Jul 23

REBLOG: Forum Featuring Western Bestseller Fred Staff

A brand new interview from Fred Staff taken from “Forum.” You can read the original interview by clicking here.

About Fred Staff:

Fred Staff was born in Seminole and raised in Pawnee, Oklahoma His love of history drove him to write books that make history come alive and at the same time gives the reader action and excitement. The numerous reviews he has received on his first book ROCHA’S TREASURE OF POTOSI explains why it is a best seller in Bolivia and highly acclaimed in the USA.

When — and why — did you first fall in love with Westerns?

You must understand that I was raised in the middle of real life Westerns. My father’s office was next door to a saddle shop, in a very small town. I didn’t wait on him in his office; I spent many hours in the saddle shop. It was a hangout for all the farmers and cattlemen of the area, so from the time I was 8 or 9, I heard story after story from the men that were a part of the Western life. This was in the 1940s. Every Saturday, all of us boys had to attend the only movie house in town, and it always was a Western. Your life was a mess for a week if you missed it, and often I went to the same movie twice, the matinee and then that night. It was here that I saw “Shane” for the first time, and it opened my eyes to what a real Western story was. I also remember seeing “Duel in the Sun.” These movies where the good guy didn’t have to sing, wear white hats and ride a fancy horse sent me on the trail of the real West.

I was also raised in Indian Country, and for most of my life, Indian children were classmates and teammates. I visited their homes, and they visited mine. This gave me an insight into their families’ pasts as their parents and grandparents told stories of their early days. One of the most exciting things was attending the Ada, Oklahoma, rodeo. At the time, it was the third largest outdoor rodeo in the world. I rode in the parade several times.

My grandfather was the mayor of Stonewall, Oklahoma, and had been a small rancher. He was friends with Dick Truit and Evert Shaw, residents of the town, and they both were world champion rodeo performers. Through him, I met and visited these real men of the Western world.

We moved to Pawnee, Oklahoma, when I was 13 and Indians in blankets still shopped and visited on the streets. Many of their children and grandchildren were my friends. The town also had an Indian boarding school, and about a fourth of my classmates were from there. At that time, Pawnee had the world’s largest free Indian Pow Wow. I spent many a night watching the dances and mesmerized by the great costumes.

I had this strong background in the love of the West and was an above average history student. My family lived mostly in eastern Oklahoma, and I traveled that part of the country and heard many a story of that area. Many years later, I took three Western history courses from Royce Peterson at the University of Central Oklahoma. He has to have been one of the greatest and most knowledgeable teachers of the period. He and I became friends and spent several hours after class discussing the history of the West. I give him the credit for my LOVE of the West. I was into it, but never had the grasp of the magnitude until learning from him.

About the same time, I came to Bolivia to mine gold. I spent five years coming and going, and in one of those years, I helped build a school in Trinidad, Bolivia, not the island. This city was the center of millions of acres of cattle land, and the city was as if you had gone back in time at least 50 years. It was like the later days of the Old West.

Later I married a Bolivian, and her cousin was a witness to the exhumation of the grave that was thought to be that of the Sundance Kid. By the way, it was not Sundance’s grave. It was the body of an English mining engineer.

Of course, my conversations with Peterson had several times touched on Butch and Sundance, and I returned to the states and we shared more stories about Bolivia and the famous pair.

Who are your three favorite Western writers?

Zane Grey, Max Brand and Jack Schaefer

Which Western do you wish you’d written?

“Shane”

What is the most recent Western you’ve read?

“Riders of the Purple Sage”

The “Desert Island” question. What are your three favorite Western books?

Any of the books by my favorite writers. If I was going to be there a long time, Zane Grey books, because they are very difficult to read and would consume a lot of time.

What are your three favorite Western movies?

“The Outlaw Josey Wales,” “Shane,” “Open Range,” “Unforgiven,” “Culpepper Cattle Company,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” and “Tombstone.” Sorry I can’t name three. Each of these has something special in them that I really liked.

