Saturday 28 February 2009

Wild West Monday almost here


It's March and the Archive has just posted an entire month's worth of western posts, that's 76 posts in Feb and all western themed in the run up to Wild West Monday. We've had interviews, features, reviews and a massive book giveaway of which the results will be posted later today.

And there's more to come - tomorrow, Wild West Monday sees the start of the online publication of Chap O'Keefe's classic western novel, The Sheriff and the Widow.

So pop back later for the competition results and details of how you can take part in Wild West Monday.

BEAT TO A PULP

This week's story on Beat to a Pulp is western themed. So head on over there for The Unreal Jessie James by Chap O'keefe.

WESTERN - NEW VOICE - TERRY JAMES

Joanne Walpole is the person behind the Terry James name and this May sees the publication of the the debut Black Horse Western . So I cornered Jo and asked her to tell us a little something about the book. And it's not easy getting anything out of this lady - she is so modest and prefers to let her books speak for themselves. No harm in that - but I've read an early draft (review here on The Archive in May) and it's good enough to speak for itself. In fact it's a bloody fine tome - but it sure don't hurt to have some info from the author and so The Archive presents - Terry James.

Long Shadows is a story of murder, betrayal and revenge where mutual respect is developed and trust earned. It is written for people like me who have a love of small town westerns as epitomised by the likes of John Wayne and Audie Murphy. But don’t be deceived. My Old West is a dangerous place, the times are violent, the people use guns and fists to settle disputes, some even look the other way. The streets are filled with lawmen and lawbreakers alike. My characters are three-dimensional and separated, as in real life, by emotional conflict and the twists and turns of a harsh reality. In the best tradition of the classic western, the fast-paced action unfolds towards an exciting finale where the events of the past, which will ultimately shape the future, are revealed to explosive effect. If this sounds like your kind of western, read on…

When Jake Rudd is saved from a brutal beating, he can't believe his luck. Not only is his saviour an attractive redhead, she’s an old flame. Suddenly his plans to settle down seem a real possibility. Unfortunately, Ros West has no memory of him, and with trouble following her, no reason to trust him.

It’s not the first time Ros’s life has been in danger. Three years before, someone shoved her under the wheels of a speeding stagecoach then left her for dead in the desert with a bullet in her back. Nursed back to health by an unlikely group of benefactors, she has spent the intervening years in exile, living every day as it comes. However, a personal advertisement placed in a newspaper, convinces her to return home, where she hopes to rebuild the bonds of family that were shattered when she ran away.

Jake is living with the secret of a dangerous past he’d sooner forget. However, the local sheriff seems intent on thwarting that plan when he asks Jake to help him rid the town of a bad man. Initially, Jake is reluctant to get involved. Only when family and friends are threatened, do the long shadows of the past force his hand and bring events full circle. To secure the future, Jake and Ros must deal with the past. But when the smoke clears, will old scores be settled, or will the truth prove more dangerous than a smoking gun?


Long Shadows is published in May and available now for pre order

50 CLASSIC WESTERNS BOX SET

I got this box set some time ago on Ebay.

The 50 classic westerns intrigued me and I'm glad I bought it - not only are there a stack of old B-pictures starring Tex Ritter, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Ken Maynard there are also rare early films starring Jack Palance, Randolph Scott and, I kid you not, Captain Kirk (pictured below) as a white Commanche.

There's been no remastering done on the fifty films which are all in the public domain but they are all reasonably priced and I'm glad I bought this set.

All of these titles are of the old fashioned wild west slam bam type and there's nothing wrong with that.

There is a version of Outlaw on this box set that lasts 101 mins when the previous longest version I've ever seen clocked in at 95 minutes.
















The box set is still available from several traders on Ebay and also available at Amazon and other online stores.

NEW GUNMEN VIDEO POSTED

I've posted a new video, entitled Gunmen of the Old West in The Archive's sidebar. It'll sit there for a few months before being updated later in the year, probably after the June publication of The Tarnished Star.

