden canyon in the Pintos Mountains? Who is the real mastermind behind a gang of vicious killers? And what secret that leads to a gunpowder-laced showdown lies in the church of a small Mexican village?

The answers to these questions can be found in Judge on the Run, the action-packed novel that's the latest release from acclaimed author Clay More and the Western Fictioneers Library. Previously published as a Black Horse Western by Robert Hale, this newly revised edition is full of excitement and thrills.

Keith Souter aka Clay More

Review:

Judge on the Run is another fine action Western from Keith Souter writing as Clay More. Judge Wesley Talbot is a respected frontier jurist, but when a gang of outlaws raids the town where Wes is stopping over and kidnaps two women, he has to take desperate measures to deliver justice and rescue the prisoners. Complicating matters is the presence of a ruthless bounty hunter known as The Deacon who is on Wes's trail seeking revenge for his brother, who was hanged after being convicted of rape and robbery in Wes's court.

Souter really piles the troubles on his protagonist in this novel and keeps the pressure on with a series of gritty, well-paced action scenes, one of which is a brutal fight between two men in a pit that's very effective. He throws in some nice twists in the plot, including a final one that leads to a dramatic showdown in the church of a Mexican village and a satisfying conclusion.

I'm glad the Western Fictioneers Library has brought out a new edition of Judge on the Run, because I probably never would have had the chance to read it otherwise. And I'm looking forward to reading more from Keith Souter.

~~James Reasoner

Author of Rivers of Gold

  Barnes & Noble Nook Link

Snake Oil & Phrenology by @KeithSouter aka Clay More #Western #Medical

Keith Souter
roleplaying a
Snake Oil Salesman

Snake Oil 

and 

Phrenology

by Keith Souter aka Clay More

Snake Oil

In the great days of the Medicine Shows, peddlers of patent medicines were derogatively called Snake Oil salesmen. It was thought that they were guys who would entertain you with music and a few conjuring tricks, then wheedle money out of you with their claims of wonder cures before disappearing into the night while you writhed in agony after a dose or two of their poisonous nostrums and potions.

In fact, snake oil is a Traditional Chinese Medicine of great antiquity, used as an embrocation to rub on painful parts of the body. It is prepared from the Chinese Water Snake (Enhydris chinensis) and used for all manner of rheumatic and arthritic pain by practitioners. It found its way to America during the time of railroad expansion and was brought by Chinese workers.

Along with many such rubefacients (A rubefacient is a preparation that is applied to the skin and rubbed on. It will produce some skin irritation, which may over-ride the pain from the underlying tissues.) it may have helped, which would account for many ‘medicine shows’ selling it widely. The thing is that it was then usually done with great gusto about its qualities. A good medicine show man would probably extend the list of conditions that any preparation could be used for, the result being that most of these things were ultimately sold as panaceas to cure everything from piles to baldness, and from minor illnesses to the most serious. And the dangers of such salesmanship are all too obvious.

I wrote a story based on this premise in the Western Fictioneers last anthology Six-guns and Slay Bells. It is about a phrenological Snake Oil salesman called Professor Thadeus Saxpuddle. 

Phrenology

For years I have been making a study of the Victorian practice of phrenology and I have built up a small collection of original nineteenth century phrenological texts.

Essentially it was a system devised by Dr Franz Joseph Gall at the end of the eighteenth century, who proposed that the shape of the skull mirrored the convolutions and functions of the brain. The term was derived from the Greek phren, meaning ‘mind’ and logos, meaning ‘study of, or knowledge.’

In this it is notable that phrenology pre-empted the later science of psychology, which is derived from psychos, meaning ‘soul.’ Hence psychology, to be correct, is the study of the soul.

From extensive anatomical studies and empirical observation Gall had concluded that the brain was made up of individual organs or faculties, each of which represented the various temperaments, emotions, mental abilities and controlling functions of the body. By assessing the shape of the skull, the size of its prominences, its lumps and bumps, he came to believe that it was possible to predict an individual’s strengths and weaknesses, their potentials and their failings.

Gradually, phrenologists built up a map of 46 of these faculties arranged over the skull. They grouped them into four main divisions, so that those faculties at the front of the head represented the intellectual functions and those at the back represented the domestic or social faculties. The top of the head included the moral and religious sentiments and the sides were occupied by the animal propensities.

In the Victorian era professional phrenologists set up in consulting rooms like any medical specialist or general practitioner and made good livings. People flocked to them to have their heads read, to see what they should be doing with their lives, and to gain answers in matters of love, business and life in general. Children were taken to see what path of life they should be groomed for.

