not had a chance to compose a post of substance today - I'm working hard on the last quarter of what is hoped will be my second novel. However I've not been completely idle and I'd like to inform regular readers that we have three major interviews coming up over the next week - Max Allan Collins, Mark Billingham and Patricia Gott. And if that's not enough we've also got another feature on James J. Griffin.
And of course the next Wild West Monday is not too far away.
Nuff said,as they used to say in the Marvel comics of old.
Patricia Probert Gott has just published her fifth novel, Cowgirl Days which is a sequel to her popular contemporary western, So You Want to be a Cowgirl. A retired businesswoman, Pat has a zest for life that keeps her moving onwards and pushing boundaries. Her novels tell thrilling stories with a feminine slant that are firmly set in the myth and reality of the American West.
So who is Pat Gott? How would she describe herself?
"I'm a Western cowgirl living in an Eastern businesswoman's body.
I was raised in Strong, Maine by parents who didn't know one end of a horse from another--however, my grandfather was a South Dakota cowboy; his family from Nebraska. My grandmother was a cowgirl turned school teacher, as she bore ten kids. My grandfather taught me how to rope and throw a lariat and I listened to his talesof cowboy yesteryear with focused fascination. Who knew that I'd someday be a writer of westerns and teller of tall tales in fictional novels and short stories!
Horses have always been my passion. I wintered my first pony at age eight, and got an old (and I mean OLD) retired thorobred racehorse to ride at age 9. I traded and swapped until I ended up with a young two-year-old Morgan when I was age 14 that I trained and owned until I graduated from college. As a youth, I could be found riding throughout my county almost every day and have owned a horse or two (or three) all my life--fifty years later I still trail ride 3-4 times a week. I've ridden English, Western and presently ride in an endurancee trail saddle with a hackamore headstall on my Arab(s). I own two, both of whom I've owned and trained since they were yearlings.--Thus my love and knowledge of horses.
I've ridden on eight moving horsepack trips in the six western states of AZ, UT, CO, SD WY and MT, and have been horse trekking in Tanzania and Egypt, the Snow River area of Australia, Castle-to-castle in Hungary, as well as a 10-day horse safari in South Africa.
I also combined my horse skills with the western way of life when I worked for four summers as a lady wrangler around Cody, Wyoming.--Thus my love and knowledge of the west, especially Wyoming/Montana areas."
Pat seems to live and breathe the western. So what, I wonder, does the western mean to her.
"If I were to ask for a "western" book, I'd expect to receive a historic saga about life west of MN, IA, MO, AR and LA relating to horses, cattle, buffalo, wolves, wagon trains, stagecoaches, Indians, cowboys, cowgirls, miners, ranchers and farmers. I feel a real kinship with the American West and reading a western book is like reading/learning about my heritage.
I prefer stories about the "building of the West," vs the "shoot-em-up, bang, bang tales". Traditional westerns (prior to 1915) are my favorite, although a good contemporary western telling of unusual present-day adventures or situations can be interesting if it's well written.
In my youth I read all of Zane Grey's, as well as the My Friend Flicka Series, based in Wyoming. I've since read most of Louis L'Amour's and I REALLY like Richard S. Wheeler's, especially his character portrayals. "
So did Pat always want to be a writer?
"No, I was too busy raising a son as a single parent, and building a roller skating business, which I owned and managed for 24 years.
Although I took a Business Writing Course as a college requirement (I majored in Business Admin) and elected to take a Journalism Course for fun
, I never aspired to be a writer or author of books.
During snowstorms (and we get many in Maine) when I'd have to cancel roller skating, I began writing my personal biography, just for the fun of it, with no intention of having it published. However, about half way through, and upon the urging of a few close friends who'd read some chapters, I began adding more details and deleting some very perso
nal "stuff" with thoughts of publishing it. It took a couple of years to finish writing. I spent months editing and then added 80 pictures (I'm also a photographer). Finally, in 2004 I completed a good 185-page autobiography, "Metamorphosis, My Journey of Growth an
d Change." That was my first book. "
Archive readers should ride on over to PAT'S website and check out some of the wonderful pictures. I mention that the website contains many great snaps of her living the western lifestyle. But how much of Pat's busy life is led this way?