Take a look - and here's the full sized version.


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What do you all think? Does it get you curious?

Keep reading as we fast approach Wild West Monday for yet more western centric posts and the announcement of the Chap O'keefe/Misfit Lil compo. And not to mention - Monday sees the start of the digital publication of Chap's classic western, The Sheriff and the Widow.

Friday 27 February 2009

FRIDAY'S FORGOTTEN BOOKS - SHATTERHAND AND THE PEOPLE



Shatterhand and the People
B. J. Holmes
Black Horse Westerns
published 1992
Original cover price £7.25

This is an excellent western with a truly epic feel - in fact I'm amazed the author managed to fit so much into its 160 pages and still keep the pace moving like a finely tuned engine.

The book starts of with an author's note that sets the historical context of the story. The main character, Old Shatterhand was originally created by German author Karl May and featured in a long running series of novels- the character was, apparently Hitler's favourite western character. In fact such a fan was the dictator that he gave his generals copies of May's westerns.

B. J. Holmes originally revived Shatterhand for an earlier Black Horse Western, A legend called Shatterhand (I'm gonna track that one down) but for the most part of this novel the character is secondary to the well realised Native American characters who we follow as they set about trying to drive the white man from their soil. Real life historical characters turn up throughout the narrative and the book has the ring of authenticity about it.



THIS FROM THE WIKI:

Old Shatterhand is a fictional character in sixteen western novels by German writer Karl May (1842-1912). He is the German American friend and blood brother of Winnetou, the fictional chief of the Mescalero tribe of the Apache. He is the main character in the Eurowestern by the same name from 1964, starring Lex Barker.

Old Shatterhand is the alter ego of Karl May, and May himself maintained that he experienced all the adventures in person, even though in fact he did not visit America until after he wrote most of his well-known Western stories, and never traveled west of Buffalo, NY. Most of the stories are written from a first person perspective, and Winnetou often calls Old Shatterhand my brother Scharlee (Scharlee being a mispronounced form of Charlie, and ultimately meaning Karl in German). May also wrote stories about the same character traveling the Orient, where he is known as Kara Ben Nemsi.


B.J.Holmes grabs the reader from page one and doesn't let up until the final denouncement.

An excellent westren.



MISFIT LIL COMP CLOSED

The Archive had over a hundred entries for this competition and I will be announcing the winners by Monday - then the lucky winners will get an email requesting posting details and the book will be with the winners in no time at all.

Don't forget folks this Monday is Wild West Monday.

Thursday 26 February 2009

BLAST TO OBLIVION - CHAP O'KEEFE

Black Horse Westerns
Out NOW
publication 27th Feb 2009

CHAP O'KEEFE writes:

THE first words in this book, after the title pages, are written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: "The old wheel turns, and the same spoke comes up. It’s all been done before, and will be again."




I'm not exactly a Sherlockian myself though I have read a fair number of the stories and when Chap told me of the Holmes connection to his story I was intrigued. Though to be honest I would never have noticed it were my attention not brought to the fact. So I think this book will be enjoyed by all western fans but will also appeal to Sherlock Holmes fans who don't normally read western literature.

What I did find was a finely written western with all the usual detail Chap is renowned for - the book starts off with a lone stranger entering town with murder on his mind, but first he decides to stop off at the Red Light district. His eventual victim is Ryan Bennet, an ex-Pinkerton operative.

Some time later Joshua Dillard, also an ex-Pinkerton, is asked to find out who was behind the murder by the dead man's sister, Flora. And so begins a page turning western cum detective story that will have you racing to the end.

One of O'keefe's strengths is in the way he works so many facts into the narrative without pausing the pace of the story at all and it adds colour to the story and helps with the sense of time and place.

Highly recommended but I do have one reservation - and that's with the cover image which really doesn't sum up the feel of this tightly plotted, thoughtful tale. Anyone would think it was about bucking bronco busters judging by the image used.