Of the books you’ve written, which is your favorite — and why? 

I would have to say the “Bass Reeves Trilogy.”  I spent hundreds of hours in research on these, and they all became best-sellers. No one is better than the other. In fact, they all have to be read to get a grasp of what a great man he was. I don’t know how many times I thought that his real story was fiction, as he was such an amazing man, so far superior to all of the more talked about Western lawmen.

What is the most recent Western you’ve written?

“Gunfighter’s Revenge”

Can you tell us anything about your next book?

It will be fiction. I love to write historical novels, but I have a request for a fiction book, and it will be about a Civil War sniper who has turned against the evil of the time, because his family has been destroyed physically and financially by the war. He will become known as the Devil by those he hunts. He will ask no quarter and give none.

If you could go back in time, what would be the time and place in the Old West you’d like to have lived in for a year?

The development of Oklahoma. There was more action from 1870 to 1910 here than any place in the U.S. What year is up for grabs? I would think that anyone who survived a year during this time should have gotten a medal.

Is there a question you’d wish I asked? The answer?

Have you written anything other than Westerns, and why?

The answer? Yes, my first book was “Rocha’s Treasure of Potosi.” It became a best-seller, and I spent more than 15 years developing the story. It is set in the most industrialized city in the world during the 1500s and the source of much of the riches of Spain. It is based on the true life of a man that nearly broke Spain and the Catholic Church. I had never written a book of any kind till this, and its great success drove me to write more historical novels. The thing that I tried to do with the story was educate the people of the United States that South America has a history that far surpasses the States’, and events there greatly influenced the States’ history, yet few know anything about it. An example is that the $ sign was based on the mint stamp used in Potosi for the billions of dollars of silver shipped to Spain.

 

THE LATEST WESTERN BESTSELLER:

AVAILABLE NOW FROM FRED STAFF

 

Jul 20

‘Harmon Bidewell: The Town Tamer’ From John D. Fie, Jr. Is Now Available

THE BEST SELLING WESTERN ACTION SERIES HEATS UP!

The Luke Pressor U.S. Marshal Series is campfire hot with the first three books on the Kindle bestsellers list. Now it’s about to get hotter when Harmon Bidewell, “The Town Tamer,” joins the series.

Judge Clarkson receives an urgent letter from the citizens of Cattlemen’s Crossing, begging for help. The town’s sheriff along with his deputy are murdered on the same day.

This normally quiet little town is now without law and quickly turning into just another wild trail town, filled with out of control trailhands.

Judge Clarkson has one name on his mind—he had applied for a job as a deputy marshal, but he has a checkered past. It’s a hard choice for the judge to make. But harsh times call for a harsh man!

 

AVAILABLE NOW

 

Jul 16

New GP Hutchinson Western Novel Coming in Late August 2018!

(From the official GP Hutchinson Website)

Looking for a fresh new angle on stories of the Old West? I believe I’ve got just the thing for you, and it’s coming in late August 2018. My latest novel, Cimarron Jack’s Real Wild West, includes many familiar elements from classic-style Westerns–cattle drives, conflicts between lawmen and outlaws, range wars, etc. But I’ve taken these elements and approached them from a perspective rarely presented in Western novels.

Synopsis

Cimarron Jack Wheatley is just wrapping up a tremendously successful first tour with his very own highly acclaimed “Real Wild west Extravaganza” when his show is stricken by a rapid succession of oddly coincidental setbacks–injuries, formerly satisfied troupe members suddenly quitting, and then a catastrophic train wreck. It soon becomes apparent that someone intends to ruin the business that Jack has invested his entire life into–and end his life, as well. Now, everything that Cimarron jack is supposed to represent as a symbol of Wild west heroism in the show, he is called upon to actually be in the deadly reality of chasing down answers and outlaws.

