Wednesday 30 November 2011

Black Horse Westerns - November 2011


Guns of Wrath by Colin Bainbridge

Will Comfort has a burning mission: to wreak vengeance on the man who had him incarcerated during the Civil War. The quest brings him to the river town of Cayuse Crossing where he soon runs foul of the ruthless rancher, Rank Wilder. Comfort is increasingly drawn into the conflict between Wilder and the local townsfolk until he has to face the question: who is his real enemy? Others are caught up, including Annie, the woman from his past, Corrina, the woman in his present, the oldster 'Beaver' Bannock and the Reverend Bent. Comfort is not the only one to have to confront what he believes in and where his loyalties lie, as violence continues to escalate.


Cold, Hard Cash by Jake Douglas

It seemed the only way to get out of Red Rock Penitentiary was to die and be shipped out as a corpse. So when Dave Jarrett had a chance to feign his death and be shipped out in a coffin, he took it. But old enemies - and new ones - were waiting. They all wanted him to lead them to $70,000. That was when the brutal chain-gang he had left behind began to look better than dodging bullets at every step.


In the High Bitterroots by Will DuRey

They rode out as the snow began to fall, a party of seven. Their purpose to rescue a band of travellers trapped by an avalanche in the high Bitterroot Mountains. But once clear of the Montana township of Wicker it is soon apparent that the on-coming winter blizzards are not the only threat to success. The swiftly assembled group have brought with them their own grievances and evils, and there can only be trouble ahead...


When Lightning Strikes by Ethan Flagg

Shouldering the reputation of a lethal gunfighter has its downsides, as Lightning Cal Gentry soon discovers. Brash hotheads who think they have the edge are always eager to make their play. Hard-cases think that being a fast gun brings respect and fame- not to mention the girls and free drink. Yes, Cal knows from experience that it's easier to gain your place at the top than to stay there- and now he wants out. But shucking such a dubious state is more difficult to achieve than he ever imagined. Then Cal guns down Billy Vance in the New Mexico town of Tucumcari, an act which heralds the start of a manhunt that puts his loved ones in mortal danger. Now the help of the infamous renegade Apache, Geronimo, is his only hope of survival -


Jake Rains by Tony Masero

1889 Cuba! When his best friend and fellow Rough Rider lies fatally wounded, Jake Rains swears to care for his widow. The trouble is Kitty Cartright already has a protector, Chris Leeward, owner of the L double E ranch. Things don't look good when Jake arrives in Oakum. There is trouble at the Cartright place, but Jake and his new friend, Sam, are determined to put things right. Not only are they faced with Leeward's cruel riders, a band of zealous mountain men lusting for vengeance, but also the advent of the most modern of inventions. The challenge calls for old-fashioned courage on the streets of Oakum where Jake Rains must fight for his life.


Breakout by Greg Mitchell

Mickey Dole's gang have broken jail, killing and plundering in their bid for freedom and ranch-hand, Clem Shaw, joins a posse that includes a devious bounty-hunter and a reluctant lawman. As the hunt progresses, Clem realizes that the situation is not as clear-cut as he thought: not all his enemies are in the fugitive gang which is now divided amongst itself. There will be more deaths and shootouts before Clem unravels the puzzle and finds himself on the wrong end of a gun.


A Man Called Breed by Chuck Tyrell

Refused a drink and threatened with violence in a saloon because of his Indian heritage, Falan Wilder, the man called Breed, severely wounds Reed Fowley, and then takes refuge in the desert. Fowley's father and brothers give chase, but are no match for Breed, who escapes and goes to his homestead in Lone Pine Canyon below the Mogollon Rim. But the Fowleys will not give up. They hire man-hunter Dutch Regan to find him. Once found, Reed Fowley, and brother Bud, hire Robert Candless, a former major of the Colorado Volunteers, and a band of savage outlaws to storm Breed's homestead and kill him. Breed, his wife-to-be Blessing, and his protege, Sparrow, must fight for their lives, or die.


Travelin' Money by Logan Winters

At the end of a long cattle drive, Joe Sample runs into a little bad luck. A cantankerous steer pins him against a fence post, breaking his leg. So, Joe is laid up in the infamous Dog Stain Hotel next to Yuma pen. His money and the management's patience has run out when the door of the hotel restaurant bursts open and a wild-eyed man named Pierce Malloy walks in, his boot leaking blood. Malloy wants Joe to find a buried cache of money and give it to Tess Malloy whose husband had been hanged that morning. What choice does Joe have, being broke and about to be evicted? He had accepted a little traveling money minutes before prison police arrive and gun Malloy down. With the money and a map to the treasure, Joe starts out to fulfil his promise to the dying man.