NOTE - MIDNIGHT SEES THE END OF THE CHAP O'KEEFE/MISFIT LIL CONTEST. THE WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOMETIME OVER THE WEEKEND.




Couldn't agree more, Mr Eastwood


Hollywood legend CLINT EASTWOOD laments the loss of old-fashioned humour in today's society - insisting he should be able to tell harmless jokes about nationality without fear of people branding him a "racist".
The Dirty Harry star, 79, is adamant that modern culture has become humourless, and accuses younger generations of spending too much time trying to avoid being offensive.
He says, "People have lost their sense of humour. In former times we constantly made jokes about different races. You can only tell them today with one hand over your mouth or you will be insulted as a racist.
"I find that ridiculous. In those earlier days every friendly clique had a 'Sam the Jew' or 'Jose the Mexican' - but we didn't think anything of it or have a racist thought. It was just normal that we made jokes based on our nationality or ethnicity. That was never a problem. I don't want to be politically correct. We're all spending too much time and energy trying to be politically correct about everything."

Wednesday 25 February 2009

WILD WEST MONDAY COUNTDOWN

THE SHERIFF, THE WIDOW AND THE WESTERN SCRIBE

As announced previously next Monday ( Wild West Monday none less) The Archive will become a cyber publisher by issuing Chap O'keefe's long out of print classic western, The Sheriff and the Widow. The novel will be published in four parts on each consecutive Monday. This is an experiment that if popular could be repeated - we are trying to recapture the old days of weekly serials in the pulp magazines.

So to get us all in the mood here's the book's author to tell us a little about the book:


"The Sheriff and the Widow was the third western I wrote for Robert Hale Ltd, but it became the second published. It was submitted in 1993 and published in January 1994. The first O'Keefe novel was Gunsmoke Night, appearing in September 1993. The second, Shootout at Hellyer's Creek, was published in May 1994 and was the first story to feature ex-Pinkerton detective Joshua Dillard, who is still with us, appearing in the February 2009 release, Blast to Oblivion.

"Why The Sheriff and the Widow appeared ahead of the Dillard book I was never told. Perhaps the market's acceptance of Gunsmoke Night persuaded the people at Hale that another O'Keefe book should be offered sooner than seven months later, or maybe there was simply a gap in the BHW schedule that had to be filled. The Sheriff and the Widow sold out completely.

"Later, I asked Mr Hale about the possibility of a reprint. Not unexpectedly, given the length of a viable print-run at that time, Mr Hale declined to take the risk involved and all rights in the novel reverted to me. Fortunately, he was happy to publish my next novel, and the next . . . and so on. As writing of one sort or another always constituted my sole means of living, I was obliged to take a break from westerns that lasted some years, but I returned in 2003 and I'm now working on my twenty-fourth.

"The Sheriff and the Widow is a western in the traditional vein preferred by Hale. Its influences are probably more Gold Medal than Piccadilly Cowboys. It does also have some adult themes and, especially in the later chapters, slightly macabre content that might today be called western noir."


The Sheriff and the Lady kicks off here next Monday and a gentle reminder - anyone not entered the Misfit Lil contest (see earlier posts) will have to get a move on for a chance to be entered into the draw. I will not be accepting any more entries after the 27th when the winners will be announced shortly afterwards. The 27th is also the day Chap's new novel, Blast to Oblivion is published. Demand is bound to be high so order now to avoid disappointment.

Tuesday 24 February 2009

RIDING THE RANGE WITH DAVID WHITEHEAD

Born on the wild frontier of East London, David Whitehead always wanted to write. As a child his father would pass on his old western books and also record stories he'd invented himself onto a tape for his young son to listen to.

These days that boy has become a man but that boyhood love of westerns is still with him and he has penned almost fifty westerns under a handful of names as well as many highly regarded works in other genres. His westerns are published under the Black Horse imprint from Robert Hale LTD.

So what is it about the western that attracts David?


