Black Horse Westerns - March 2010

The Devil's Gold by M. Duggan
Dennis Rumble wasn't a good man but he wasn't entirely bad. He had principles, after all. He wasn't anything like the notorious band of outlaws calling themselves the Coyotes, into whose territory he was obliged to travel. He was a man with a mission, determined to rescue a beautiful woman snatched from the stage by the outlaws. As Rumble was soon to learn, though, things are not always as they seem. Twists and turns lay ahead of him and many men, some more deserving than others, were destined to lose their lives over what Rumble called 'The Devil's Gold.'


The Second Coffeyville Bank Raid by Matt Laidlaw
When Jean Pierre Boudreaux leaves New Orleans with three companions he is wanted for a brutal murder he swears he did not commit. Six months later he plans a one-off bank robbery that will give him the money to start a new life. The bank is the Coffeyville First National - the scene of the Daltons' infamous robbery attempt. Boudreaux's raid secures him the money but his companions are captured. When his daring rescue attempt fails, Boudreaux finds himself hunted by two Pinkerton operatives. He then discovers that the enigmatic Don Rames, now mysteriously free, is planning a double-cross. With blonde Alice LaClaire at his side, Boudreaux battles on through fire and gun-smoke, but it is not until the final bloody climax that he finds out if he is to remain a wanted killer or become a free man.


Brazos Fugitive by Tyler Hatch
Andy and Cletus, two young men wounded late in the Civil War, flee the battlefield and head for home...but things have changed. Yankee carpetbaggers have taken over. When Andy discovers that his family has been evicted from their ranch he turns to what he learned in the war: how to kill. This time, however, the enemies are Yankee politicians who came south to loot and plunder. With 'Wanted' posters circulating, the two friends join a cattle drive going to Texas. One of the boys discovers how to make his mark by being quick with his Colt, whilst the other insists that the war hasn't changed him. In the end, though, the brutal past catches up with both men.


A Man named Shonto by Ryan Bodie
They were already hanging Marshal Holder when Shonto rode into town. It was one hell of a welcome for a loner with a gun but Shonto sensed that things were going to get even worse. He was right. The marshal's body was still swinging from his own jailhouse flagpole when the town became a bloody battleground. At that point, Shonto had just two choices: shoot to kill or join the lawman in hell.


Kincaid and the Barton Gang by Alan Irwin
Dan Kincaid was a deputy sheriff in Colorado, but when his teenage sister was brutally murdered by outlaw Matt Barton, he quit his job and went after the killer. His search took him to the Texas Panhandle Diamond B ranch owned by Matt's father, Isaac Barton, who ran the ranch with his second son Ron. The Diamond B Ranch was a front, and from it, once a year, Matt Barton led a band of men to steal cattle passing along the Western Cattle Trail. Dan foiled the next operation. The three Bartons were caught and sentenced to hang, but the story had only just begun. Can Dan, now married with a young child, thwart the evil lust for revenge that now threatens him?


Rough Justice by Jackson Davis
When four officers of the law are slaughtered in a bloody battle with two hillbilly rustlers, US Marshal Heck Thomas and his new deputy, Zeke, head for Indian Territory on their trail. At Fort Smith, Judge Parker is executing criminals, six at a time, and Heck decides that it is time to impose some rough justice of his own. Why, he wonders, does the notorious Belle Starr, with her clan of gun-crazy Cherokees, always escape the noose? Why does the Hanging Judge ride out to a lonesome cabin in the woods and what secret does he hide? Can the Marshal lure Belle and her boys into a trap? Carbines blaze and the body count spirals as Heck and Zeke put their lives on the line to find out.


Arkansas Smith by Jack Martin
Arkansas Smith: the name was legend. Once he had been a Texas Ranger, but now he was something else entirely. Some said he was an outlaw, a killer of men and a fast draw. Others claimed he was a kind of special lawman, dispensing frontier justice across the West and bringing law to the lawless. Arkansas Smith arrives in Red Rock looking for those who shot and left his friend for dead. He vows to leave no stone unturned in his quest to bring the gunmen to justice and, soon, those who go against him must face the legendary fast draw that helped tame the West.


