If you tried to purchase Western Stories the last few days from Amazon, you will know that it was not available. I had one typo error in it that just didn't help any, so I have been changing the manuscript to make it right. I saw the error before and made the change, but somehow, ghosts or something, put in the wrong thing. You now strange things happen once in a while using a computer.
Anyway, the new book is available now or it will be in two or three days, as soon as Amazon gets it up for sale. Sorry, the price was raised about 50 cents to $5.48 to accommodate the new size. Five pages were added even though nothing much was changed. The new Kindle version will be up in a few days, too. I still have to make the change on that one, and price may go up a few cents.
Have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING and enjoy the turkey and ham.
Thursday, November 24, 2016
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Oakley Hall, Author
Oakley Maxwell Hall (1920-2008), born in San Diego, CA, served in the U. S. Marines during WWII. His most famous book, Warlock, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1958. Other Westerns he wrote are The Adelita (1975), The Badlands (Legends West) (1978), The Children of the Sun (1983), The Coming of the Kid (1985), and Apaches (Legends West) (1986).
It was almost twenty years between his first Western, Warlock, and his second, The Adelita. Hall wrote Adelita and his four other Westerns from 1975 to 1986. He wrote the Ambrose Bierce series of detective novels between 1998 and 2005. His other novels, including mysteries, were published between 1949 and 2007. There were fifteen of those, including Corpus of Joe Bailey, which is the only Oakley Hall book I have read as I try to remember. It is a story of experiences (fictional or otherwise) in WWII and moves to the college years after the war. Hall also wrote under the pen names of "O. M. Hall" and "Jason Manor".
I just watched one of his interviews on YouTube, Story Hour in the Library - Oakley Hall and Michael Chabon. In it, Hall tells how he first got interested in Westerns, which I though was quite funny. His interest came from a stranger who looked like he may be a cowboy near his family's home. The stranger turned out to be Stuart Lake, author of Wyatt Earp - Frontier Marshal.
Warlock was made into a movie starring Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark, and Anthony Quinn. Hall also wrote the novel The Downhill Racers, which was made into a movie starring Robert Redford.
Info from Wikipedia and YouTube.
It was almost twenty years between his first Western, Warlock, and his second, The Adelita. Hall wrote Adelita and his four other Westerns from 1975 to 1986. He wrote the Ambrose Bierce series of detective novels between 1998 and 2005. His other novels, including mysteries, were published between 1949 and 2007. There were fifteen of those, including Corpus of Joe Bailey, which is the only Oakley Hall book I have read as I try to remember. It is a story of experiences (fictional or otherwise) in WWII and moves to the college years after the war. Hall also wrote under the pen names of "O. M. Hall" and "Jason Manor".
I just watched one of his interviews on YouTube, Story Hour in the Library - Oakley Hall and Michael Chabon. In it, Hall tells how he first got interested in Westerns, which I though was quite funny. His interest came from a stranger who looked like he may be a cowboy near his family's home. The stranger turned out to be Stuart Lake, author of Wyatt Earp - Frontier Marshal.
Warlock was made into a movie starring Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark, and Anthony Quinn. Hall also wrote the novel The Downhill Racers, which was made into a movie starring Robert Redford.
Info from Wikipedia and YouTube.
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Oakley Hall's Warlock
Warlock is a long western novel, 471 pages, and as the back cover says: "Oakley Hall's legendary Warlock revisits and reworks the traditional conventions of the Western to present a raw, funny, hypnotic, ultimately devastating picture of American unreality."
Warlock, the town, is Tombstone. It was having troubles with the San Pablo cowboys and the town committee decides to bring in Clay Blaisdell to to take over as Marshal. Threre was a list of sheriffs and deputies written on the wall of the jail as an informal memorial to those who got killed or left town in a hurry to avoid being killed. The committee hopes that Blaisdell and the new sheriff, Joe Gannon, will get rid of Abe McQuown and his cowboys. I found it interesting when Kate Dollar shows up, former girlfriend of Blaisdell and the bar owner, Morgan, the plot thickens. Then there are the miners who go on strike because their wages are lowered. General Peach comes into town with a bunch of empty wagons and couple of companies of soldiers to carry the miners out of town. McQuown gets shot and everyone thinks Joe Gannon did it. It's a long story, so this review will be short. Near the end, Gannon has to "post" Blaisdell, that is tell him he has to leave town and never come back. Does he do it? They have a duel at sunset. There is also a Gunfight at the Acme Corral earlier and lots more action.
The story deserves five stars for its wit, humor, action, and etc. My copy is a New York Review book.
Warlock, the town, is Tombstone. It was having troubles with the San Pablo cowboys and the town committee decides to bring in Clay Blaisdell to to take over as Marshal. Threre was a list of sheriffs and deputies written on the wall of the jail as an informal memorial to those who got killed or left town in a hurry to avoid being killed. The committee hopes that Blaisdell and the new sheriff, Joe Gannon, will get rid of Abe McQuown and his cowboys. I found it interesting when Kate Dollar shows up, former girlfriend of Blaisdell and the bar owner, Morgan, the plot thickens. Then there are the miners who go on strike because their wages are lowered. General Peach comes into town with a bunch of empty wagons and couple of companies of soldiers to carry the miners out of town. McQuown gets shot and everyone thinks Joe Gannon did it. It's a long story, so this review will be short. Near the end, Gannon has to "post" Blaisdell, that is tell him he has to leave town and never come back. Does he do it? They have a duel at sunset. There is also a Gunfight at the Acme Corral earlier and lots more action.