In short, everything - the grandeur of the country against which the story's usually set, the idea that good can and does triumph over evil, that against all the odds justice can been done. Loyalty, honour, the idea that a man's word is everything, the opportunities for action - chases, gunfights, fist-fights ... I just love it all.

For a man with so many successful westerns under his belt David must have a good idea what ingredients are important to the genre?

First and foremost it needs a good, original plot. At this stage of the game, even the most die-hard western reader must have had his or her fill of range wars and vengeance quests. The plot needs to ring the changes, and yet remain traditional enough to appeal to fans of the genre. It needs characters who are more than just cardboard cutouts. The characters need to live and breath, to be credible and easy to identify with. They need to be as realistic as the author can make them, so that they hurt and love and get scared and dig deep to find the reserves they need to carry on, and that we, the reader, feel all of these things every step of the way. Most of all, however, I think the western needs to be told with style. There is very little left in the genre that hasn't already been done to death. The next step, I think, is to create a new variation on the old theme and tell it in the best and most original and entertaining way you can.


Which western authors have been a particular influence?

Many, and to mention even a few is to perform a disservice to the rest. However, the late, great Ben Haas probably had the most profound effect on me. When I first came to his FARGO and SUNDANCE series (written as John Benteen), it was a revelation. Here was the way popular westerns should be written. Fabulous, original plots, great set pieces, unusual locations and characters who were wholly believable. He influenced me more than anyone else.

For a writer so prolific David must have a strict writing routine. I ask him about this.

This is the code by which I always try to write. First, I check my ego at the door, then I stick your butt in the chair and write. I've never felt the need to impress anyone other than the reader. When I'm at the keyboard, he or she is all that matters. I take my work seriously, but never take myself seriously. I write, I care about what I write, and then I go back and refine it and add to it, until I can see and hear and feel everything in my mind. Also, I always try to think ahead. As Peter Watts once said, the western readership is thick with experts, some of them even more ill-informed than many of the writers. So I am forever thinking ahead, checking my facts so as not to get caught out, and finally I endeavour to write with such authority that, even if I do slip up somewhere, the reader will still believe entirely in what I've told him.

David writes under many different names and yet each name seems to have a distinct voice. For instance Ben Bridges reads differently to Mike Lockwood.

Very much so, at least to my mind. Ben Bridges has a tougher style. His plots are more action-related. Glenn Lockwood is different. The Lockwood books are more concerned with emotion, human nature, ordinary men and women put in extraordinary situations and how they deal with them.


The western genre at the moment seems to be on some sort of upswing. Where does David see the genre in a few years from now?

I think it will remain a minority genre for several years to come, until someone out there does something constructive to introduce the genre to a new and younger readership. We need to be at the top of our game so that we can produce original westerns aimed at a more modern market. That's not to say we need to have teenage cowboys telling each other to "Chill", or to create a squeaky-clean western version of Hollyoaks or Beverly Hills 90210, just that we have to convince people who've never read westerns before that it's not all "head-'em-off-at-the-pass" and "white-man-speak-with-fork-tongue."
The best way to do it is to start writing westerns for children. Most kids now have no idea what a western is, or the fun and excitement that can still be had from them. Introduce them to well-told, fast-paced stories and hopefully we have a western fan for life. But it's tough. Writers can't do it alone. We need open-minded publishers, promotion, opportunity.
Several years ago I was asked to write a booklet about westerns for the school at which my wife then worked. This formed the basis of a number of lessons, and by all accounts the kids were absolutely enthralled by the story of the west, and in next to no time the entire class could be found scribbling away at their own western yarns and studying reference books to see what a Conestoga was or to discover the different customs of the various Indian tribes. Kids really don't know what they're missing ... but how do we get them to give our genre the time of day? Answers on a postcard, please.

As stated in the introduction it has always been David's ambition to become a writer.
But how did it all come about?