"Not enough...I love the openness and serenity of the west whereas Maine seems claustrophobic with dense woods, lakes and ponds everywhere in between hills and mountains. However, I trailride as in the west. We have many old county roads now grown over with bush and grass, along with cleared snowmobile trails on which to ride. I'm always exploring and discovering new trails that lead to other new trails or back to old trails. I ride Arabians and they love the freedom of trail riding. I don't do arena or show ring riding.
Cosmetically, I'm a jeans type of lady and always wear them whether riding or not. And I ride wearing my western (actually an Australian Akubra) hat, leather gloves, and lace-up Ropers with half chaps.
I return to the west periodically, my heart remains there. I visit friends in Colorado and horseback ride while I'm there at least every other year and I'm planning to visit Cody, Wyoming next year to do some book signing as well as ride into the Shoshone Wilderness again.
However, I'm booked at a ranch in Argentina this June to apprentice polo and do some distance riding! "
The Tainted ARchive is envious. So how would Pat describe her books to new readers looking for a thrilling western read?
"My two cowgirl books are contemporary westerns. "So You Wanna be a Cowgirl", 2007, is a memoir of my adventures as a lady-wrangler in Wyoming for four summers, packed with humor and behind the scene wrangler shenanigans.
"Cowgirl Days", 2008, is a fictional story about a lady wrangler training horses (including wild mustangs) and endurance racing in Montana, and wrangling packtrips into the Bridger-Teton and Shoshone Wilderness areas of Wyoming.
As I previous mentioned "Metamorphosis, My Journey of Growth and Change", 2004, is my autobiography with accompanying pictures.
I have also written two travel booklets, "Volunteer to Empower", 2006, tells my experiences volunteering in Tanzania, Africa and "Ancient Egypt & the Nile", 2007, relates my adventures in Cairo, racing Arabian horses in the Sahara and sailing down the Nile.
My sixth book and the first in the Horse Tails Series is "Horse Tails by Shasta", 2008. It is a story told from a horse's prospective of his precocious life. His adventures include trying to befriend a porcupine, snowman, kid goat, neighborhood ponies and dogs. By the time other horses finally join him in his pasture, his antics of getting loose and wandering his neighborhood free have become a habit and legendary. Shasta lived to be 30 years old. The story is true.
The cowgirl books can be purchased over the Internet from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or any of them can be purchased from my web site www.prgottbooks.net"
Assuming PAT can find time, I wonder what future projects she has lined up?
"This winter, the second book in my children's Horse Tails series, "Horse Tails by Mookie the Mustang" is being illustrated, while I have just finished writing the third book, "Horse Tails by Horses in Harness". These should be available to the public summers of 2009 and 2010 respectively.
I am alsowriting and putting together from previously written short stories, a historic western adventure set around Cody, Wyoming between 1880 and 1910. This was an exciting time with Yellowstone opening to the public, the Johnson County War, Wyoming Territory gaining its statehood, Cody becoming incorporated, Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, and the Shoshone dam coming to fruition.
The book's title is "The DAYES of Wyoming" featuring the adventures of Bertha and Charlie Daye."
Enticing news, then for the western fan. I wonder where Pat sees the western going over the coming years?
"I'm optimistic about the western genre. After all, the pioneers who settled the west are the founders of modern America. The younger generation may be into reading murder mysteries and legal dramas at present. However as they age and appreciate history more, I believe they will generate toward the western as an interesting and exciting part of American history, as we of the olding generation already know. Western authors and readers just need to keep the general public informed and aware that western novels are a viable, versatile and exciting reading option, as you are doing in the Wild West Mondays."
The next WILD WEST MONDAY is the 2nd MARCH and PAT already has some great things lined up to help with the now global initiative.