Two Gun Marshal by John Saunders
Packing two guns, Jeff Bellamy came to Red Rock to help his father's best friend. He found Dorlen beyond help and a town dying because its freight lines were being ruined. It shouldn't have mattered to Bellamy. But in spite of his toughness he disliked seeing small-timers being pushed around. Besides he was not satisfied about the way Dorlen had died. So Bellamy stayed and when the crooked marshal dropped to a well-aimed bullet, took over his job. But Red Rock came near to dying completely before its new marshal got to grips with the instigator of all the trouble.

The making of The Guns of Ponderosa

The full article about Chuck Tyrell's latest BHW is now available :

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11.

Bestsellers at the Book Depository - 29 March

1. Die This Day by Dempsey Clay (Mar 2009)

2. Warrick's Battle by Terrell L. Bowers (Jul 2007)

3. The Trail to Yuma by Terrell L. Bowers (Jan 2007)

4. The Rosado Gang by Caleb Rand (Aug 2006)

5. The Bull Chop by Abe Dancer (Dec 2007)

6. The Tarnished Star by Jack Martin (Jun 2009)

7. Trail of the Burned Man by Thomas McNulty (Nov 2009)

8. Lizard Wells by Caleb Rand (Sep 2007)

9. Gun Law by Lee Walker (Dec 2009)

10. Blast to Oblivion by Chap O'Keefe (Feb 2009)

Interview with Jack Martin

Conducted by members of the Black Horse Discussion Group.


Welcome, Gary, AKA Jack Martin.

Thought I'd get the ball rolling. I'm filming tomorrow but I'll have my laptop with me and will be popping back and forth as much as possible. So I thought I'd kick things off a little early. Here is an extract from my current Black Horse title to start us off. I'm very much looking forward to this.

I liked this excerpt. It does the key things of attracting the reader's attention and raising questions. I want to know what happens next and how Arkansas gets out of that situation. Where in the novel is this excerpt?

This comes from the latter section of the novel and is the last flashback sequence which collectively flush out the character's past. There is still a lot unsaid about the character as I intend to build him up over a series of books.

Do you have them all mapped out in your head already, including character development?

I have some kind of loose arc worked out and if the character is a success, the final book will hit readers for six. I love it when I read a book or watch a film and you think you've got it all worked out, think you know the characters inside out and then the final denouncement makes you question everything you thought you knew. I like the character of Arkansas and although I intended him to be a cold fish, I found that he developed a warmth as I wrote him as displayed in the sub-plot between the character and Rebecca. I think I can do ten books before I'm ready to lay Arkansas to rest - one down and nine to go but my current western in progress is a stand alone novel, so it will be, realistically, 2012 before another instalment in the Arkansas Smith story.

And that's the way I plan to continue with him with a standalone in-between. But I am trying to create the sense of a single universe for my westerns and Arkansas Smith will be mentioned in the next book and there's even a cameo from Cole Masters of The Tarnished Star. I think that comes from reading the Marvel and DC comic books as a kid - you'd be reading Spider-man but you would be aware that The Fantastic Four were out there somewhere. And besides there have been dime novels written about Arkansas Smith, the name is familiar across the country, the world even, so it is only natural for men sat around a camp-fire to mention him from time to time.



How much research did you do, and what kind?

Research for this one was quite minimal since the story was mostly contained in its own time and space. That said I did have to check out what varieties of coffee and tobacco were most popular at the time. Saying that I did use powdered milk before it had been invented but someone at Hale thankfully spotted this.



Having had such a big hit with Tarnished Star, are you nervous about how readers will receive Arkansas Smith?