I was born wanting to write. And since my Dad took me to see all the western movies that were still being made during my childhood (the 1960s) and we were forever watching westerns on TV, and since he used to make up western stories for me and then read them into a reel-to-reel tape recorder so that I could listen to them while he was working evening shifts as a security man, the western seemed a natural genre for me. I grew up with an understanding of the history and geography of the west, an ear for the dialogue, a respect for the themes that play such a large part in the genre. It didn't matter that I was just a poor kid from the East End of London. The American West was my second home.
Initially, and like so many of us, I wrote for my own entertainment. Then, when I was sixteen, I decided to write specifically for publication. I wrote a horror novel called VAMPIRE SCOURGE and that brought me the first of many, many rejection slips.
Undaunted, I went on to write about nineteen or twenty books before THE SILVER TRAIL was accepted for publication in 1984. I came close to publication a few times, but never quite made it. When Granada Books cancelled the JUBAL CADE series, for example, they expressed interest in a series I submitted to them about a black gunfighter named JASON DEAL. Sadly for me, right at the eleventh hour (and after I had written the first three books) there was a change of editor and the new guy decided to reinstate JUBAL CADE.
Then I came close to scoring an acceptance with a series about a crotchety one-eyed Pinkerton man named LOGAN TYREE. He was aimed specifically at the Norwegian western market, and was very much in the embittered, short-tempered style of MORGAN KANE. But the western was undergoing one of its periodic downturns in Norway, so nothing came of that.
In between all this, I joined the Western Writers of America and that gave me an address list through which I began to correspond with a number of writers. With two exceptions (whose names I won't reveal), they were all unfailingly kind and encouraging. I counted among my correspondents at that time such luminaries as Ray Hogan, Louis L'Amour, Matt Braun, Brian Garfield, Will Henry, a whole bunch of them. I also started the George G Gilman Appreciation Society after becoming a fan of the EDGE and ADAM STEELE books, and through that I met and got to know the likes of Terry Harknett, Angus Wells, Laurence James. That also gave me an understanding of how publishing worked at that time.
Then one day I was bemoaning my bad luck to Peter Watts/Matt Chisholm, when he suggested that I send him what I considered to be my best book at that time. He would then read it and, if possible, tell me where I was going wrong. I did, he did, and his observations really showed me how it should be done. I still owe him for that, and indeed for introducing me to Mike Linaker, who remains a wonderful friend to this very day.
Anyway, having taken all of Peter's criticisms on board, I rewrote the second LOGAN TYREE book, SHIMMERING SILVER, as THE SILVER TRAIL, and sent it to Hale. I was asked to cut a few thousand words, did so and then received an acceptance. Later still I rewrote the first TYREE story, THE HIGHBINDERS, and it was eventually published as HELLER. The third, never-written TYREE yarn, THE DEADLY DOLLARS, eventually saw print as an O'Brien western.
Short answer, then: determination, luck and ability. Bang your head against a wall for long enough, and eventually it will crumble. The wall, that is, not the head.

David has also penned romance stories as Janet Whitehead as well as comic strip stories. How different are these disciplines to the western work?

I believe that writing is writing. Before any of us became western writers, we were simply writers. There are certain similarities between westerns and COMMANDO stories: a typical BHW is about 45,000 words. A typical COMMANDO story has to be wrapped up in about 135 pictures. So in both cases you're writing to a specific limit. Both genres rely on pace and regular bursts of action. To an extent, they are both formulaic, and rely on the writer to ring the changes and yet retain the traditional flavour. Scripts are easier in that you can introduce a nasty Nazi and put words in his mouth, but you don't have to stop and research the kind of uniform he's wearing, or the gun he's carrying. That is the job of the editor and the artist. So you're reasonably free to just introduce characters and situations without the need to research historical detail or "choreograph" action scenes, because that will be done by the artist. When you write a western, it's a solo effort. Everything relies on the author. But researching uniforms, weapons, Indian customs, war paint etc is a perk of the job in a way, because I really enjoy it.