Tuesday 29 November 2011

Review of Jake Rains by Tony Masero


Before I began reading this I was struck by the different look to the cover of this book, in my opinion much more modern in its approach than the usual paintings fronting Black Horse Westerns, something I hope we see much more often. Some may recognize the author name of this book so it’ll come as no surprise to discover that he also painted and designed the cover.

The story is set much later than many Black Horse Westerns, again this makes a refreshing and welcome deviation...

Read more at Western Fiction Review.

Monday 28 November 2011

Bestsellers on Amazon - 28 November

1. Comanchero Trail by Jack Dakota (30 Sep 2011)
From £8.98

2. Arkansas Smith by Jack Martin (31 Mar 2010)
From £4.26

3. The Black Horse Westerns: Collection No. 1 by Abe Dancer, Dean Edwards, Tyler Hatch and Scott Connor (1 Jan 2011) - Kindle eBook
Buy £6.86

4. The Kansas Fast Gun by Arthur Kent (31 Oct 2011) - Kindle eBook
Buy £3.19

5. Dead Man's Range by Paul Durst (31 Oct 2011) - Kindle eBook
Buy £3.19

6. Rough Justice by Jackson Davis (31 Mar 2010)
From £7.07

7. The Ballad of Delta Rose by Jack Martin (29 Jul 2011)
From £8.83

8. Robbery in Savage Pass by D.M. Harrison (1 Sep 2009)
From £8.99

9. Guns of Wrath by Colin Bainbridge (30 Nov 2011)
From £13.25

10. The Shadow of Iron Eyes by Rory Black (31 Oct 2011)
From £10.43

Thursday 24 November 2011

Linford Westerns - November 2011


Death Rider by Boyd Cassidy

ISBN: 9781444808766
Large Print (Soft Cover) - 216 Pages
Published - 01-11-2011
Genre - Western
Price - £ 8.99

Mountain man Rufas Kane discovers Dan Cooper's dead body on a hillside overlooking the town of Death, leaving the townsfolk wondering why anyone would kill a harmless cowboy. Then one of Gene Adams' cowboys is killed in a gunfight with the ruthless Trey Skinner. It becomes apparent that Skinner is responsible for Cooper's death. But nothing's as it seems. That night, amid a spate of killings, Gene Adams vows to find the killer before dawn, or to die trying.


Rangeland Justice by Rob Hill

ISBN: 9781444808773
Large Print (Soft Cover) - 264 Pages
Published - 01-11-2011
Genre - Western
Price - £ 8.99

Jack Just, weary from long days on the trail, rides into an isolated cattle town on the Texas panhandle. There he finds that the greedy and powerful Clovis Blacklake has the town in his pocket. But when Jack also discovers that Blacklake has cheated the town's most downtrodden inhabitant out of his rightful property, he decides to make a stand. It takes a real man to fight the ruthless Blacklake; and when Jack does, the tables begin to turn...


The Last Gundown by Matt James

ISBN: 9781444808780
Large Print (Soft Cover) - 208 Pages
Published - 01-11-2011
Genre - Western
Price - £ 8.99

A town without mercy, a land without heart or soul: that was what bounty hunter Shell Dunbar confronted during that endless blazing summer. Even the handful of men who supported him gave him no chance of surviving that murderous summer of hate. They had already given him up for dead when he faced the last gundown...


Crossing The Bravo, For Pueblito by Jim Lawless

ISBN: 9781444808797
Large Print (Soft Cover) - 224 Pages
Published - 01-11-2011
Genre - Western
Price - £ 8.99

The owner of the Rocking P ranch, Clayton T. Pallister, is a bully and wife-beater. But when he is murdered, ownership of the ranch goes to his wife, Rosie; and their son, Warren, is freed from his father's grip. However, a young woman arrives from Mexico casting doubt on Rosie's inheritance - and there follows a complex and violent fight for the ranch. Warren realises that to settle the matter all factions must come together in a blaze of gunfire.


Bonito Deputy by Jack Slade

ISBN: 9781444808810
Large Print (Soft Cover) - 200 Pages
Published - 01-11-2011
Genre - Western
Price - £ 8.99

Pacifying the wild streets of Bonito would have been a challenge for any man, but when the lawman chosen to undertake the task was yet to turn twenty-one, the inhabitants of the hell-town had good reason to be afraid. Rick Dannecker knew what the townsfolk were thinking...but he also knew that the man brave enough to take on the impossible could see that his name would become a legend...