"I called my local library late this past Saturday; they're very cooperative to local authors. When I explained the concept behind the Wild West Monday, they agreed to use that day to kick off a Western Reading Week, ending on Saturday March 7th with me signing/selling and giving a presentation of my cowgirl books and children's horse story. They will place a bookrack in their lobby of western authors including Grey, L'Amour, Wheeler, Kelton, McMurtry, Paul A Hawkins and William W. Johnstone, as well as other lesser known authors, and my books.
They gave me permission to bring my western saddle, boots, hat, chaps and anything else that would epitomize western life like my ranch/wrangler photo album. They are using the picture of my book covers (that I've inserted, it'sme on the cover of So You Wanna be a Cowgirl) for promotional posters. "
The Tainted Archive thanks Pat for her time in answering our questions.
WILD WEST MONDAY NEWS -The next one is the 2nd March.
This rather topical item was brought to my attention - I just read the gift Michelle Obama gave to Laura Bush was a journal with a quote from western writer Louis L'Amour: "There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. But that will be the beginning."
GREAT WESTERN FICTION the new fiction magazine that is single handedly championing the western short story on the newstands is back with its second issue. The magazine is published monthly by Dry River Publishing and anyone interested in westerns should support this wonderful publication.
The second issue's line up is:
Younger and Faster by Mike Thompson Miss Annie by Kit Prate Whiskey Trail by Jerry Guin Suffer the children by Wes Parker
The prodigal (part 2 of a serialised novel) by We Parker Bound for Texas (part 2 of a serialised novel) by Kit Prate Cowgirl Up by Patricia Probert Gott
This month's cover image is by Nancy Ruybal and I must say I like it a lot.
The magazine reminds me in style of SCI- FI giant Interzone during it's early days and the only thing I'd like to see added would be a letters page in which the writer's could get valuable feedback. I've spoken to the editor about this but his opinion is that the magazine should be purely fiction and you have to respect that. After all the mag has no adverts at all and survives purely on subscriptions only so please visit the link above and buy an issue.
Issue three is trailed on the inside back cover and as well as stories from Patricia Probert Gott and Christopher Scott the magazine features my USA publishing debut with The Devil's Right Hand by Jack Martin. So I'm looking forward to that one.
A year on the Archive...so let's go back for part one of our look at the year.
As 2010 approaches, the Archive nears the milestone of 100,000 hits - The Archive started 2009 off with several interviews in January - Beau L'amour, son of western legend Louis L'amour and Celia Hayes, Max Allen Collins, Charles Ardai, Jim Griffin, David Cranmer, Mark Billingham and Patricia Gott were all grilled by the Archive in that first month. That month we also pointed readers to a free copy of a computer game, Operation Thunderbowel which I originally wrote for the ZX Spectrum platform back in the 1990's. We also revealed the artwork for my, then forthcoming, western novel Tarnished Star. And we were there early with our article on the future of reading which looked at the novelty of eReaders. And Steve M. of Western Fiction Review became the first guest blogger of the year with his review of Endworld - Doomsday.
It's fitting that there were so many interviews in January because January 2010 is set to mirror that with our Black Horse Western weekend in which we will be chatting with heaps of western creators.
February saw us pushing the Wild West Monday initiative which was due on March 2nd. Terry James was interviewed about her debut novel, The Long Shadows. And fellow Black Horse scribes David Whitehead and Chap O'keefe were also available at the campfire for a friendly chat. We also gave news of a digital publishing first and announced the the full novel of Chap O'Keefe's The Sheriff and the Widow would be published online for the world to read. The book would go onto be published in four weekly instalments (all of which can still be found in the Archive sidebar) during the build up to Wild West Monday. We also ran a competition in which lucky readers could win a copy of Chap O'keefe's Misfit Lil Gets Even. All in all Feb was a successful month of western posts leading up to Wild West Monday.
March saw Wild West Monday come and go with a bang and the instalments of The Sheriff and the Widow received record daily hits. The month saw us chat with Gillian F. Taylor and look at the birth of the western movie. And with the first reviews of Tarnished Star starting to appear we made the first mention of Arkansas Smith (out March 2010). The month saw us looking at current films, with reviews of many new DVD's during the month.