Another important thing, I think - and this applies equally to both the western and the romance - is that the events that make up the story should flow naturally from the plot. It's no good trying to shoe-horn in a sudden burst of action or a passionate clinch if the plot doesn't call for it. Readers aren't so silly that they can't see that it's contrived. So the construction of plot should ensure that whatever it is, whether it be a bank robbery or that first meeting of our lovers' eyes across a crowded room, it should stem naturally from the plot.





What are David's fave western movies?

Too many to list. But those that spring immediately to mind are EL DORADO, TOMBSTONE, THE WRATH OF GOD, THE SHEEPMAN, THE FASTEST GUN ALIVE, DEATH OF A GUNFIGHTER, THE LAST WAGON, CROSSFIRE TRAIL, THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES.

And finally putting another person on the spot, The Archive wonders what David will be doing for Wild West Monday?

The same thing I always try to do - visit the local Smith's and Waterstones, ask where the westerns are and then, inevitably, follow up by asking why they don't stock them. I usually try to order at least one western online during these days.

THE TAINTED ARCHIVE THANKS DAVID FOR HIS TIME.

WILD WEST NEWS

David Cramer's Education of a Pulp Writer blog is getting into the spirit of Wild West Monday by starting a week of western posts leading up to the big day on the 2nd March.

Robert Hale/Black Horse Westerns have announced a tentative March 2010 release for Jack Martin's Arkansas Smith.

The Coe Ranch - started in 1882 by Frank Coe, one of Billy The Kid's partners in crime is on the market for $5.4 million. The Ranch sits in 258 acres of Lincoln Country countryside. BillPippin realEstate 800 653 6460.

Dorchester Publishing are releasing a series of classic novels that were made into classic westerns. The Searchers by Alan La'may is available now and next up is Destry Rides Again by Max Brand which hasn't seen print for over 30 years. The Tainted Archive can't wait for these.

Tombstone, Arizona now boasts an 8 feet tall bronze statue of Wyatt Earp. The Tainted Archive thinks this should have happened years ago.

CHECK BACK TO THE ARCHIVE LATER for an interview with man of many names, David Whitehead.

TARNISHED STAR NEWS

AMAZON

have now relisted The Tarnished Star for pre-order. They had previously run out of the number allocated to them with still almost four months till publication. Order now and no money will be deducted until publication day.

The Tarnished Star is now officially the fastest selling book in Black Horse Western history and is currently at No 2 in the pre-order charts.

FREE WESTERN NOVEL FOR EVERYONE ON THE WORLDWIDE WEB

Gunplay and seduction . . . the makings of a lawman's acid test!.


The Archive has secured permission to serialize in four instalments a complete, classic Black Horse Western. Elsewhere, readers are being asked to pay prices in the region of £90 for good, secondhand copies of this rarity. Now you will be able to read the complete book online, FREE!

Yep, thanks to the efforts of Archive friend, Chap O'Keefe who has secured the rights to do this we are publishing the entire classic novel in four parts. Part one will kick off on Wild West Monday (2nd March) and then we'll continue with the novel in weekly instalments.

The book was originally published by Black Horse Westerns and is long out of print - this is due to the curious state of the UK western genre - and recently a copy went for £90 on Ebay which is testament to O'Keefe's popularity.


I am proud and privileged to publish this novel on The Tainted Archive, which with the help of people like Chap O'Keefe is fast becoming the home of the western on the net.

So saddle up folks - from next Monday and for the following three Mondays the Archive becomes home of Chap O'Keefe. But keep an eye out for posts leading up to the debut electronic publication as I'm going to get Chap/Keith in a headlock and force him to tell us something about this novel.


BLURB -

As dangerous as unstable dynamite . . . That was
Sheriff Ross Kemp's assessment of Jessica Blackwood. She was
darkly beautiful with flirting amber eyes, and she was married
to the richest rancher around. Kemp was no sucker. He stayed
out of Jessica's cheating games. But mysterious notes, a
bizarre accusation and the bushwhack murder of her madly jealous
husband shoved him into the biggest trouble of his life.
Tried and convicted on a trumped-up charge, Kemp was
sentenced to ten years of living hell in the state pen.
His only hope of being saved was by trusting Jessica's lovely, unspoilt
stepdaughter, Ellen. But as she began to uncover the truth, so she
fell into deadly danger from Orson Rymer, gambler and
blackmailer, and Snake McClay, evil-minded gunslick. It looked as if
justice would never be done!