And it garnered plenty of praise, all across the world. From Vienna to Chicago it gained huge popularity. Indeed, the town of Fowler in Colorado is named after the eminent New York phrenologist, Oscar Fowler.

Four times Prime Minister of Great Britain, William Gladstone said of it:

‘I declare that the phrenological system of mental philosophy is as much better than all other systems as the electric light is better than the tallow dip.’

Inventor Thomas
Alva Edison

The great inventor Thomas Alva Edison said that:

‘I never knew I had an inventive talent until phrenology told me so. I was a stranger to myself until then.’

And even Professor Alfred Russel Wallace, the explorer, geographer, naturalist, anthropologist and biologist, the contemporary of Charles Darwin, whose own work on natural selection made Darwin rush his Origin of Species into print, said:

‘The phrenologist has shown that he is able to read character like an open book, and to lay bare the hidden springs of conduct with an accuracy that the most intimate friends cannot approach.’

Heads for Murder

In establishing its credibility phrenologists looked for ways of demonstrating that the shape of the head, and the size of various prominences could equate with known characteristics. Accordingly, phrenologists took every opportunity to examine and take casts of the heads of famous and celebrated individuals.

Yet a rich source of heads from which phrenologists could make casts came from the gallows. And here all of the deficiencies of moral faculties, or the prominence of hedonistic and greedy ones was portrayed as giving legitimacy to phrenology.

William Calcaft was the most famous English hangman in the Victorian era, who executed over 450 people the length and breadth of the land. He favored the short-drop method, which often left the victim dangling so that they strangled rather than broke their neck. He supplemented his income by selling segments of the rope he used, apparently charging up to a pound an inch. It is probable that he also permitted phrenologists to take casts of the victims after their execution.

Ambrose Lewis Vargo, a London pharmacist and phrenologist wrote a popular book in 1871 entitled Orthodox Phrenology in which he described the head casts of various types of people including many executed murderers. Indeed, at the back of the book he gives a list of phrenological casts ‘suitable for Public or Private Museums, Literary and Scientific Institutions’, priced at 3s 6d, or 30s per dozen. Of the 74 casts available 26 were murderers, including those of the West Port Murderers William Burke and William Hare and their imitators, the body snatchers known as the London Burkers, John Bishop and Thomas Williams.

James Greenacre (1785-1837), the infamous Edgware Road Murderer was a grocer who lived on the Edgware Road. He murdered Hannah Brown, his fiancée and dismembered her body, throwing her head in Regent’s Canal. He was publically hanged at Newgate Prison by the incompetent hangman, William Calcraft. In his book, Vargo depicts Greenacre’s head with a low, prominent forehead, which confirmed Shakespeare saying ‘Foreheads villainous low.’

Marie Manning (1821-1849) was convicted with her husband of murdering her lover, Patrick O’Connor. The case was called The Bermondsey Horror and ended with the public joint hanging of her and her husband by William Calcraft outside Horsemonger Lane Goal. Charles Dickens attended the event and later wrote a letter to the Times, expressing his disgust at the glee that the crowd took at the execution. Vargo has an illustration of Ms Manning’s head in order to illustrate the well developed faculty of ‘Alimentiveness, which can lead to the taking of pleasure in excess. Her gluttony he felt was demonstrated by the hearty breakfast that she ate on the morning of her execution.

Dr William Palmer (1824-1856), known as The Rugeley Poisoner was publically hanged in Stafford in front of a crowd of 30,000. He was convicted of poisoning one person, but was thought to have been a serial killer, perhaps murdering a dozen more. Vargo has an illustration of his death mask and draws attention to the poorly developed moral faculties.

Another phrenologist, Frederick Bridges, studied the heads of several convicted murderers, including William Palmer and William Dove and concluded that the angle between the nose, the ear canal and the brow – ‘the basilar phreno-metrical angle, ’ gave an indication of an individual’s animal propensities. The greater the angle, the greater the animal desires and the less the moral quality. He found that an angle of greater that 35 degrees was a common characteristic in all murders.

Who knows what the equivalent angle was for a Snake Oil salesman?

Win a Signed Hardback Book!

We will be tossing the names of all commenters this week into Keith’s medical bag, from which one name will be pulled out. The winner will receive an original signed copy of the hardback book Raw Deal at Pasco Springs. The drawing will be held Saturday, March 1, at 9pm Pacific Time.