Big Trouble At Flat Rock by Elliot Long

It was with a near-broken heart and a deep hatred that Jim McKendry looked down at his father lying dead in his coffin. He could barely look at the lifeless face and the silk wrapping that covered the ghastly wound across his father's throat. Jim swore that someone would pay for his father's death and no matter what it took the killer would be brought to justice - alive or dead.

Tuesday 22 November 2011

Review of Let the Guns Decide by Shane Archer


This book throws many questions at the reader during its opening chapters; such as how come this town has the appearance of being so prosperous, all its citizens seemingly rolling in money from the town’s water-carrier up to the mayor? Why has the baby-faced killer ridden into town and gunned down three of the town’s leading citizens...?

Read more at Western Fiction Review

Monday 21 November 2011

Bestsellers on Amazon.com - 21 November

This week takes a look at what's selling on the U.S. amazon site where Kindle titles dominate the chart.

1. Dead Man's Range by Paul Durst (Oct 31, 2011) - Kindle eBook
Buy $5.13

2. The Kansas Fast Gun by Arthur Kent (Oct 31, 2011) - Kindle eBook
Buy $5.13

3. A Colt for the Kid by John Saunders (Oct 31, 2011) - Kindle eBook
Buy $10.27

4. Arizona Pay-Off by Duke Patterson (Oct 31, 2011) - Kindle eBook
Buy $5.13

5. Gunhawk by John Long (Oct 31, 2011) - Kindle eBook
Buy $5.13

6. Soft Soap for a Hard Case by Billy Hall (Apr 2011)
From $22.38

7. The Black Horse Westerns: Collection No. 1 by Abe Dancer, Dean Edwards, Tyler Hatch and Scott Connor (Jan 1, 2011) - Kindle eBook
Buy $11.03

8. Showdown at Snakebite Creek by Thomas McNulty (Jul 29, 2011)
From $22.34

9. Trail of the Burned Man by Thomas McNulty (Feb 1, 2010)
From $2.19

10. Wind Rider by Thomas McNulty (May 6, 2010)
Deom $3.96

Saturday 19 November 2011

Extract from A Man Called Breed by Chuck Tyrell


I lay at the edge of a ridge overlooking Adam’s Well, watching. I’d come a far way from Ehrenburg on the Colorado River and the well held the only water in twenty miles. Zeeb, my brindle grulla, smelled the water and tossed his head, rustling the leaves of the scrub oak thicket where he stood.

Below, a faded yellow wagon sat by the rock-bound pool. The horses were out of the traces and cropping at the sparse grama grass. I took my time. I had to see what kind of people were at the well before me.

The sound of a hard female voice drifted up. “Get your cracker ass moving.”

Read more at The Outlaw Trail.

Friday 18 November 2011

Extract from Hell Fire in Paradise by Chuck Tyrell


Jimmy Baker complained. “But Ma, it’s hardly dark. I’m five now. I don’t need to go to bed so early.”

“I know, son. But tomorrow will come before you know it, and I want you in bed right now. Jason’s in the loft and asleep already, and you should be, too.”

“Ah, Ma. How come I have to go to bed so early all the time?”

Laurel Baker chuckled at her sturdy son’s resistance. “Unless you get enough sleep, you won’t grow big and strong like Pa. And if you don’t grow big and strong, how are you going to help on the ranch?”

Read more at Outlaw Journal.

Thursday 17 November 2011

Dales Westerns - November 2011


Gunfight At Elm Creek by Kyle Black

ISBN: 9781842628270
Large Print (Soft Cover) - 208 Pages
Published - 01-11-2011
Genre - Western
Price - £ 11.99

When Walt Lomax, Sheriff of Elm Creek, appoints his brother, Jed, as deputy he knows he will be bucking trouble, for Jed has just served a prison sentence for robbery. At the same time Walt finds himself having to investigate the buying of the land around Elm Creek. The movements of a stranger and a local lawyer add complications on a trail of arson, kidnap and killing which are not solved until the Lomax brothers face the final gunfight at Elm Creek.


The Shadow Of Eagle Rock by Jim Bowden

ISBN: 9781842628225
Large Print (Soft Cover) - 224 Pages
Published - 01-11-2011
Genre - Western
Price - £ 11.99

When Cap Millet saves rancher Joe Grinley from being rolled in barbed-wire he becomes involved in a range feud. Later Joe's murder makes Cap determined to help Joe's family keep their ranch. The contest for water rights takes an unexpected turn when Joe's son, Sam is accused of murder and goes on the run. In a three-sided race to find Sam, Cap is opposed by the law and by those who want to silence Sam. The final showdown and Sam's emergence into manhood reach an exciting climax in the shadow of Eagle Rock.