April saw an interview with Seth Hardwood and we announced Wild West Monday III which would follow in June - the first push saw some publishers announcing a small rise in western sales. I posted about the time I spent working on Doctor Who and we ran several non fiction old west articles, the piece on Billy the Kid is still our most revisited post. We ran some pictures of PC Case mods which brought some computer enthusiasts to the Archive for perhaps the first time. And we started our Deadwood episode guide which is a project we have yet to finish. Mind you I plan an all new episode guide, all original reviews, for sometime in 2010. And the month also saw us interview the lovely Laurie Powers, a pulp historian and someone who has become a good and cherished friend to myself. Her own Blog is cooking at the moment.
May saw another month of western posts as we moved towards June which would see another Wild West Monday as well as the publication of The Tarnished Star. It was very much a month of guest blogs with many other people from all over the wild west web contributing posts in the build up to Wild West Monday III. WE ran the Paul D Brazil story, A Tissue of Webs. And sadly we also reported of Elmer Kelton's illness that month . Elmer would sadly pass away later in the year. The western field lost a legend with his passing.
Next we will look at June to December on The Tainted Archive
Western readers can rejoice - the ever popular Chap O'keefe's books have been going out of print in a matter of days. Well his last novel A Gunfight Too Many (already reviewed on the Tainted Archive) is being reprinted to answer popular demand. Chap also has a new novel Blast to Oblivion out soon.
Patricia Gott (read the ARCHIVE tomorrow for an interview) tells us of her plans for the next WILD WEST MONDAY - "I called my local library late this past Saturday; they're very cooperative to local authors. When I explained the concept behind the Wild West Monday, they agreed to use that day to kick off a Western Reading Week, ending on Saturday March 7th with me signing/selling and giving a presentation of my cowgirl books and children's horse story. They will place a bookrack in their lobby of western authors including Grey, L'Amour, Wheeler, Kelton, McMurtry, Paul A Hawkins and William W. Johnstone, as well as other lesser known authors, and my books."
Well done Pat.
Also look out for a new Lance Howard western when Coyote Deadly is published later this month.
AND NOW THE BIG WILD WEST NEWS CHECK OUT THE VIDEO AD BELOW - I'm excited about this.
Pat Gott will be doing a series of talks at her local library. If you live local then mosey on over there. Find details of Pat's contact email here
In the meantime here's the email Pat sent me. Thanks for keeping The Archive informed.
Patricia Probert Gott has sent you a message on True West Historical Society
Pat Gott here, from Maine. You did an interview with me a couple months back... our paths cross again. What better place than the True West Historical Society! Understand you are doing another Western Monday--good luck, I hope they continue.
I'm doing a book reading during school vacation as the local library promoting my latest children's horse book-- and where you find horse lovers, there are bound to be parents interested in the old West, so I can promote both.
I have no doubt that the next generation of big name writers are going to come from the internet. It's happening with music - British group The Artic Monkeys secured a number one song via internet downloads before they even had a record contract.
Novels are published on the net, some have even gone from the screen into conventional print.
So where does this new writing talent start out? Where do they learn their craft?
Webzines, online magazines, are publishing new talent all the time.
One of the better webzines around at the moment is Beat to a Pulp run by writers David Cramer and Elaine Ash.
And so I sat down with the duo to find out what it is they are hoping to achive with their webzine. Why for instance, given that there are so many webzines out there did they decide to start a new one?
"Elaine: I had been working with David in an editor/writer relationship for about a year, on his own short stories, so we knew each other but had never actually met face to face. David ran a successful news blog for several years. Every now and then he would mention starting up a short story site and collecting submissions from writers all over the world, and I thought it was a terrible idea. I told him it would divert his attention from his own writing and he’d run the risk of getting bogged down with the workload, blah blah. Then DZ Allen’s Muzzle Flash closed down, and a few others, at the same time. Online venues were shrinking for short stories, so when David announced that he was really serious about starting a site, I revisited my opinion and came onboard as Editor at Large"
"David: I couldn’t have said it any better!"