No not really. The book is out there now and as a second book I think it is naturally more confident than my début. I mean it would be great to have the same level of success each time, but these things take time I suppose. I do hope readers are buying it and enjoying it and the first of the reviews should begin to appear soon. So I'll have some idea of how Arkansas Smith is being received. I very much like the character and his world and he will return in another book before too long. I tend not to worry about success and gaining loads of readers and just do what needs to be done. Still it would be super duper smashing for thousands of Arkansas Smith fans to suddenly pop up.

Did you feel any pressure to top The Tarnished Star with this one? Did it affect your writing choices at all or did you let it ride?

I did feel pressure but I just let everything ride. I mean what could I do about it, except hope that Arkansas Smith was a similar success? And I think it's done OK. It was in Amazon's pre-order charts for months anyway. Tarnished Star was my debut and whilst I stand by it as an exciting fun read I think Arkansas Smith is much more confident. But I suppose it is only natural for us all to improve as we go along. Although, as it turned out, Arkansas Smith the published version had much taken out.

I'm curious as to what kinds of things were chopped from Arkansas Smith.

The novel on sale is at least 90% new work- the original draft, which took place entirely in a fort under siege by the combined forces of several Indian tribes, was rejected as the Indian wars are not acceptable. I managed to salvage three chapters which are in the current Arkansas Smith and the rest of the book is on my hard-drive and may be worked on again one day.

Never throw anything away. Not many instances of tribes working together. Take the Apaches -- Mescalero, Jicarilla, Chiricahua, White Mountain, that I can think of right off, and I can't remember an instance of them fighting together. There were some alliances in the eastern states, and some on the west coast, and I think some of the northern tribes -- I'm thinking Cheyenne and Sioux during the 7th Cavalry campaigns. So, I'm wondering what your grouping is based on (not saying it could not have happened).

I used fully fictional tribes. Although Comanches and Kiowas also worked together at times, as I understand.

Yeah. Web says the Commanches and their allies (Kiowa, Texas Apache) were located on a reservation in present day Oklahoma. The Caddo and Wichita tribes also inhabited the area at the time.

I did use the premise of what if the Apache and Sioux joined forces for the idea, but largely fictionalised the Indians. I would one day like to write something that looked at the Indian wars but I think it would be double the length of the average BHW title. And at the moment I don't think I'm up to the task. Maybe one day. Who knows!


Have you considered putting an actor into a western, perhaps as a series character? A sort of Paladin - have gun will travel - type character who is able to take on any role.

That's an interesting premise but not one I've considered. Actors are not the type of characters I dream about but I do see what you mean and I do like the off-beat. I think I prefer the strong silent types - drifters, men with no clear idea where they are going but very much led by a destiny they have no control over. It comes from my own favourite western characters I suppose - think the kind James Stewart used to play. I like them to be carrying some inner torture around with them.

When beginning the writing process, do you begin with a character in mind and develop the story around the character, or do you have a story in mind and allow the story to develop the character?

The main character usually comes to mind first together with a sketchy idea for what the conflict will be. In my current work in progress, Dead Man's Hand I sat down knowing the character of Delta Rose (love that name) quite well and I was familiar with a great deal of his past but the only other thing I had was, the idea of how the book will end. It was the same with Tarnished Star and Arkansas Smith. The story then will usually spring up as I go alone, though I often have a panic somewhere in the middle and have to go back and tighten the earlier more loosely sketched parts.

I'm with you on this. If you have the character and the ending, and start the novel somewhere in the middle of what's happening, you can write your novel. Starting in the middle of the action and writing to see what happens, with occasional flashbacks to fill in information gaps, gets the job done.



I gather you have written in other genres.

Yes. I don't think being prolific is the main thing, but keeping up the quality that matters. I am in awe of Howard Hopkins for instance who has done over thirty Black Horse Westerns and there is no sign of him slowing down. In fact his novel, Ladigan is still one of my all time favourites - I remember reading that in one sitting a few summers ago and being amazed by how suspenseful the story was. This book was my introduction to BHW'S and I've been reading them ever since. Now if one day someone picks up one of my westerns and develops a lasting interest in the entire line, then I will be one happy chappie.