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Review of Cut-Price Lawman by Tyler Hatch


If you’re not a fan of dentists, the opening chapter to this extremely fast moving book will have you squirming in your seat: “Why anyone’d call it laffin’ gas beats the hell outta me!”

Read more at Western Fiction Review.

Monday 14 November 2011

Bestsellers on Amazon - 14 November

This week's bestseller list makes interesting reading. The top two titles are Kindle ebooks. The next two books are written by authors who were profiled in this month's Writers' Forum magazine (see below). The next two titles are by the most active BH western blogger and the next two titles are by regular western bloggers.

1. The Kansas Fast Gun by Arthur Kent (31 Oct 2011) - Kindle eBook
Buy new £3.19

2. The Black Horse Westerns: Collection No. 1 by Abe Dancer, Dean Edwards, Tyler Hatch and Scott Connor (1 Jan 2011) - Kindle eBook
Buy new £6.86

3. The $300 Man by Ross Morton (29 May 2009)
From £2.37

4. Silver Express by Gillian F. Taylor (30 Sep 2009)
From £5.40

5. The Ballad of Delta Rose by Jack Martin (29 Jul 2011)
From £8.92

6. Arkansas Smith by Jack Martin (31 Mar 2010)
From £4.99

7. Trail of the Burned Man by Thomas McNulty (30 Nov 2009)
From £0.94

8. Gun Law by Lee Walker (31 Dec 2009)
From £1.32

9. Battle at Gun Barrel Canyon by Wolf Lundgren (31 Aug 2011)
From £9.95

10. Comanchero Trail by Jack Dakota (30 Sep 2011)
From £9.48

Sunday 13 November 2011

How to break into Westerns


The British writing magazine Writers' Forum has a two page article in December's issue looking at the work of two popular BHW writers Nik Morton and Gillian F Taylor. The images below are too small to read, so you'll have to buy the magazine to read them!



More details on this issue can be found here along with a contents page and another picture of Nik wearing a hat.

Saturday 12 November 2011

Issue #24 of Black Horse Extra available


A shrinking percentage of Black Horse Western authors are veteran, lifetime professional writers with credits in multiple genres and media: film, television, paperback originals, and comic books. Today, many more are novices and sometimes retirees from other professions or trades, realizing lifelong dreams of seeing their work in print through the good offices of the books' UK publisher, Robert Hale Ltd...

Read more, including articles on Paul Green and Cody Wells, Mike Stotter and 'Gunfighters and their weapons' here.

Friday 11 November 2011

Review of Fort Revenge by Ralph Hayes


Back in the early 1970s Ralph Hayes wrote a short series of books featuring O’Brien, later in 1992 O’Brien made a comeback and here is his next appearance, nearly twenty years later.

Ralph Hayes does make a couple of references to those early adventures, but if you haven’t read, or are even aware of those first books, these references will pass you by, and definitely will not spoil your enjoyment of this book.

Read more at Western Fiction Review.

Monday 7 November 2011

Bestsellers on Amazon - 7 November

1. Silver Express by Gillian F. Taylor (Hardcover - 30 Sep 2009)
From £5.40

2. The Kansas Fast Gun by Arthur Kent (Kindle Edition - 31 Oct 2011)
Buy: £3.19

3. Arkansas Smith by Jack Martin (Hardcover - 31 Mar 2010)
From £4.99

4. The Ballad of Delta Rose by Jack Martin (Hardcover - 29 Jul 2011)
From £8.95

5. Trail of the Burned Man by Thomas McNulty (Hardcover - 30 Nov 2009)
From £1.10

6. The Black Horse Westerns: Collection No. 1 by Abe Dancer, Dean Edwards, Tyler Hatch and Scott Connor (Kindle Edition - 1 Jan 2011
Buy: £6.86

7. Gun Law by Lee Walker (Hardcover - 31 Dec 2009)
From £1.34

8. Battle at Gun Barrel Canyon by Wolf Lundgren (Hardcover - 31 Aug 2011)
From £10.13

9. Comanchero Trail by Jack Dakota (Hardcover - 30 Sep 2011)
From £9.66

10. The Drummond Band by William Durey (Hardcover - 29 Jul 2011)
From £8.93

Sunday 6 November 2011

An Interview with Terry James


Q. Has your storytelling style changed at all between the writing of Shadows to Echoes to Ghosts, either by design, default or just experience, and if so, could you tell us a little about the how or maybe the why?