Don’t Miss It

There’s plenty of rip-roaring Wild West action in this upcoming new novel. I’ve had you, the reader, in mind as I’ve written every page of it. The novel features engaging new Western characters and plenty of fictional drama, adventure, and romance set on an historically accurate stage.

Look for the book in paperback and eBook editions on Amazon in late August!

Jul 16

Western Writing Star Cobb Questions Reviews: “What Is the Gold Standard for Accuracy in Westerns?”

What is the “Gold Standard” when it comes to accuracy in Westerns? All authors of Westerns—of course, myself included—strive to be as historically accurate as they can, even though they are writing novels and not works of nonfiction, biographies or autobiographies. There is a lot of “wiggle room” for authors of Westerns, and rightly so, for any number of reasons.

For instance, were any of us alive when the historical figures we often write about roamed the West and had their adventures? No, we weren’t, and unless they wrote about something they did or were directly quoted, what they said to each other has been lost to the sands of history. But that doesn’t prevent us, us authors, from trying to come up with possible things they might have said, and for the most part, the kind folks who read our humble efforts are fully aware of that. They only expect certain things to be accurate, not every single aspect of what an author has included in his or her novel.

Does this willing suspension of disbelief, as it’s often been called, have exactly the same rules for every fan of Westerns who reads them? No, it does not, except for basically accepted tenets—like cowboys shouldn’t be wielding ray guns (unless it’s maybe a sci-fi crossover, a separate but related topic). They generally wear boots and not shoes like Nikes or high tops, etc.

But as one historical figure I have written about said (at least, I wrote his words, though there’s zero evidence he did say it), “If it was a fair game, I’d play by the rules, and may the better man live to fight another day. But, in this case, it’s definitely not a fair game.”

There is not really any established “Gold Standard” across the board for every Western ever written. In the novel True Grit, by Charles Portis, for instance, people accept that Marshal Rooster Cogburn never really lived, but was a fictional character, based on several other lawmen who lived in Arkansas. The first movie, based on the novel and starring John Wayne, is supposedly set in Arkansas and Oklahoma, but it was filmed in Colorado and included the Rockies as a backdrop in some scenes. Wayne used a Winchester made in 1893, which was not in existence during the time period Portis was writing about. Do any of these facts make the novel less of a classic, beloved by fans of Westerns, or the movie also less beloved by fans of it? I would argue that just because neither the novel nor the movie adhere strictly to facts, that has little bearing on their popularity or the ratings that fans give them.

However, in other cases, like a recent review of The Guns of Heck Thomas, how a fact was interpreted by the reviewer led to the book receiving a rating of three stars at Amazon. Now, three stars is not exactly a terrible rating, but the headline title of the review was: “Heck deserved better.” The review was all of three sentences:

“Well U.S. Deputy Marshals did get rewards! Unless it was a federal warrant. This book fails historical review.”

I did take some pains to try to get as many facts in The Guns of Heck Thomas as accurate as possible. One was regarding whether deputy marshals in Fort Smith under Judge Isaac C. Parker ever received any rewards, other than the pay derived from elements like the numbers of outlaws they arrested and brought in alive, and the miles that they traveled and got reimbursed for, for example.

Deputy marshals in Arkansas were not bounty hunters, in any sense. A couple of park rangers I personally asked about this question, while researching the novel, told me that receiving rewards wasn’t the policy of deputy marshals who plied their trade out of Fort Smith during the 1880s. One newspaper of the era called the “Fort Smith Elevator” made no mention of any rewards that Thomas ever received in the accounts about the arrests that it mentioned and trials he attended, like one in which I write about in The Guns of Heck Thomas, involving surviving members of the Lee Gang from Texas.

Thomas did receive a reward for his part in being a posse member in Texas, and assisting in killing two of the Lee brothers, who both resisted arrest. But he was a private detective then, not a deputy marshal, and I duly mention that in the Western. He split the money with his co-leader of the posse, Deputy Marshal James Taylor, but that was in Texas, not Arkansas, and prior to Thomas moving with his family to Fort Smith.