Although westerns will always be my favourite genre, I would get mighty tired of them if that's all I did. It's good to place your imagination in a different milieu from time to time. I think it refreshes you creatively but my writing mirrors my own reading and viewing - for months I'll read and watch nothing but westerns and then all of a sudden I won't look at them for an age. But that fabled west always calls me back. For instance I was watching The Searchers - Arkansas Smith is loosely based on Ethan Edwards - the other day and it occurred to me that that I knew every line before it was spoken.

I feel sorry for the main character in The Searchers. There was no need for him to be that alone as he had a family there. He could have gone through the door and been with the rest of them. (Wouldn't have made for such a poignant ending though.) Do you think that sense of aloneness adds to the character, or the book/film they are in? I know there is a big western tradition of the "good guy" standing alone against the bad guys, but he is not always emotionally alone.

Great question. I think that by having the character a loner, someone standing on the periphery of events gives a far better perspective on what's happening, and it allows for the reader to feel for the character. The reader knows Arkansas would love to throw down his guns and become part of whatever community, live a good and solid life and put down roots. But at the same time we know he never can - there's something in his past that keeps him moving and of course he is being controlled by something we do not yet understand and the constant threat of his death sentence still hangs over him. And of course Arkansas was born into the world as his family were being slaughtered and the rest of his life reflects this.

The Ethan Edwards character in the Searchers is not a particularly endearing character, indeed he comes across as bigoted for most of the movie, but the viewer knows there is a strength in him and in the end of this quite wonderful picture he redeems himself. It would have been a totally different picture if he had been a family motivated man and yet, in many ways the fact that he is the outsider makes him all the more family orientated and the only man that can actually save the family unit. He spends years searching for his niece don't forget, admittedly for most of those years he wants to kill her. But to my mind this sort of character is always more interesting, the outsider, a man who has the freedom to go anywhere but deep down he knows the home fires are what's important.

I agree with your assessment of the loner. Despite everything he wrote about the Sacketts, my favourite Louis L'amour character has always been Lance Kilkenny, a gunfighter who no matter how hard he tries to escape his reputation, is always drawn back into it. I grew up on these type of westerns and the type of characters in them are bound to influence my own characters. It's the same in other genres too - Phillip Marlowe is always the outsider, almost a guardian angel. In the real world a family and a big home fire is the ideal but in fiction, the odd-balls are far more interesting.

All my favourite western characters have always been the outsiders - the Clint Eastwood/John Wayne/ Gary Cooper/ James Stewart type of character. Think of the movie Josey Wales - he is the ultimate outsider and just wants to be left alone, and yet through the movie he can't help but find a family of sorts springing up around him. Now that's truly beautiful.

I hadn't thought of those aspects before. There was a series "How the West Was Won" back in the 1970s, and one of the main characters was exactly in that mould. He has a family and can't live with them, although he is only a young man and needs them. He was involved in a shootout, before he was 20, and killed some men in self defence but had a wanted poster hanging over his head ever since, which means he has to keep moving. There was one episode where he falls in love with this girl, and is great friends with her father, and the father finds out he has killed several men. He gently points out that, although he would love to have this guy in his family, he doesn't want his daughter marrying someone with a wanted poster hanging over him. That scene was so moving, especially where the father asks him to ride off without even saying goodbye to the girl, so she wouldn't follow him.

(Steve Hayes replying) I wrote that episode along with two others with a famous western dialogue writer named Rob Bishop. I think you’ll find what you’re looking for in “The Gunfighter” episode. Ron and I wrote it in homage to our buddy William Bowers, who was having a battle with alcohol at the time. Bill wrote the Gregory Peck masterpiece: The Gunfighter. And he needed to feel there were writers out there who missed him. Another episode we wrote was called: The Enemy. Both were two-hour episodes. That same theme you say you like is carried out in the mini-series I wrote called: The Seekers. I adapted it for Universal from John Jakes’ book of the same title. Had one of my favorite actors in it, Brian Keith, who played a mountain man.

