Wolf Creek Characters #2 Sheriff G.W. Satterlee

As we approach the official release of the first installment of Western Fictioneers' Wolf Creek series, available on Sept. 1, I'll be giving brief descriptions of some of our fictional towns' inhabitants.

(NOTE: the book is already available at amazon and barnesandnoble )

First, though, this excerpt from the review of our book at Singular Points, the blogsite of Charles Rutledge, sets the stage for what the series is all about:

"Wolf Creek: Bloody Trail is the first in a series of 'collaborative novels' by a host of Western writers, all members of the group Western Fictioneers. Sort of a cross between the old Thieves' World books and an ensemble TV show, the book features a host of protagonists, each written by a different writer. It's a nifty idea and if upcoming books are as high quality as Bloody Trail, then sign me up for the long haul...

"... The whole crew work under the collective house name of Ford Fargo. These aren't all the writers (or characters) though who will appear in upcoming books. The whole list reads like a who's who of current Western fiction..."


I'd also like to present an excerpt from an amazon review by best-selling western author Peter Brandvold:

"This is a collaborative western novel, so I was a little worried going in that it might read unevenly. After all, one of the best in the business, James Reasoner, heads up a cast of mostly newcomers and lesser knowns from a western-writing group called the Western Fictioneers. But after I got into the book, Ford Fargo became his own man--the book read as though written by one crafty writer. There is a lot of background, not a whole lot of action, in the beginning, but it's worth the wading, because each of the characters in this tale--as well as the town of Wolf Creek itself--leaps off the page with depth and dimension, giving the reader an action-packed story with characters you really do care about and pull for--as well as against. The gritty, authentic details suck the reader right into the scene... Give Wolf Creek and newcomer Ford Fargo a shot. You'll be glad you did. Top shelf Western adventure!"



Today I will introduce you to two more of Wolf Creek's citizens- one that is written by a Western Fictioneers author as "his" character, and another that is part of the ensemble supporting cast that all the writers share.

SHERIFF G.W. SATTERLEE
(JAMES REASONER)

Here is James Reasoner's description of his character:

"The Taylor County sheriff is G.W. (for George Washington) Satterlee, a former buffalo hunter and army scout who has wound up in law enforcement. Since sheriff is an elected office, he's mastered the political process well enough to get elected and can gladhand when he needs to, but in times of stress the rougher edges of his earlier life can still come out, sometimes when he doesn't want them to. He's tall, lean, middle-aged, and I see James Coburn when I think of him. Satterlee is honest (for the most part), a little vain, and tough enough that you don't want to have him looking for you if you're an outlaw. He leaves most of the day-to-day administrative duties of the office to his chief deputy because it's more fun to be out galloping around."

EXCERPT

G.W. Satterlee stretched, yawned, and then wearily

scrubbed a hand over his face. He was getting too old for

this. He had a comfortable bed in his house back in Wolf

Creek, and yet he'd spent the night sleeping on the hard

ground, just like in the days when he'd been hunting

buffalo or scouting for the army.

But, at least he'd woken up this morning, he reminded

himself...

The hour was well before dawn. A faint band of gray

tinged the eastern horizon. A few yards away from the

spot where Satterlee had spread his bedroll, Charley

Blackfeather was poking the embers of the fire to life.

"I'll have some coffee boiling soon, Sheriff," the

Seminole said.

"And I'll be more'n happy to drink some of it,"

Satterlee replied. "Obliged to you, Charley. Quiet night,

wasn't it?"

"Real quiet," Blackfeather said. "Except for the

wounded men moanin' now and again. But in war, that

qualifies as quiet, I reckon."

"I didn't know we were at war," Satterlee said as he

hunkered on his heels and held out his hands to warm

them in the glow of the flames that had sprung up. It got

chilly at night, out here on the plains. "I thought we were

just chasin' down a band of murderin' outlaws."

"Same thing. It's all killin'."

Satterlee shrugged and said, "You may be right about

that."

JAMES REASONER is one of the most respected names in Western fiction. He has more books than you can shake a stick at, but I especially recommend the Redemption, Kansas series.

WARD SPARKMAN
(SUPPORTING CHARACTER)

Sparkman is the owner of the Crown-W. He is a gruff, tough 60-yr-old who has been in Kansas for 30 years, since the early days of the Oregon Trail- he came from his native Kentucky in 1841 to establish a waystation for westward migrants. This eventually grew into the largest ranch in the region. Sparkman has fought off Indians, the elements, and his own neighbors. He is used to having things his own way, and is ruthless.

Ward Sparkman's wife died of fever 15 years ago. His eldest son was killed by Cheyennes; middle child, a daughter, went to school in Philadelphia and never came back; his youngest son was killed at Pea Ridge during the war (he was Union.) The closest thing he has to family is his foreman, Jake Andrews. Jake is in his early 30s, a Texan, and very capable.