Then, while a member of the famous trio, the Three Guardians, there is at least one account from a newspaper from the 1890s that he received a reward for his part in bringing a criminal to justice. That was, however, after he began the second part of his career, and each state may have had their own guidelines when it came to such considerations.

Before and during the Civil War, Heck Thomas referred to black people as “darkies.” I wrote in my novel that the war changed him, and afterwards, he came to regard each person based not on the color of his skin, but on his character. Where’s my “proof” he had changed his opinions about black people? I didn’t have any and still don’t have any proof of that. He may have remained just as bigoted and racist, by today’s standards, at any rate, as he’d ever been. But I chose to portray him more heroically, as a more complex and nuanced person, a more three-dimensional one.

Was that doing Thomas a service or a disservice? At least, in my personal opinion, I was attempting to portray him in the best light possible, though I did not leave out that he, like all men, had faults and personal issues, some of which led to his divorce from his first wife.

Even when it came to bounty hunters working out of the Fort Smith area at the time of the 1880s, I was informed by the park rangers I spoke to in downtown Fort Smith that there were some, but a very low number of them—maybe two or three. Their names weren’t disclosed by newspapers to protect their privacy and prevent retaliation.

I believe that a big reason why there weren’t very many bounty hunters in the area was that bounties for criminals were not often offered. Did that stop me from writing about a fictional bounty hunter, Matt “The Boot Collector” Hardy, in my Western, Gunshots On Hell’s Border? No, it did not. It’s a work of fiction, like The Guns of Heck Thomas and my other Westerns.

I welcome any opinions, comments and feedback about what are or should be considered as “Gold Standards” when it comes to Westerns. Please feel free to leave a comment about my musings here, or about any of my Westerns. An individual’s feelings about the books that he or she reads is what’s ultimately important to that particular person, though his or her rating can potentially, of course, influence the future sales of the novel and the income of an author for the better or the worse.

Thank you.

Douglas R. Cobb

Just a question! Have you tried “The Guns of Heck Thomas?”

From Douglas Cobb, the bestselling author of “Crossing the Dead Line: The Guns of Bass Reeves,” and “Men of Iron Will” comes his new hit Western, “The Guns of Heck Thomas.”

When Heck Thomas became a United States deputy marshal, he had already begun a colorful career in law enforcement. His mission to rid the country of despicable outlaws began in Georgia, took him to Texas, and finally to “Hell’s Border,” in the wild town of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Join United States Deputy Marshal Heck Thomas on his quest to avenge injustice throughout Indian Territory. He’ll stop at nothing, even at the expense of his personal life, to hunt down and capture the violent men wreaking havoc in the region.

Meet “The Guns of Heck Thomas” from Douglas R. Cobb.

 

Download your copy today!

Jul 13

Announcing A Brand-New Western Novel From GP Hutchinson

FROM DUSTY SADDLE PUBLISHING

COMING IN LATE AUGUST 2018

 

 

Cimarron Jack Wheatley is just wrapping up a tremendously successful first tour with his very own highly acclaimed “Real Wild West Extravaganza” when his show is stricken by a rapid succession of oddly coincidental setbacks—injuries, formerly satisfied troupe members quitting, and then a catastrophic train wreck. It soon becomes apparent that someone intends to ruin the business that Jack has invested his entire life into–and end his life, as well. Now, everything that Cimarron Jack is supposed to represent as a symbol of Wild West heroism in the show, he is suddenly called upon to actually be in the deadly reality of chasing down answers and outlaws.

Don’t miss the rip-roaring Wild West action in this upcoming new novel from GP Hutchinson!

 

Keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground for details on this exciting new release.

 

  1. Engaging new Western characters
  2. A fresh new angle on classic-style Western storytelling
  3. Fictional drama, adventure, and romance set on an historically accurate stage

 

COMING SOON IN PAPERBACK AND E-BOOK EDITIONS

Check out the Official GP Hutchinson Website 

Jul 12

The Latest In A Long Line Of Western Hits From Paul L. Thompson Has Arrived!