Seems like ten lifetimes ago.


Where do you get all your energy? I've never seen a man do so many things at the same time. I'm insanely jealous.

Ha ha - I wish I did have boundless energy. I just don't sleep that much and whenever I get the chance I'm writing. Even when I'm working I'm still writing in a sense, since ideas are fermenting in the back of my mind. I think I'm a workaholic but some of this comes from all the years I was trying to be published. And now that I do manage to place most of my output with one market or another, I just can't stop. My blog - The Tainted Archive - takes up far less time than most people imagine, since 50% of the material these days is made up of new reports and so forth, kindly sent to me by Archive readers.

What about marketing? besides the blog and facebook, what do you do to market the books?

The bulk of my marketing is on the Tainted Archive and the social networking sites. But I do get interviewed in my local press and I've twice been on the radio. Sometimes I instigate this. I also play an active part in a heck of a lot of western related websites and forums - there are many out there. And getting the odd short story on the various webzines also helps. But this World Book Day (just gone) I gave a talk to a classroom of nine and ten year old about the wild west in movies and books, trying to get them to see the stories of cowboys and Indians is every bit as exciting as the latest zombie filled computer games. These little guys then all went home with fliers to bug their parents to get a Black Horse Western. Now I'm not saying BHW's are for children but I would have loved them when I was ten. I suppose I try and push a personality out there and hope readers spark off that and try the books.

Of course in the end it will all come down to the writing which is why people like Louis L'amour, Elmer Kelton and Zane Grey are still loved today. And this will sound arrogant and I don't mean it to. But you've got to think big with your stories and hopefully one day you will get there. Least I sure hope I do.

Ok all.

That's it for me.

Interview conducted 22-23 March 2010.

Extract of Arkansas Smith by Jack Martin

Tomorrow I'll post a transcript of a question and answer session conducted by BHW authors with Jack Martin. For now below is an extract from Jack's latest novel.

Arkansas stared across the desk at the curious looking man with the head that was almost perfectly domed shaped. Everything about the man was globular – a rotund head, sunk into a podgy neck which sat atop a pair of rounded shoulders. His belly ballooned out over his belt like some great fleshy ball and his legs bulged at the knees forming a half circle.

‘You’ve got me at a disadvantage.’ Arkansas said. ‘You know my name and I don’t seem to recall yours.’ The chains around Arkansas’s wrists were biting into the skin but he ignored the pain. The chain ran downwards alongside his legs and was attached to the heavy shackles he wore.

‘I’m Justice O’Keefe,' the man said. He adjusted the tie slightly and ran a finger behind his ill-fitting collar as though struggling for air. ‘And you – once a Texas Ranger, a war hero and now just a common criminal. A killer no less who has an appointment at dawn with the rope. What a disappointment.’

‘I’m none too pleased about it myself.’

The portly man smiled. ‘Good to keep a sense of humour,’ he said. ‘It’ll be of comfort on your way to the gallows.’

‘Look.’ Arkansas snarled, tensing and pulling at his chains but O’Keefe didn’t move.

He was in no danger. There was no way for Arkansas to break free of his bindings but all the same the sheriff came back into the room, alerted at the sound of the struggle, his Army Model Colt in hand.

‘Please remain outside, Sheriff,’ O’Keefe said. He was clearly in control of the situation and was in no need of assistance.

For a moment the sheriff looked unsure and his face held a puzzled expression that almost looked pained. ‘If this skunk gives you trouble,’ he said, finally. ‘I’ll plug him here and now. Bullet or rope – he’ll still be very much dead.’

‘Thank you,’ O’Keefe said. ‘I’ll keep that in mind. Now if you’ll excuse us please.’

The sheriff shrugged his shoulders and left the room, slamming the heavy door behind him.