A. Yes, I believe my writing has changed and is continually changing. I used to write for the enjoyment of the story telling but these days I find the composition the more interesting part of the writing process. Therefore, I'd say my style has changed, and continues to change, because I want every story I write to be unique from anything else I've done...

Read more at Joanne Walpole.

Saturday 5 November 2011

E-BHWs - October 2011


Gunhawk by John Long

Jeff Rand, a feared and vengeful gunslinger since his family were murdered, is persuaded by Jim Miller to give up his gunning and join him in peaceful gold-mining. All goes well until one day Jeff returns to camp to find Miller murdered and the gold stolen. Jeff rides off in a black mood of revenge. But after a saloon fracas, he is forced by gunmen to take part in a bank raid. Then the raiders are ambushed and though Jeff escapes with half the gang, they accuse him of informing and beat him up. Can Jeff extricate himself? Can he clear his name and can he bring the murderers to justice? Lead must fly before he can find the answers.

Available on amazon.co.uk and amazon.com.


Arizona Pay-off by Duke Patterson

When Tex Scarron, six feet of whipcord and steel, rode home to the Bar X in Arizona, he found Parson Dean and his gang working a lucrative ‘protection’ racket. Any rancher who failed to pay up had his cattle rustled, his homestead burnt about his ears and his cowhands shot in the back. Tex’s earlier experience fighting hoodlums came in handy, and the gunplay was fast and furious before he rid the territory of the Parson, solved the mystery that lay behind the racket, and incidentally found happiness with the mysterious outlaw girl whose trail had so often crossed his own.

Available on amazon.co.uk and amazon.com.


A Colt for the Kid by John Saunders

Johnnie Callum was a half-grown boy when Donovan’s riders stamped his parents’ homestead flat and sent him running terrified into the night. He ran far and fast over the trackless range that was Donovan’s empire and fetched up in the hands of Josh Manders, a brutal sheepherder. Manders worked him hard and in six years came near to breaking Johnnie’s spirit. But not near enough. Finally, there came a day when Johnnie’s resentment took charge and his big, bony hands wrapped around Manders’ throat in an unshakable hold. Johnnie took Manders’ horse and then worked for Sam Stevens. But when Donovan was all set up to wipe out Stevens’ ranch Johnnie began to get gun-minded!

Available on amazon.co.uk and amazon.com.


Dead Man's Range by Paul Durst

The murder trail was eight years old when Jeff Carmody got out of Huntsville Prison and the only clue he had was the rowel of a broken spur he had found that night beside Clint Merriweather’s body. Booth Anson’s rambling Anvil range hemmed the tiny Merriweather ranch on all sides, but Clint’s widow, Anne, hung stubbornly on. Anson had killed to build his empire – his was a dead man’s range. But a woman stood in his way now – would he balk at killing a woman? That was when Carmody picked up his gun.

Available on amazon.co.uk and amazon.com.


The Kansas Fast Gun by Arthur Kent

Dave Frome was a man with a secret past, which only a few friends knew. Holding himself responsible for the death of his family, he had vowed never to carry a gun again. He wanted to be left alone to raise cattle on his Broken Arrow spread, but mining interests were in the hills, contaminating the water which brought life to Frome's cattle.

Hesta Le Roy, daughter of a neighbouring rancher, was horrified when Frome refused to carry a gun against the miners who had, she thought, killed her own brother. It is not until he sees an innocent man brutally lynched that Frome buckles on his gun to battle with the bad men of both factions and eventually win the hand of the girl he loves.

Available on amazon.co.uk and amazon.com.

Friday 4 November 2011

Review of Ghosts of Bluewater Creek by Terry James


By telling the story mainly through the eyes of the three main characters, Terry James is able to leave one or more of them in dangerous situations before switching to one of the others therefore ensuring the reader will keep turning the pages to find out what happens next...

Read more at Western Fiction Review.

Thursday 3 November 2011

Review of Encounter at Salvation Creek by Paxton Johns


This is the first book to carry the author name of Paxton Johns, and it proves to be a very good debut. Born Gallant makes for an engaging hero, a man who sees the humour in his own name, can play the out-of-his-depth greenhorn perfectly to throw his adversaries off balance, doesn’t carry a gun of his own, but is exceptionally sharp-witted and can more than stand his ground in a fight...

Read more at Western Fiction Review.