Be sure to check out Clay More/Keith Souter's interview and read an excerpt of Raw Deal at Pasco Springs right here at Romancing The West!

Raw Deal at Pasco Springs is available at

Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Clay More: Raw Deal at Pasco Springs @KeithSouter #Western

Raw Deal at 

Pasco Springs

by Clay More

Romancing The West welcomes Clay More, the alter-ego of Dr. Keith Souter, a multi-talented author who's also an expert on Arthurian legend, gambling games, and oh, by the way, he's a medical doctor. His fiction career started with the children's stories he sold while still in college, but gave way to non-fiction when he took up writing prescriptions and articles for medical journals. Now he writes fiction in four genres and The Western Fictioneers Library is reissuing some of his backlist, starting with the book he's telling us about today. You can find out lots more about Clay More (Keith) at his bio page.

RTW: I'm happy that some of us who missed your books the first time around will get another chance with your reissues through Western Fictioneers Library. WF just released Raw Deal At Pasco Springs a week or so ago. What's it about? I'd love to read the cover copy.

CM: Lady Luck smiled down on ex-lawman Tom Mallory when he won the Diamond T ranch in a poker game. Tom begins to wonder if it was actually bad fortune when he is ambushed and then rides into a gunfight where a hooded man in a long duster coat shoots a man pinned under his horse. Furious at this bushwhacking, Tom takes cards in this deadly game, and soon it starts to look like this gamble is going to be his last hand . . .

In a nutshell, it is a traditional western adventure complete with twists and a romance.

RTW: You’re a doctor, you live in England and have written everything from A Classic Guide to King Arthur to children’s stories, and along the way have some cozy mysteries and more, so I’m curious—why do you write Westerns? What aspect of life in the Old West intrigues you the most? Did you work that into Raw Deal at Pasco Springs?

CM: First of all, thank you for inviting me along.

When I was a kid westerns were everywhere. On TV, at the movies and on every bookstall. The TV shows were good wholesome entertainment. The whole family sat down and watched The Lone Ranger, Have Gun Will Travel, The Cisco Kid, and all of those classics. I never lost that fascination for the Old West and when I first thought of writing a novel, after having written a stack of medical and non-fiction books, it just seemed inevitable that it should be a western.

My pen name, as you may have guessed, reflects that early enthusiasm. It is a homage to Clayton T Moore, the Lone Ranger.

It is the whole idea of the frontier that intrigues me. It was a place that all sorts of folk drifted to, bringing their skills. Journalists, photographers, doctors and gunmen, they could just drift into a remote town and set themselves up. There was something romantic about that. As a doctor I am interested in the history of medicine and surgery and in all of my fiction I use that and drip it into my stories.

RTW: How did you come to picture Tom Mallory? Did he step into your mind fully formed, or was he based on an historical character, or on one of those TV heroes from your youth?

CM: Tom Mallory is based on an historical character, a fifteenth century knight – Sir Thomas Malory, the author of Le Morte D’Arthur, the first English novel to come off William Caxton’s printing press in 1485. I have always been fascinated by Sir Thomas (my editor suggested that his name should become Mallory in the novel), because he was a complex character. He was a soldier, scholar, gambler and adventurer. He was also a ladies man, which landed him in trouble.

But I loved the fact that he was a swashbuckler in the grand tradition. He wrote Le Morte D’Arthur, the great epic about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, during various periods of incarceration. He was a man of martial prowess, for he broke out of prison on two occasions. Once, on 27th July 1451 he escaped and swam across the moat at Coleshill prison. On another occasion in October 1454 he broke out of Colchester by using great skill with a variety of weapons, including sword, daggers and langues-de-boeuf, a type of halberd with a spiked head the shape of an ox-tongue.

That is Tom Mallory, transported to the old West.

RTW: What a fascinating character he is, and I'm glad you brought him to life again in a western. Many in your neck of the woods might not have read a Western. If someone who's new to the 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?

CM: I would suggest watching the movie Little Big Man, starring Dustin Hoffman and Faye Dunaway. Its is about Jack Crab, a 121 year old man recounting his life in the Old West. He sees and interacts with just about everyone in the history of the time, from Wild Bill Hickok to General George Armstrong Custer. He meets snake oil salesmen, gunfighters, and gamblers. He sees life from all aspects. He is raised by Indians, becomes a mountain man, a scout and a gunfighter. We see fights, love affairs, peccadilloes and the whole panoply of life in the Old West.