‘You see,’ O’Keefe said. ‘Unpleasant fellow.’

‘What do you want with me?’ Arkansas asked.

‘I think I can help you,’ O’Keefe said.

Arkansas looked the man directly in the eye. ‘You talking about my heavenly soul? I’ve had enough with the praying already and I’ll meet my maker on my own terms.’

‘I’m talking very much about the physical you. What eventually happens to your soul is none of my concern.’

‘I’m listening,’ Arkansas said.

‘I represent Washington,’ O’Keefe said. ‘We’ve been following your little rampage with great interest.’

‘Then you’ll know I’m here on trumped up charges,’ Arkansas said. ‘That those men deserved to die.’

‘Difficult to prove, though.’ The podgy man pulled a large cigar from his coat and took a match to it. He sucked hard on the thick tobacco. ‘In fact with the amount of corruption around here I would say it’s impossible to prove. And whichever way you look at it, the fact remains that you killed those six men. Four of whom were U.S.
Calvary and not to mention a prominent politician and his son.’

‘And I’d do it again.’ Defiantly, words spat out with real venom. ‘To a man those lot were skunks. They shouldn’t have done what they done.'

Soiled Doves

Lance Howard's article is at Dark Bits

Bestsellers on Amazon - 22 March

1. Die This Day by Dempsey Clay (Hardcover - 31 Mar 2009)
From £6.67

2. Wind Rider by Thomas McNulty (Hardcover - 30 April 2010)
From £12.99

3. Blood Pass by Lance Howard (Hardcover - 30 Jun 1994)
From £0.09

4. The Deadly Doves by Lance Howard (Hardcover - 29 Oct 1999)
From £2.56

5. A Man Called Sundown by Terrell L. Bowers (Hardcover - 31 Jan 2003)
From £0.01

6. The Trail to Yuma by Terrell L. Bowers (Hardcover - 31 Jan 2007)
From £1.52

7. Warrick's Battle by Terrell L. Bowers (Hardcover - 31 July 2007)
From £3.00

8. The West Witch by Lance Howard (Hardcover - Aug 1995)
From £3.16

9. The Bull Chop by Abe Dancer (Hardcover - 31 Dec 2007)
From £6.87

10. Cold Guns by Caleb Rand (Hardcover - 30 April 2004)
From 5.75

Review of Arkansas Smith by Jack Martin

Review at Randall WordPress

Matthew Mayo - Spur Awards Finalist

BHW author Matthew Mayo has been named as a finalist for the 2010 Spur Awards for his short story Half a Pig, which was one of the 21 stories in the western anthology A Fistful of Legends. He lost out to John D. Nesbitt. Full details of the awards are at WWA News.

Linford Westerns - March 2010

Vermilion Springs' Vendetta by Sydney J. Bounds

ISBN: 9781444800500
Large Print (Soft Cover) - 216 Pages
Published - 01-03-2010
Genre - Western
Price - £ 8.99

Bond, an ex-con and Jefferson, a professional gunfighter, travel to Vermilion Springs seeking the death of the mysterious Lafayette, thief, informer and murderer. Morgan Bailey owns the township and he hires vicious men to protect his ranch. It isn't long before Jefferson and Bond come up against Bailey - and his feisty daughter! And Jefferson's guns are rarely silent as he pursues his deadly aims. Death hovers over the range and it is destined to end in a bloody shoot-out.


Mcguire, Manhunter by Scott Connor

ISBN: 9781444800517
Large Print (Soft Cover) - 248 Pages
Published - 01-03-2010
Genre - Western
Price - £ 8.99

Manhunter Jim McGuire hangs up his gun to live quietly in White Ridge. But when his young charge, Billy Jameson, is wrongly accused of murder, the only way to prevent Billy's hanging is to help corrupt Mayor Jake Nixon. He's assigned to find fugitive Barney Dale, the only witness to a murder Nixon had committed - little knowing that when he finds him, hired guns will kill them both. The manhunter becomes the hunted - can Jim defeat Nixon's guns?


