In March of 1872, the American Civil War had officially been over for seven years. Texas had been re-admitted to the Union in March of 1870, and the issues with the Indians had been largely resolved in the state during the previous two years. However, crime was rampant. It was so bad in some areas, the Governor of Texas had formed a special state-wide police force.

It was in this environment that Johnny Black accepts a new challenge. He takes on the position of Deputy Sheriff in Medina County, Texas. West of San Antonio and not far north of the border with Mexico, the area is largely agrarian. He expects to deal with rustlers and thieves, many from the San Antonio area, but doesn’t count on making an enemy of a relentless, vengeful, cold-blooded killer or a gang of Mexican renegades who have no regard for the laws of any country.
Along the way, a con-man, a gunfighter and a stranger intent on avenging his wife’s murder test Johnny’s abilities. Ride along as Johnny, his family and friends experience the terror, the joys and heartbreak of life. Gunfights, romance and intrigue merge to make 1872 a year to remember in Johnny Black’s world.

The Old West. A time of man’s bravery and fears. A place where a man needed every ounce of his strength to survive. A barbaric time. A better time. It is a place we call the Old West. This is an exciting adventure in that dangerous, yet dramatic and exciting place.

A powerful new series from John D. Fie, Jr. continues! Morgan Deerfield finds out his quest for peace is not easy after gaining the reputation as a notorious and deadly shootist that spanned fourteen years. Morgan realizes now that his desire for peace is much harder, as each day brings him a new challenge.

Morgan Deerfield’s quest for peace so far has been a difficult one, with two attempts having been made on his life within the past year. But Morgan remains firm in his resolve, in the hopes that one day, the long shadow he casts will be erased and peace will come. But then, he begins to see death on the horizon…

Recently, with so many authors writing such successful books, I’ve started thinking deeply about the authors who have these great successes. What is it about certain authors who become successful? What is it about their personality that makes them so receptive to success? I’ve come to the conclusion that a lot of it comes down to… attitude.

Inside the minds of some authors, there is a fundamental problem with accepting fate and accepting the success of their fellow authors. Sometimes we see jealousy or misguided anger at the success of others. Sometimes there’s melancholy and the wishes— “I wish my book was doing so well.” It could be said that these authors think only about themselves. They behave in a way that makes it difficult to cross-promote them; they only ask about their own projects, their own successes and failures, and things that… well, things that concern them. It’s a crying shame when we have this genre growing every single day, with more authors and readers arriving at the door of the genre each passing moment. Why would anyone not want to reach out to these people?

On the other hand, let’s look at many of the authors who find huge success with Western readers. Now, those people tend to be less interested in the gain, less interested in the self, less interested in their own achievements (or lack thereof or abundance of). They think in a wider, productive way. “What can we do to sell more Westerns across the board?” they will ask. “Who is writing what?” “Where can I read this?” “Can I write a foreword for that book?” “Can I help that author out?”

Time and time again, these are the two philosophies that clash every single day, and recently I’ve been working on something new. It’s called “ask about others.” In the morning when I get up, I usually find my inbox crammed to the rafters with emails and messages that, in many cases, are author-centric. They are just about the author themselves—what they like, don’t like, don’t want, do want, etc… And then there are the emails and messages where the author talks about the genre, the authors he’s enjoyed reading, a great story line an author had, the authors he’s met, so on and so forth. So… from here on in, I’ve been asking all authors to come up with at least one thing per conversation that focuses on something other than their own books.

The sky, the weather, the heat, the waves, the end of the world—whatever—but by doing this, I believe what has worked well for some authors who have had great success (which, I believe, was caused to some degree by their interest in the world outside of themselves) can occur across the genre. Yes—we are looking for a change of attitude across the board.

Case study: A recent author who is a good friend of mine never once asked about other authors who were releasing books, authors who were writing good stories. He focused exclusively on his own projects. Those projects were mildly successful, but nothing to brag about. Once we started to talk of things far and wide, across the board, he loosened up with his solo-obsession, and things started happening. He understood more of what was going on within the genre, more of what was popular with readers, more of his role as an author. And believe me—authors have a role much greater than just putting words on paper with an eye for hoping it sells. Authors have a duty to entertain readers, and give readers the best they can produce in order to entertain, educate and enlighten the audience. To bring a smile to the audience’s face! It goes far deeper than just selling books.

So, if you find that you’re constantly talking about your own books, or constantly bemoaning that readers aren’t reading your books, that you aren’t getting the sales you want, or that nobody is interested in what you have to say—try flipping over that apple and start widening your thought process. Could it do any harm?

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on this article, and I’d love to hear about books you’ve enjoyed reading lately. You can contact me through the form below.

NOW AVAILABLE: “BUFFALO DANCE”

(Cimarron Jack Western Series Book 3)

Cimarron Jack Wheatley is one of 1890s America’s most popular Wild West show stars, and a visiting European royal must have him as chief scout on a goodwill buffalo hunting expedition on the high plains of Colorado. The visiting monarch wants the whole Frontier West experience, Indians included. Conflicts are inevitable from the outset, however, when the U.S. State Department assigns Colonel Phil Gunnison to provide security for the foreign dignitary. Gunnison’s disdain for Wild West performers is exceeded only by his love of the bottle and his hatred of Indians. When an unidentified assassin makes an attempt on the life of the expedition’s royal guest of honor, accusations fly, and factions take to fighting in defense of their claims of innocence. The resulting confusion and distrust make it even easier for the determined conspirators to take another shot at their target. Will Jack, working without the benefit of a badge, manage to identify and stop the assassins before innocent guests—in addition to the visiting royal—face an untimely death?