The story deserves five stars for its wit, humor, action, and etc. My copy is a New York Review book.
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Happening Now
In case you haven't been reading my Wordpress blog, Cattle Dust, Western Stories IS NOW AVAILABLE in print for $4.99 at the Createspace e-store and Amazon.com. If you haven't read these stories, now is your chance to grab them all in one place. They are not your common, ordinary western-type story with gunfights, brawls, etc., although there is some of that. Butch Cassidy is in a couple of them and some fictional local folklore and the experiences (fictional) of my great-great-grandfather working for the Pawnee Indian Agency and traveling to Utah in 1847. I hope you find them interesting and entertaining.
The book is also available for $3.99 on Kindle, too. Rush right over and get yourself a copy of print or e-book. Thanks much!
The book is also available for $3.99 on Kindle, too. Rush right over and get yourself a copy of print or e-book. Thanks much!
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Things to do until Christmas in Arizona
Thanks to the AAA magazine, Highroads, for the events listed below. Some are amazing and some are just great to attend:
Nov 11 - Bob and Bing's Road to Victory in Gilbert, AZ. A tribute to veterans, it re-creates a Bob Hope USO show, amazing! At the Higley Center, 4132 E. Pecos Road.
Nov 11-Dec 3 - Flagstaff Festival of Trees in Flagstaff. Your chance to see fully decorated Christmas trees and make a bid on raffle items. HOO-YAA! At the Arboretum at Flagstaff, 4001 S. Woody Mountain Road.
Nov 12-13 - Gem and Mineral Show, Lake Havasu City. If you like jewelry, this is it! The City Aquatic Center, 100 Park Ave. You know that place by the lake and the rental boat sites.
Nov 18-20 - Art Attack Fine Arts Festival in beautiful downtown Sahuarita. Original handrafted artwork at the Desert Diamond Casino, 1100 W. Pima Mine Road. Gamble and view fine art and have a steak and baked potato. Sounds good to me.
Nov 19 - American Heritage Festival, Queen Creek, AZ. The West's largest living history event, meet George Washington, watch battle reenactments, etc., at Schnepf Farms, 24810 S. Rittenhouse Road. Amazing!
Nov 25-26 - Old Pearce Festival, Pearce, AZ. Where zat? It's a ghost town brought back to life with bluegrass and country music and much more. A fine entertainment! 905 Ghost Town Trail.
Dec 3 - Tombstone Tour of Homes & More 2016 in Tombstone, of course. A really fun place to catch up on old homes, public buildings, churches, and the like at Wyatt's Hotel and Coffee House, 109 S. 3rd Street.
Dec 17 - Somerton Tamale Festival in Somerton, AZ. 85,000 tamales to gorge yourself with, a spicy, hot delight! Right on Main Street!
Dec 31 - New Year's Eve Boot Scootin' Bash, Kingman, AZ. Scrape a shin at 414 N. Toole Ave and have a gourmet dinner! Can't beat that!
See more in the magazine, too.
Nov 11 - Bob and Bing's Road to Victory in Gilbert, AZ. A tribute to veterans, it re-creates a Bob Hope USO show, amazing! At the Higley Center, 4132 E. Pecos Road.
Nov 11-Dec 3 - Flagstaff Festival of Trees in Flagstaff. Your chance to see fully decorated Christmas trees and make a bid on raffle items. HOO-YAA! At the Arboretum at Flagstaff, 4001 S. Woody Mountain Road.
Nov 12-13 - Gem and Mineral Show, Lake Havasu City. If you like jewelry, this is it! The City Aquatic Center, 100 Park Ave. You know that place by the lake and the rental boat sites.
Nov 18-20 - Art Attack Fine Arts Festival in beautiful downtown Sahuarita. Original handrafted artwork at the Desert Diamond Casino, 1100 W. Pima Mine Road. Gamble and view fine art and have a steak and baked potato. Sounds good to me.
Nov 19 - American Heritage Festival, Queen Creek, AZ. The West's largest living history event, meet George Washington, watch battle reenactments, etc., at Schnepf Farms, 24810 S. Rittenhouse Road. Amazing!
Nov 25-26 - Old Pearce Festival, Pearce, AZ. Where zat? It's a ghost town brought back to life with bluegrass and country music and much more. A fine entertainment! 905 Ghost Town Trail.
Dec 3 - Tombstone Tour of Homes & More 2016 in Tombstone, of course. A really fun place to catch up on old homes, public buildings, churches, and the like at Wyatt's Hotel and Coffee House, 109 S. 3rd Street.
Dec 17 - Somerton Tamale Festival in Somerton, AZ. 85,000 tamales to gorge yourself with, a spicy, hot delight! Right on Main Street!
Dec 31 - New Year's Eve Boot Scootin' Bash, Kingman, AZ. Scrape a shin at 414 N. Toole Ave and have a gourmet dinner! Can't beat that!
See more in the magazine, too.
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