War Smoke by Michael D. George

ISBN: 9781444800524
Large Print (Soft Cover) - 208 Pages
Published - 01-03-2010
Genre - Western
Price - £ 8.99

In Nevada, in the town of War Smoke, Marshal Matt Fallen is faced with a series of horrific murders. Someone brutally clubs innocent men, women and children to death with their six-shooters. War Smoke is full of strangers and it's impossible to find the culprit. But when it reaches the point that each night another body is discovered, Fallen is determined to find the murderer... At sunset Fallen vows to get his man. A showdown is brewing. Fallen is ready.


Rawhide Ransom by Tyler Hatch

ISBN: 9781444800531
Large Print (Soft Cover) - 248 Pages
Published - 01-03-2010
Genre - Western
Price - £ 8.99

Cole was a good sheriff, maybe a mite too lenient at times, but when the chips were down, the town of Barberry fully appreciated his prowess with guns and fists. But they didn't know there was a tragedy in his past that would affect his actions - until a local boy was kidnapped while Cole was supposed to be guarding him. And the only one who could deliver the ransom was Cole himself.


Hired Gun by Arthur Lynn

ISBN: 9781444800548
Large Print (Soft Cover) - 256 Pages
Published - 01-03-2010
Genre - Western
Price - £ 8.99

They wait: six riders, rainwater streaming from their hat brims, their Saltillo blankets shielding their ready carbines, the Spur Barb riders are out to kill Dan Bryce, the gun-heavy stranger, hired by the Muleshoe outfit. Bryce will soon be lying dead in the mud, they figure. Bryce's loyalty has been bought, but there's also something there from his past and he has a personal score to settle of his own... The Spur Barb-Muleshoe war will explode into deadly violence.


The Captive by E.C. Tubb

ISBN: 9781444800555
Large Print (Soft Cover) - 232 Pages
Published - 01-03-2010
Genre - Western
Price - £ 8.99

Don Thorpe, a desert-wise Westerner, is asked by General Colman to undertake a mission for the Union forces to find the train laden with Californian gold which would buy arms for the beleaguered South. Don accepts the dangerous mission and on the way to Fort Gorman rescues a beautiful girl and her fiance from an Indian attack. But then he's captured. How will he escape and betray the South and yet retain the affections of a Southern girl?

The Guns of Ponderosa - Part 8

Article about Chuck Tyrell's latest BHW :

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8.

Jack Martin weekend

Details of a chance to pose questions to the author here.

Bestsellers on Amazon - 15 March

Current bestsellers this week while only including 2010 books.

1. Rangeland Justice by Rob Hill (Hardcover - 1 Sep 2010)

2. Sharpshooter McClure by I.J. Parnham (Hardcover - 31 Jan 2010)

3. Faith and a Fast Gun by Chap O'Keefe (Hardcover - 31 Jan 2010)

4. Arkansas Smith by Jack Martin (Hardcover - 31 Mar 2010)

5. Between the Winds by M.M. Rowan (Hardcover - 30 April 2010)

6. Big Trouble at Flat Rock by Elliot Long (Hardcover - 30 May 2010)

7. Border Fury by Corba Sunman (Hardcover - 31 Jan 2010)

8. Brazos Fugitive by Tyler Hatch (Hardcover - 31 Mar 2010)

9. The Broken Horseshoe by Billy Hall (Hardcover - 1 Sep 2010)

10. A Bullet for Ben McCabe by Peter Wilson (Hardcover - 30 May 2010)

Dales Westerns - March 2010

The Man From Cheyenne Wells by Floyd Rogers

ISBN: 9781842626986
Large Print (Soft Cover) - 224 Pages
Published - 01-03-2010
Price - £ 11.99

When 60,000 dollars are taken from the bank at Cheyenne Wells, two of the raiders are killed, and the third, Vance Brady, serves a prison sentence. However, the money was never recovered. On release from jail, Brady decides to go straight and to help the widows of the two dead men by sharing the money from Cheyenne Wells. During his search for the two women he finds a place to settle down but soon runs foul of a bounty hunter and men with designs on the money. Can Brady overcome his difficulties in going straight?