And it's been a success - I point out that I strongly believe the next superstar scribe is going to come from the internet. So what do David and Elaine look for in a story?
"Elaine: I think e-zine publishing is a terrific way for unknown writers to establish themselves and for known writers to reach new readers. It’s truly been a renaissance for the short story. Everything old is new again as the saying goes. I eat, sleep and breathe discovering new writers and working with them. It’s hugely satisfying and exciting for me. Then, when comments start coming in, and you can tell when readers are truly jazzed about a piece, it’s a reward all in itself."
"David: Our primary focus is hardboiled crime but we welcome action/adventure, western, sci-fi, fantasy, horror and thrillers. We pass on bigotry and overt political agendas. Elaine looks for an exciting start to a story, the plot kick-off. I’m more patient with a slow start if the story gradually draws me in and ends with a bang."
But would there every be a subject they would turn down?
"
David: We judge each story on its own merit but we’re not interested in publishing overt political pieces or anything that encourages racism. Extreme violence and sex are fine as long it’s central to the story and not just a gratuitous scene."
Both David and Elaine are writers themselves. Will they be publishing any of their own work on Beat to a Pulp?
"Elaine: Yes. "
"David: Yes, I have a story coming up that will be published later in the year. "
And where do they see the webzine being in a year's time.
"Elaine: I just want the quality to stay as consistently good as it is now. I keep saying to David, that’s all we have to do. Just show the world that we can do this week after week, and attract a loyal readership"
Well the policy seems to be paying off big time and I, among many others, make it a part of our online week to read the new story on Beat to a Pulp. I wonder what writers influence David and Elaine's work?
"Elaine: James M. Cain, Thomas Harris, Stephen King, Tom Robbins, Jim Thompson, Janet Fitch, John Barth, John Burdett, Terry Pratchett, just to name a few. Please don’t recoil in horror if your favorite writer isn’t listed here. I could fill an entire page with writers I hugely love and admire."
"David: Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie and Stephen King are some of my influences. Recently I’ve started writing a western and I’ve turned to the work of Luke Short, Louis L’Amour and the Longarm novels written by James Reasoner for inspiration."
Is there a backlog of stories waiting to be read?
"David: So far, I’m staying on top of the heap.
So generally how long would a writer wait for a decision when sending a story?
"Elaine: Thirty days, max."
"David: We try to reply within a couple of weeks so authors aren’t waiting too long, but as Elaine says, no more than a month."
So far the zine has published crime and westerns albeit with a slant. In fact one or two of the stories published thus far are hard to catagorise. Are there any other genres lined up? Horror, SF perhaps?
"Elaine: Yes, but not enough in my opinion. One of our goals is to reach out to horror and sci-fi writers, and extend a warm welcome for their submissions. Good writing and good stories can appeal to readers in any genre. BTAP is a great place to get a story read by a fresh readership that might not surf over to a horror site, but will read and enjoy a horror story with gusto on BTAP."
"David: I’ll just add that we have a very eerie horror offering from Chris F. Holm whose work has been featured in Ellery Queen, plus a dark fantasy from Canadian author Barbara Martin."
And finally are there ever times when David and Elaine disagree on a story?
"Elaine: Yes. Vehemently. David is the perfect publisher for me because he remains calm while I passionately argue my case. I took my graduate degree in story critique at Hollywood Screw U, and learned to defend plot points in a series writers’ room. Not for the faint of heart. In Hollywood, it’s just accepted that passionate disagreement and creative negotiation can yield great work. A Hollywood writer that I’ve argued the most with, is one I love and respect tremendously, and we would jump at the chance to work together again. There are never hard feelings about a little creative skirmish. The one who cares the most wins."
"David: Ha! Elaine’s answer cracks me up, though it’s not far from the truth. I come from the O. Henry school of writing and I’m really big on the twist endings. So, occasionally we may differ. For Elaine, as long as the ride in getting to the end is thrilling, the end doesn’t need to tip her out of her seat."