AND ANYONE WANTING A QUICK O'KEEFE FIX SHOULD VISIT
BEAT TO A PULP
THIS WEEKEND WHEN THEY WILL BE
PUBLISHING A O'KEEFE SHORT STORY ABOUT THE REAL JESSE JAMES

Monday 23 February 2009

WESTERN GOODIES STILL UP FOR GRABS



To celebrate Wild West Monday - one week and counting - we are running a competition in which 12 lucky readers will win a copy of popular western author, Chap O'Keefe's Misfit Lil Gets Even.

There's still time to enter to take a look at the picture below - that's Misfit herself and think which actress would be perfect to play her in a big screen movie of her adventures. Then email your answer to garydobbs@hotmail.co.uk and place Misfit Lil in the subject box.

The winners will be announced shortly after the closing date of 27th Feb 2009.


If you haven't entered then what are you waiting for?

And in related news Chap O'Keefe's latest book Blast to Oblivion is published at the end of the month by Black Horse Westerns.

Zach Skann came to Denver toting a deadly 12-gauge Greener shotgun. His mind was warped and sick from fifteen years in a penitentiary and it sought the palliative of vengeance against mines investor Ryan Bennett, the former Pinkerton detective responsible for his incarceration and the hangings of comrades.
Subsequently, it fell to Joshua Dillard, gun-for-hire, to seek the truth about Bennett’s murder for his sister, icily beautiful Flora Bennett. She declared she’d been cheated of a bequest; that Ryan’s widow and his smooth ex-secretary knew more than they were letting on.
To clear up the sorry mess of accusation and trickery, Joshua rode to a mining-town hell-hole. There the trail of inquiry became a trail of more blood!

Should a writer be his own publicist?

To a point - yes.

Anyone in any walk of life must use all tools available to them.

In the days of the internet then it is the writer's duty to push their work. The more books you sell the better the rewards. But it's not the financial aspect that's the important thing - it's getting your work to as many readers as possible. If you believe in your work then you must do all you can to get it noticed.

What's the point of creating a world if no one lives in it?

With that in mind the campaign for Arkansas Smith starts here.

The idea is a series of short teasers - say ten that will reveal aspects of the character as they go along until the book's publication.

What do you think, folks?

Here's the first teaser.

Sunday 22 February 2009

WEEKLY STATS

Weekly Stats Report: 16 Feb - 22 Feb 2009
Project: THE TAINTED ARCHIVE
URL: http://tainted-archive.blogspot.com/

MonTuesWedThurFriSatSunTotalAvg
Pageloads1522581841592422082301,433205
Unique Visitors100149113102176121101862123
First Time Visitors661117965137836560687
Returning Visitors3438343739383625637

wild west news

Over on The Broken Trails Blog there is an interview with Steve M of Western Fiction Review.

Check it out pardners.

THE TARNISHED STAR ORDER DETAILS

CHECK OUT TARNISHED STAR POST ON BROKEN TRAILS.


The Tarnished Star is the fastest selling debut book in Black Horse Western History - initial print run numbers sold out almost four months before publication. At the time of writing it is sitting at no 1 in the Amazon pre-order Western Charts and no 3 in the Western Charts proper.


ORDER NOW FOR A SOLID WESTERN READ THAT WILL TAKE YOU BACK TO THE DAYS WHEN READING WAS ALL ABOUT ENJOYMENT.







Sold out on Amazon but still available for pre-order.

Waterstones are currently listing the book as in stock for advance order.

