It may sound complicated. but the result is anything but: each volume holds together remarkably well, and the series has been creating quite a bit of buzz.
I am the series editor, and one of my two characters appears in each book to help tie things together. Other than me we have a wonderful mix of genre veterans and best selling authors and up-and-coming newer writers who are making their mark.
This blog is the fifth in a five-part series highlighting the six main characters / writers of Wolf Creek Book I: Bloody Trail. The sixth installment will appear on Tuesday, Oct. 23, and the previous ones can be found here:
Part 1- Spike Sweeney, by L.J. Martin
Part 2- Sheriff G.W. Satterlee, by James Reasoner
Part 3- Charley Blackfeather, by Troy D. Smith
Part 4- Bill Torrance, by James J. Griffin
Part 5- Derrick McCain, by Cheryl Pierson
GIVEAWAY: One of our authors, Chery Pierson, has upped the ante- she has offered to give away a trade paperback copy of Bloody Trail to one of our visitors. Anyone who leaves a comment on this or any of the other five blogs and leaves a contact email address will be eligible to win (you can also send said addy to me, at troy_d_smith@hotmail.com, if you prefer it not be public- but you still have to leave a comment!)
A winner will be chosen at random at 9am Central Time Friday morning, October 26, and will be emailed with the good news- it will also be announced in a comment here. You can multiply your chances to win- by commenting on more than one of the six blogs. For every installment of the blog series you comment on, you will get one additional entry in the contest (alas, only one more per blog, so a possibility of six in all.)
So, that said, let's look at the character/writer who rounds out Book One of our series!
LOGAN MUNRO
(Doctor)
Clay More
Logan Munro is a Scottish doctor. Shortly after graduating from Edinburgh University he served with the British Army Hospital in Scutari in Constantinople during the Crimean War. In 1856, at the end of the war he had the opportunity to go to India. While there he married Helen, a young governess. A year later The Indian Mutiny took place and he was involved in the siege. Sadly, Helen died from malaria. Disillusioned with life, and bereft at losing Helen, Logan sailed for America. Along came the Civil War, during which he served as a surgeon in the Union Army. When the guns ceased and the smoke cleared he settled down in Wolf Creek. He has seen a lot of action in the three wars he served in and he has honed his surgical skills on the battlefields. He is tired of all the killing and he just wants to settle down as a family doctor in a sleepy town.
*
CLAY MORE is also a Scottish physician -Dr. Keith Souter. In addition to being a medical writer, Keith publishes fiction in four different genres.
"I
am a member of the Crime Writers’ Association, International Thriller
Writers, the Society of Authors, Western Fictioneers and the Western
Writers of America. With my medical hat on, I am a Fellow of the Royal
College of General Practitioners and of various other professional
bodies.
I live with my wife Rachel in Wakefield in West Yorkshire within arrowshot of historic Sandal Castle."
*
I
have been accompanying my introductions to our authors' point of view
characters with a description of a member of the supporting cast. This time around it is Tsu Chiao -or, as most citizens in Wolf Creek pronounce it, "Soo Chow."
Tsu
is in his early 60s. He speaks very good English, having grown up in
Hong Kong- as a young man, he had fought against the British in the
opium wars. Now he sells opium in his own den. The establishment has a
large common room, decorated in red, for lounging –and several small
private rooms. There is another interior room, called the Jade Chamber,
where clientele can choose the services of one of the several young
Chinese women and girls who borrowed money for passage to America and
are now trapped in a life of prostitution. He has several young Chinese
men on hand as security- he calls them his nephews, but it is doubtful
they literally are.
Tsu is a very well-educated man, and one of the Five Chinese Classics is a novel called The Dream of the Red Chamber- perfect for an opium den. He calls the inner room where one can choose among his prostitutes the Jade Chamber because that is a Taoist euphemism for the vagina.
Tsu has an adversarial relationship with Li Wong. Li
Wong and his wife Li Jian are in their early 40s. They have five
children- the oldest is a lovely 16 year old daughter named Jing Jing.
There are not very many Chinese in Wolf Creek, so one might assume Li
would interact with Tsu Chiao –but he does not. Li Wong despises the
opium dealer and pimp, and is very protective of his own daughter -Tsu would like nothing better than to corrupt her. Jing Jing, meanwhile, is having a secret romance with one of Tsu's "nephews," Tsu Dong.
Now, a brief excerpt from WOLF CREEK: BLOODY TRAIL featuring Dr. Logan Munro:
Almost
immediately, like human buzzards, Wil Marsh - with some help from
Elijah Gravely the undertaker - started arranging the bodies of the gang
into suitable poses. Then, with his tripod and camera, he methodically
set about taking the photographs that he imagined he would be able to
sell to the Eastern magazines.
Sheriff
Satterlee took control and started to form a posse from the available
able-bodied men and whoever had horses. He called an impromptu meeting
in his office and prepared to swear in whoever
could go.
"Doc Munro,
you had best stay in town and look after the wounded," he said, as he
looked over the volunteers gathered in the office.
"The hell
with that, Sheriff. I have done what needs to be done. Doctor Cantrell
knows enough medicine, as a dentist, to look after the wounded here. And
Martha Pomeroy is a capable nurse." He started
filling his meerschaum pipe. "I took the Hippocratic Oath and it is my
duty to tend to the sick. I think I need to go, just in case any more of
my friends here get hurt. And if we shoot any of that gang, it will be
my solemn duty to treat and keep them alive."
He lit his pipe and his eyes narrowed as he blew out a stream of smoke. "Until we can hang the bastards, that is!"
Well, I have to say It looks awesome, sounds great! My email is leesiachampion@blomand.net Thanks! Hope I win!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to stop by and say how much I enjoyed working with all of my fellow authors. Troy did a fantastic editing job. I am working on Logan's contribution to Book 4 right now, and am looking forward to reading Books 2 and 3.
ReplyDeleteKeith
Keith you did a great job of introducing that book's characters and setting the scene for what was to come. I love Dr. Munro--he's a great asset to Wolf Creek!
ReplyDeleteCheryl
Cheryl, that is very kind. I appreciate that. And you closed the adventure down beautifully. The Wolf Creek folk are certainly an interesting bunch and Logan is pleased to have settled down there. It is just that it isn't quite the sleepy little town he thought it would be!
ReplyDeleteKeith
Thanks, Keith. I was worried about that ending, but when I started writing it, it flowed just fine. LOL I imagine that Logan is going to keep busy for a good long while there in Wolf Creek, what with all the adventures ahead, don't you?
DeleteCheryl
I'm looking forward to the good doctor's return in Books 4 and 6!
ReplyDeleteDoctors in the West add an interesting dynamic to a story, at least to me. This Doctor seems quite the character. Makes one wonder what he will be up too next time we see him.
ReplyDeleteAnd the winner of our giveaway- Renaissance Women! Cheryl will be in contact with you, and congrats.
ReplyDeleteAlso- While Book 1 is available right now, we're working to get Book 2 out by mid-Nov and Book 3 by Dec. 1, for the Christmas season!
ReplyDelete