Yes… it’s finally here! The latest hit from super-bestselling Western author Paul L. Thompson. When it comes to Thompson… each of his fifty-nine great Westerns has taken up a residency on the bestseller charts. Each golden hit has given readers the three things they love most about Western adventures…. guns, crime and repentance! “Yer In The Wrong Town Mister,” promises great Western fun! Grab your copy today…. and read the snippet below to discover your next Western adventure!

A Snippet of the New Story:

Shorty was wounded and had lost more than a dab of blood. He was slouched over in his saddle as he rode into Holbrook, Arizona. In front of him tied to their saddles were the Collins brothers. He slid from the saddle in front of the sheriff’s office. Tying Dunnie he told Jody and Jim to get down. ‘Can’t, we’re tied to the saddle horn.”
Shorty didn’t untie the ropes, just cut them with his knife. They dismounted and walked inside. A deputy jumped to his feet. “What’er you doing’ with Jody an’ Jim?”
“Where’s the sheriff?”
“Gone over to Page.”
“I’m lockin’ these fellers up for a spell.”
“Yer in the wrong town Master. This is Frank Collins’ town an’ them are his sons.”
“Are you gonna help er get in the way?”
“Only help I’ll give is get you the doctor, if you don’t pass out first.” Out the door he ran as Shorty locked the boys up and sat down behind the desk.

DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF THIS GREAT NEW ADVENTURE TODAY!

 

U.S. Marshal Shorty Thompson - Yer in the Wrong Town Mister: Tales of the Old West Book 59 by [Thompson, Paul L.]

Jul 11

Six Bullets To Sundown: Volume 13: Now Available For Western Readers

Action, adventure, danger and love come at a high cost on the range. With gun in hand, a bounty hunter can make a name for himself, a sheriff can keep law and order, and a rancher can hold onto his property. With gun in hand, a man must make his mark in the wilderness of Western America…

These are the stories of pioneers, lawmen, bounty hunters and outlaws. These are tales of the Old West written by some of the most popular Western authors of today—six brands of steel from Michael Haden, Jim Burnett, M. Allen, Scott Harris, Michael D. Abbott and Robert Andrews. Six electrifying, intense, action-packed Western stories that will keep you riding, shootin’ and hunting down the outlaw in your neighborhood.

With the thirteenth volume of “Six Bullets to Sundown,” you will find that the West has never been more alive. Now ride, cowboy, and be a part of how the West was won!

Other titles by these Western authors are also available.

 

Purchase your copy today by clicking here!

Jul 10

New Western Release: “Jackson Sutton: An Assassin To Kill For” Is Now Available For Pre-Order

The highly anticipated follow up to the top ten bestseller “A Sheriff To Kill For” has now been made available for pre-order! This is one Western you won’t want to miss!

Jackson Sutton had always been the brother who went his own way. After cutting a bloody swath of revenge across the Texas territory with his family, Jackson sought to make his own fortune doing what he did best—killing. For years, he’d kept his brothers separate from his life as the top assassin within the network of skilled killers known as The Eighth Circle. But when one of his fellow agents double crosses the Eighth Circle, threatening to take down the whole enterprise, they call in Jackson to face the only man who might be able to kill him, Gabriel Dubois, and protect the woman he’s loved for years.

Hannah Baldwin lived a life of high status, money, and death. Known in the underground as Lady Black, she has earned her own reputation as a top assassin not to be trifled with. But when Gabriel Dubois, a former flame, comes after her family and the business they’ve built, she is forced into calling upon the one man she vowed never to see again—Jackson Sutton. The distance and years between them has done nothing to rid her of her feelings for him. Now faced with being hunted down, she has to put her trust in the man who broke her heart years ago. As the two of them team up to turn from hunted to hunters, can they stay away from each other long enough to remain alive under Gabriel’s hot pursuit? Click here to pre-order your copy of this great new Western today!