The second book in this bestselling Western series from William H. Joiner, Jr.

Jake Jackson was a legend in the Old West. His ability with a gun was unmatched. His name brought hope to the oppressed and sent shivers of fear up the spines of outlaws. Jake Jackson was equally as revered among the Comanche where he was raised from an infant to become the Comanche Warrior, White Wolf. There were many songs sung around campfires in Comanche villages praising his fierceness in battle.

Jake Jackson could revert back to his Comanche ways in the blink of an eye when the situation demanded no mercy to those preying on the weak or unprotected.

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. – July 22, 2019 – PRLog — ‘Branson Hawk – United States Marshal: The Wichita Connection’ is the first book in a brand new Western series from Randall Dale. His second book “United States Marshal: Dead Man’s Gold” was recently released.

This new series opens with an attempt on Marshal Hawk’s life by an unknown gunman, along with a mysterious telegram from Wichita, written to the would-be killer, along with a second telegram with the name of Hawk’s sworn enemy, Deputy James Cartwell, on it as another target for assassination.

The second book in the series, “Dead Man’s Gold” sees Branson Hawk agreeing to assist a beautiful woman retrieve her dead brother for burial back home, but the accidental death begins to look suspicious because a fortune in gold is missing. Hawk is thrown into a covert investigation with multiple suspects and danger at every turn. The deeper into the mystery he delves, the more he realizes that no one can be trusted. And the beautiful woman? Well, this is a story about U.S. Marshal Branson Hawk. He always gets his man, but will he get the woman?

This new number one success comes as Dusty Saddle Publishing and Outlaws Publishing hold a monopoly on Western bestsellers with Mike Mackessy (Broken Dog Ranch), Gary Church (Good Man—Bad Enemy), Paul L. Thompson (Kill Every Witness), Jim Burnett (Persistent Justice), Scott Harris (Stagecoach Willy: 600 Bloody Miles), C. Wayne Winkle (The Searcher), William H. Joiner, Jr. (The Legend of Jake Jackson), Gene Turney (The Little Ranch in Texas), C. Emerson Law (Frontier Marine), Robert Hanlon (Timber: United States Marshal), John D. Fie, Jr. (Marshal of the Old West) and many others already at, or heading toward, bestseller status.

The third book in this hit Randall Dale series will be released in the near future. “I know the story has to go on,” Dale commented. “I can’t stop it now—look out for the next book in the very near future.”

You can purchase your copy of the first two books in the “Branson Hawk: U.S. Marshal” series from Amazon.com. You can also learn more by emailing Nick@nickwale.org.

You can read the original press release by clicking here.

There’s always a need for innovation in the book business, and the Western genre is no exception. So far this year, we have seen a new wave of authors taking risks and making a name for themselves in our industry. Names like William H. Joiner, Jr., Gary Hinson, C. Emerson Law, have scored hits—and keep those readers excited, interested and ready for the next adventure.

The ability of the modern author to write quickly and meet deadlines has been proven time and time again. That’s why it was decided that two authors would start put together two new Western TV-style series in book form. Jim Burnett was chosen to write his “Justice on the Frontier” series, which is currently on the fourth episode. Fred Staff was chosen to write the other series. The title? “Capital Punishment.” The first episode will be released next week.

Two action-packed episodic series from Dusty Saddle Publishing will allow readers to indulge week in and week out. These micro-novels are formulated just as though they were a television series—a self-contained story within a bigger storyline. Each of these series will last a full season—fifteen episodes long—and each will produce a new book to be released weekly.

The nature of such a series is not new. Periodicals have been of value to readers since the advent of the book—but it hasn’t been attempted in the Western genre for a long, long time. Furthermore, it was decided that two authors with a proven track record of speed would be needed to make these series work. Jim Burnett and Fred Staff are those authors. With the first four episodes from Jim Burnett’s “Justice on the Frontier” series now on the bestseller chart—it may very well be proven that the choices were correct, and that the readership has an interest in such a series.

What will come next? Well—hopefully a full TV series for everyone to enjoy on a Saturday night. Surely, the recent successes of the Western genre are proving that there truly is an appetite for a traditional Western TV series.

Western readers need not despair either if they are looking for full length novels to read. Brand new releases from Scott Harris (Stagecoach Willy: Wounded, Hunted and Alone), GP Hutchinson (Buffalo Dance), and Dylan Johnson (Guns on the Texas Plain) were released this week. Two heavy hitters for those who like those long reads.

Stagecoach Willy and Ten are known respectively as the best stagecoach driver and shotgun messenger in the West, but they’re struggling to retire and enjoy life from somewhere other than a stagecoach front bench.

So, when longtime friend—and more than that to Ten—gets word to them that they’re the only two men in the world she can trust, and that she’s been shot and is close to death, they don’t hesitate to jump into the deadliest situation either of them has ever faced.

Hunted, Wounded & Alone is the second book in the new Stagecoach Willy series, following the successful first book, 600 Bloody Miles, brought to you by Scott Harris, who is the creator and author of the tremendously successful Brock Clemons and Caz: Vigilante Hunter series.