Description, from Book I: "A barrel-chested man was in the lead, white hair to his shoulders, his gray porkchop whiskers askew and bone-white handlebar mustache drooping, his blue eyes cold, hard and unflinching. He dismounted, seemingly having been more comfortable in the saddle than on foot, and walked over and extended a ham-sized, well-calloused hand to Spike."

Wolf Creek Characters: #1

As we approach the release of the first installment of Western Fictioneers' Wolf Creek series, available on Sept. 1, I'll be giving brief descriptions of some of our fictional towns' inhabitants.

First, though, this excerpt from the review of our book at Singular Points, the blogsite of Charles Rutledge, sets the stage for what the series is all about:

"Wolf Creek: Bloody Trail is the first in a series of 'collaborative novels' by a host of Western writers, all members of the group Western Fictioneers. Sort of a cross between the old Thieves' World books and an ensemble TV show, the book features a host of protagonists, each written by a different writer. It's a nifty idea and if upcoming books are as high quality as Bloody Trail, then sign me up for the long haul...

"... The whole crew work under the collective house name of Ford Fargo. These aren't all the writers (or characters) though who will appear in upcoming books. The whole list reads like a who's who of current Western fiction..."


Today I will introduce you to two of Wolf Creek's citizens- one that is written by a Western Fictioneers author as "his" character, and another that is part of the ensemble supporting cast that all the writers share.

ANGUS "SPIKE" SWEENEY
(L. J. Martin)

Spike Sweeney is the town blacksmith.

“Over six feet tall, 175 lbs lean, long muscled, well defined. Left handed. Early forties. Square jawed with a broken bent nose.Irish German, ¼ Choctaw. Speaks German, enough Spanish, and some Choctaw, as well as English, yet reads and writes with trouble. Quiet spoken: yep and nope, yes’m and no ma’am about it, unless he’s in his cups; but quick to anger. Black hair, gray sideburns, ice blue eyes. Scarred across forehead and left cheekbone from almost-blocked saber slash, eyebrow healed slightly off from one side to the other, but otherwise handsome. Slight limp in right leg from a close cannon strike.

Works in butternut pants, knee high elk skin moccasins, and an elk skin vest with ties not buttons, normally with no shirt unless a woman enters his shop, when he retires to don a one. Wears a butternut wool Confederate Kepi with a Davis Guard Medal pinned above the eye shade and invites comments, which might just be met with an iron bender’s grip on the throat and a pounding left to the proboscis. Considered a hero of the Davis Guards and the defense of Sabine Pass. Usually unarmed, but is deadly within twenty feet with his hammer, and can split hairs at fifteen with his hatchet or Arkansas toothpick. A decent and deliberate shot with both a sidearm and long gun.

Born in New Orleans and was a sailor (both in trading vessels in the Gulf of Mexico and on the Mississippi) and on-board smithy, where he acquired some skill as a gunsmith as well. Keeps a garden in the rear of the shop with both vegetables and flowers, and is teased about the flowers. Bashful around women and wouldn’t swear in front of one if a beer wagon ran over his moccasin clad foot, but is on the prod for a woman who can put up with his (in his eyes) questionable looks, and long hours in front of a hot forge.”

Spike's silent partner at the forge is Emory Charleston, an ex-slave -the two men make an incongruous, but mutually loyal, pair. Em's biggest complaint about Spike is the Confederate cap he insists on wearing.

Spike Sweeney (and sometimes his partner Em) is the POV character of Montana author L. J. Martin, who has written 22 novels -including the rousing western Nemesis.

OBADIAH STONE
PREACHER, WOLF CREEK COMMUNITY CHURCH
(SUPPORTING CAST)

Obadiah means "Servant of the Lord," as Reverend Stone frequently points out. He is a stout man in his late 50s, with a thick reddish-gray beard. Stone is a fire and brimstone preacher, and will thunder the wrath of God down upon the heads of heathens. He hails from the hills of Kentucky. He was never an abolitionist, and in fact believes that blacks are cursed by God, but he was and is a fervent lover of the Union; he was a Union cavalry colonel in the war, and took delight in hunting down Confederate guerrillas.

He carries a heavy walking cane, more like a cudgel... not because he needs it to walk, but because he tends to rap sinners with it if they are mouthy. He keeps a Walker Colt on his saddle, and a wears one of the new Smith & Wesson Model 3's on his hip(it helps to have cavalry connections)... he trusts in the Lord, but sometimes the Lord needs a hand with His smiting. He is gentle as a lamb with children and animals, as long as they behave, but is Hell on sinners (which means most adults.)



Stone's Union cavalry background does not endear him and Spike Sweeney to one another, and his racist views have the same effect on Emory Charleston.

Read more about Wolf Creek at http://wolfcreekkansas.yolasite.com/ ... and look for more detailed character descriptions at this blog in coming weeks!