Jul 09

Brand New, Exciting Release From Western Writer Watts: “The Riders of Pecos County”

Watts Years of Golden Success

With Dusty Saddle Publishing

 

 

 

(Taken From “The Riders of Pecos County)

“Since the first time David Watts decided to write a western we all knew, at Dusty Saddle Publishing, that he would meet with great success. Not only does David have the style and the ability to portray characters—he has the storylines. Ask David Watts to come up with a storyline and he can do it in seconds. Ask him to put together a book and he can do it in weeks. Ask him to write a series and he can come up with a concept that will set fire to that TNT resting in your pocket. He’s a true, bona-fide talent that only seems to get better, and better.

Since his first book, included in this collection, was released he has written several yarns worthy of your attention. His western adventures are rarely out of the top one hundred bestsellers—and there’s even a talk of a TV series created from the fruits of Watts labor. It’s all go, go, go on the Watts front.

And yet, here we are holding a book filled with his stories and a staff writer at DSP is rambling on and on… lets just go over the biographical details. Watts writes westerns, he has sold a bundle of them and lives in California. He enjoys jazz and folk music, he grew up in Texas and he likes to write poetry when he’s not writing fiction. He’s a gas to spend time with on the phone and he’s got a killer intellect.

He’s one helluva guy and we all hope you enjoy these new stories.”

 

Grab Your Copy Today!

 

For the first time! The complete western collection from David Watts!

It’s kill, or be killed, for a gun slinging bounty hunter who always catches his man. This is the new action-packed Western from award-winning author David Watts! 

After a dramatic gunfight with an Outlaw, Marshal Luke, is hired by a local Governor who has been plagued by high crime in a state bordering Mexico. With roving gangs of murderers flooding across the border—the Governor made an election promise to get elected. He would hire the toughest gunfighter to rid the state of crime… He gives the Marshal one order. Remove the filth from my state… anyway you can!

The Marshal has a hard task ahead of him—but with the help of a lady in need, and some good folks who want their state cleaned up—he takes the criminals on. Above the law, with a gun in his hand, the Marshal goes to war and all who stand before him have two choices… SURRENDER… OR DIE!

This action led Western features a ton of lead, a Bounty Hunter with a bad attitude and a lot of dead BAD GUYS! Ride as Marshal Luke leads the way through three of his greatest adventures and more action than you can find bullets to fight! You can download your copy for 99 cents by clicking here.

Jul 06

Fie, Hanlon And Dusty Saddle Publishing Are… The Guns of U.S. Lawmen

Five of the biggest authors have been pulled together to create the new Dusty Saddle Publishing anniversary collection! It’s been two years of great success– so now you can get five great novels for the price of one!

From The Collection:

“Dusty Saddle Publishing is a Western publishing house devoted to one thing—great Western stories. Whether those stories are from a known author, or from a new guy—we are devoted to taking that story and turning out a book that we know our readers will love.

Over 2018 we have been busy with our catalogue of authors. We have released nearly two hundred titles. Of those titles we have seen over three quarters hit the bestseller charts. We introduced a series of mutli-author collections called “Six Bullets to Sundown” and saw twelve volumes of that series hit the bestseller charts. We have turned out audiobooks, paperbacks and now we are energized—because it’s our anniversary. This is the second-year anniversary for a company that has moved millions of pages of books for our authors.

It’s a celebration—but also a chance to look back at our momentous year of success. We would like you to join us as we celebrate, and remember—if you are a storyteller with a story you feel our readers would like to read… you can contact us at any time by emailing dustysaddlepublishing@gmail.com. No promise of wealth and fame—but our guarantee to listen to you and help you the best we can.

Anyway—read our stories and see what you think. We love them all— our authors are fantastic storytellers, and we are proud to share them with you today.”

AVAILABLE NOW FROM AMAZON