Comanche Country by Greg Mitchell

ISBN: 9781842627570
Large Print (Soft Cover) - 228 pages
Published - 01-03-2010
Price - £ 11.99

Joe Kelly has bought a half share in Travis Neal's ranch in an area reputed to be Comanche territory. While searching for his missing partner, Kelly encounters a Comanche war party, three former Confederate soldiers fleeing a killing in Mexico, the Mayne family and a renegade gang. The arrival of a self-promoting US marshal adds to their problems. Kelly and the Maynes must face hostile Indians, white murderers and a fanatical lawman before they can reclaim their respective ranches, and then another problem arises. Suddenly there is the danger that friends will fall out, and more lead will fly before the situation is resolved.

The Guns of Ponderosa - Part VI

Article about Chuck Tyrell's latest BHW : Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

Bestsellers on Amazon.com - 8 March

The US Amazon site this week:

1.Red River Bullets by Robert E. Trevathan (Feb. 28, 1990)
Used from $75.38

2. Bowie of the Alamo by John S. Glasby (Dec. 31, 2002)
From $6.14

3. Misfit Lil Robs the Bank by Chap O'Keefe (Feb. 1, 2010)
From $17.00

4. Wind Rider by Thomas McNulty (July 1, 2010)
From $15.61

5. The Staked Plains by Billy Moore (Jan. 1, 2010)
From $17.00

6. The Spurs of Palomino by Michael D. George (Oct. 31, 2001)
From $69.45

7. Dead Man's Range by Paul Durst (Sept. 1, 2009)
From $17.94

8. The Saddlegun Man by Ray Kelley (Nov. 1991)
From $82.87

9. Comanche Country by Greg Mitchell (Apr. 30, 2009)
From $16.93

10. The $300 Man by Ross Morton (May 29, 2009)
From $18.94

Review of The Judas Metal by Gillian F. Taylor

Review at Western Fiction Review

The Guns of Ponderosa - Part V

Article about Chuck Tyrell's latest BHW : Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Extract of Arkansas Smith by Jack Martin

Extract at The Tainted Archive

Bestsellers on Amazon - 1 March

1. Gun Law by Lee Walker (Hardcover - 31 Dec 2009)
From £10.27

2. Blast to Oblivion by Chap O'Keefe (Hardcover - 27 Feb 2009)
From £6.77

3. Dead Man's Hand by John Dyson (Hardcover - Sep 2006)
From £1.72

4. Blood on the Sky by Elliot Long (Hardcover - 29 Aug 2008)
From £0.01

5. Trail of the Burned Man by Thomas McNulty (Hardcover - 30 Nov 2009)
From £7.60

6. The Greenhorn by Elliot Conway (Hardcover - 28 Mar 1991)
From £4.17

7. Gunfire at Antelope Wells by Doc Adams (Hardcover - 29 Oct 1999)
From £0.01

8. Packing Iron by Steve Hayes (Hardcover - 31 Aug 2009)
From £7.60

9. A Coffin for Santa Rosa by Steve Hayes (Hardcover - 30 Oct 2009)
From £7.28

10. The Rebel and the Heiress by Chap O'Keefe (Hardcover - 31 Mar 2005)
From £3.95

Happy Blogday

The Black Horse Express Blog started on 1 March 2009. So that makes us 1 year old!

When I started off in trying to provide a gateway for readers to explore all things Black Horse, I was unsure if a blog was the right vehicle. I didn't know if there would be enough new material out there to link to, but as it's turned out I needed have worried. New blogs are starting up all the time with fresh material and so in the last year there have been around 300 entries.

With over five thousand visits in the year, that means the blog is visited on average a hundred times a week, which I think is enough to mean it's worth keeping it going.