I think that movie is fun and the numerous adventures, told in an almost Baron von Munchausen manner, show you the rich tapestry that was the frontier.

RTW: Back to Raw Deal in Pasco Springs, why must Tom Mallory take this particular story journey? What does he have to prove? How does Lucinda affect his journey?

CM: I partly explained that earlier, since Tom is a bit like Sir Thomas. He was a lawman, but after Annabelle, an outlaw intending to kill Tom killed his fiancée, he had eschewed the law and became a roving gambler. On his way to Pasco Springs he comes upon an ambush and a man is killed. He feels obliged to pin on a badge and see that justice is done. There is a mystery that he has to solve.

Lucinda and Tom connect straight away and they fall in love. But Tom is scared that something could happen to her, the way that it did with Annabelle. She wants them both to run away and start a new life together, but he has a duty to the town and a hand to play in the trouble that is building up.

RTW: You've brought us an excerpt (thank you!), so please set it up for us.

CM: Tom’s arrival in Pasco Springs with the wounded sheriff causes something of a ruckus, not the least being the fact that he can claim ownership of the Diamond T ranch. He had won it in a card game, much to the surprise of the beautiful widow, Nell Trent, the stepmother of the wastrel who had lost it to Tom.

A local cattle baron immediately offers to buy it from him, to the even greater horror of the beautiful Mrs. Trent. The gambler in Tom suggests a solution.

Excerpt from

Raw Deal in Pasco Springs

by Clay More

A crowd gathered round the table as the clientele of the Longbow sensed that the drama was not yet played out.

‘Aces High – three way cut,’ Tom announced. ‘If Mr Wheeler wins he gets to buy the ranch from me. Mrs Trent wins and she gets to keep the Diamond T, but gives me a steak a day until I decide to hoist leather.’

‘And if you win?’ Nell Trent demanded, her brow beetling in consternation. ‘Don’t you think for one minute that I’m part of the ranch furnishings.’

Tom laughed. ‘No ma’am. If I win I keep the ranch, but you and your stepson stay on to help me run it. No strings attached.’ He took the cards, executed a waterfall shuffle, and then pushed the deck towards Nell Trent.

She pursed her lips, hesitated for a few moments, then cut the deck. She smiled, ‘Queen of Hearts.’

Tom nodded to Sam Wheeler, who cut the Four of Clubs. The rancher scowled. ‘I don’t know what your game is, Mallory…’

‘Gambling!’ replied Tom with a grin. ‘I let Lady Luck decide what’s going to happen.’ And with apparent disinterest he leaned forward and cut the deck to reveal the King of Diamonds. ‘Well now, my favourite one-eyed King. Looks like I win and have myself a lady ranch manager.’

Raw Deal at Pasco Springs is available at

Amazon and Barnes & Noble

RTW: What’s next? Is Raw Deal at Pasco Springs a part of a series? We want to know about your upcoming reissues as well as new books out.

CM: Actually, The Western Fictioneers Library has another four of my westerns stacked up to come out in the future. Two of them are stand alones and the last two are the first two in a series about another character, Jake Scudder.

The next one to come out, I believe, will be Judge on The Run, followed by Double-Dealing at Dirtville. Like Raw Deal they are all mysteries, and things are not at all as they seem. Oh, and they all have love interest in them.

Dr. Logan Munro, my character in the Wolf Creek series is back in Book 4 The Taylor County War, and will also be back in Book 6.

Apart from that I have a couple of medical books coming out in the summer, and a crime novel, the fifth in my West Uist series about Inspector Torquil McKinnon.

And next year I have The Tea Cyclopedia coming out.

RTW: I adored Dr. Munro in Wolf Creek: Bloody Trail, and I'm looking forward to his next appearance.  Thanks for taking time with the RTW readers today.  Anything else you’d like to add?

CM: Yes, you asked about my interests in the Old West, well I am fascinated by Snake Oil salesmen and nineteenth century medicine in general. One of my particular favorite topics is phrenology, which I just happen to be talking about on Thursday.

Win a Signed Hardback Book!

We will be tossing the names of all commenters into Keith’s medical bag, from which one name will be pulled out. The winner will receive an original signed copy of the hardback book Raw Deal at Pasco Springs. The drawing will be held Saturday, March 1, at 9pm Pacific Time.  The winner will have to be patient because the book will be mailed from England.

Be sure to check out Clay More/Keith Souter's article on phrenology this Thursday. You'll learn a lot and Keith's style is always entertaining.

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.

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.