Great review of Wolf Creek Book 1

The first review for Western Fictioneers' new series, Wolf Creek, is up at Singular Points, the blog of Charles Rutledge. Here is a brief excerpt:

"Wolf Creek: Bloody Trail is the first in a series of 'collaborative novels' by a host of Western writers, all members of the group Western Fictioneers. Sort of a cross between the old Thieves' World books and an ensemble TV show, the book features a host of protagonists, each written by a different writer. It's a nifty idea and if upcoming books are as high quality as Bloody Trail, then sign me up for the long haul."

Read the whole review HERE.

Wolf Creek: Bloody Trail will be available on Sept. 1 at all your favorite online booksellers. All volumes of the series are written by "Ford Fargo," the Western Fictioneers housename... in Bloody Trail Ford Fargo is the following authors:

James J. Griffin
L.J. Martin
Clay More
Cheryl Pierson
James Reasoner
Troy D. Smith

Get more info on the series here: http://wolfcreekkansas.yolasite.com/

And info on Western Fictioneers here: http://westernfictioneers.com/

The Blackwells Ride Again

I have released three more Western short stories about the Blackwell Brothers, with another due soon. The first four stories in the series were written in the late '90s, and appeared in magazines like Western Digest and The Shootist. They were reprinted by Western Trail Blazer in 2010 and 2011. The first "new" Blackwell tale I've written in over a decade, "Blackwell's Run," was also released by WTB last year and was a finalist for Western Fictioneers' Peacemaker Award. The stories have been enormously popular, far more so than anything else I've done, so I decided it was time to write more -I actually had over a dozen tales planned out when I started using the characters lo, a century ago, but life got in the way.

The newest four have all been written this summer, and I intend to write a new one every month or so -the saga will stretch across a century, and through several generations. Every few months half-a-dozen or so will be collected in a single book that will also be available in paperback.

I'm really enjoying taking this trip with those rascally Tennessee boys, and in fact I've started tying them in with some of my other Tennessee characters- there will even be a connection to my contemporary Knoxville-set mystery series, Dead Rednecks!

So if you've enjoyed the previous installments, I am confident you will love these. If you haven't given them a try yet, they are not sequential so you can literally pick up anywhere. In fact, I am approaching this saga sort of like Robert E. Howard approached those Conan stories I loved as a kid (and still do)- jumping around in time, eventually weaving a huge, connected tapestry.

The new ones are up now on kindle, and should be available at smashwords by the end of August.

Blackwell the Highwayman

Good-natured bandit Duke Blackwell meets a beautiful Mexican damsel-in-distress who informs him that he has become a local legend for preying on corrupt merchants. And she desperately needs the help of the famous highwayman, for a noble quest--but Blackwell has a feeling all is not as it seems...


Blackwell's Star

"Pike's Peak or Bust" is the rallying cry for the Colorado gold rush -and veteran prospector Caleb Blackwell is busted. Busted, and growing disenchanted with the mining business. Then he wanders into a town that is tightly controlled by a gang of vicious thugs -and sees a new option...


Blackwell Unchained

Jake Blackwell left the Texas Rangers to fight for the Union. Captured in battle, he finds himself in a makeshift Confederate prison called Camp Henry. Now he is in for the hardest fight of his life -the fight to stay alive in the disease-ridden prison, when a sadistic guard has marked him for death...

And coming soon.....Max and Jake Blackwell in "The Blackwell Raid"

Here is a list of the Blackwell stories available so far:

The Blackwell Claim

Blackwell the Highwayman

Blackwell’s Raid

Blackwell’s Star

Blackwell Unchained

Blackwell’s Run

Blackwell’s Stand

The Divided Prey

The Windigo

RIP Joe Kubert

One of the greatest comics artists ever has passed away. Reports are coming in that Joe Kubert has died at age 85.

Although Kubert's career began in the "Golden Age" of the 1940s -most notably with Hawkman- he was also very active during my own personal Golden Age of Comics, which was probably 1973-1983. The images he created during that time are indelibly drawn into my memory. He was one of those artists from that time period whose work was singular, unique, and automatically recognizable.

There were his illustrations of DC Superheroes, like Hawkman and Green Lantern:

His action-adventure works, including Tor and his versions of Tarzan, Conan, Kull, and Solomon Kane:

And his World War II comics, including classic characters like Enemy Ace, The Unknown Soldier, The Losers, and -probably the work he was most known for -Sgt. Rock.

And then, of course, I also remember the ads for the art school Kubert founded in New Jersey. Among its graduates were his sons, Andy and Adam, who became comics luminaries in their own right.

Thank you, Joe Kubert, for decades of work that entertained and inspired generations.

And thank you for Conan the Barbarian Annual #6, summer 1981, which remains one of my favorites.

Rest in Peace.