ORDER HERE WATERSTONES

ORDER HERE AMAZON

ORDER HERE BOOKRABBIT


And coming in 2010 - Arkansas Smith by Jack Martin

WE NEED YOUR HELP


The second WILD WEST MONDAY is now just one week away.

So come on Folks, gather around and let's all kick arse together for the western genre.

Next Monday as many of us as possible will visit either a bookshop or library and enquire about western fiction. That's all there is to it.

If enough of us do this then the demand will be created and the powers that be will answer.

Today I asked actor Kevin Costner what he would be doing for Wild West Monday and he replied - "If you ask for it they will come."

So come on guys take Kev's advice.

SUPPORT WILD WEST MONDAY


THE TAINTED ARCHIVE - SPEARHEADING THE WESTERN REVIVAL

Saturday 21 February 2009

WESTERN BOOK CHARTS (based on Amazon pre-orders)

Western writer Terry ( Joanne Walpole) James pointed out to me that I'm no 13 in the Amazon pre-order western charts - well I'm actually NO 1 in the pre-order charts.

That's totally amazing.

The bestselling new & future releases in Westerns. Updated hourly.


1. The Tarnished The Tarnished Star
by Jack Martin (Author)
Publication Date: 30 Jun 2009
Not in stock; order now and we'll deliver when available

RRP: £12.25

Price: £9.19

You Save: £3.06 (25%)



2. Only the Only the Strong (Wilderness)
by David Thompson (Author)
Publication Date: 1 Mar 2009
In stock

RRP: £5.99

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3. Savage Territory Savage Territory: Matt Jensen: The Last Mountain Man
by William W Johnstone (Author), J a Johnstone (Author)
Publication Date: 2 Mar 2009
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4. Brimstone Brimstone
by Robert B. Parker (Author)
Publication Date: 30 Jun 2009
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5. Bayou Trackdown Bayou Trackdown (Trailsman)
by Jon Sharpe (Author)
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6. Resolution Resolution
by Robert B. Parker (Author)
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Publication Date: 5 May 2009
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7. Collision Collision
by Jeff Abbott (Author)
Publication Date: 7 Jul 2009
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8. Dance Hall Dance Hall of the Dead
by Tony Hillerman (Author)
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9. The Man The Man from Laramie (Leisure Western)
by T.T. Flynn (Author)
Publication Date: 1 April 2009
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10. The Unforgiven The Unforgiven (Leisure Western)
by Alan LeMay (Author)
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Publication Date: 30 May 2009
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11. The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour: v. 6
by Louis L'Amour (Author)
Publication Date: 1 Mar 2009
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12. Wilderness #60 Wilderness #60: The Outcast
by David Thompson (Author)
Publication Date: 1 Jun 2009
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13. Destry Rides Destry Rides Again (Leisure Western)
by Max Brand (Author)
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14. The Blue The Blue Mustang (Leisure Historical Fiction)
by Will Henry (Author)
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15. The Last Gunfighter The Last Gunfighter: Slaughter
by William W. Johnstone (Author), J. A. Johnstone (Author)
Publication Date: 4 April 2009
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16. Stagecoach Graveyard Stagecoach Graveyard
by Thom Nicholson (Author)
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17. Blood Bond Blood Bond: Deadly Road to Yuma
by William W. Johnstone (Author), J.A. Johnstone (Author)
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18. Showdown at Showdown at Hole-In-The-Wall
by Ralph Cotton (Author)
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19. Untamed Untamed
by Emma Wildes (Author)
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20. Shotgun Shotgun
by Elmer Kelton (Author)
Publication Date: 2 Jun 2009
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21. Outlaws Reckoning Outlaw's Reckoning (Ralph Compton Western Series)
by Ralph Compton (Author), Marcus Pelegrimas (Author), Marcus Galloway (Author)
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22. Holding Out Holding Out for a Hero (Frasers)
by Ana Leigh (Author)
Publication Date: 26 May 2009
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23. 45Caliber Widow 45-Caliber Widow Maker
by Peter Brandvold (Author)
Publication Date: 5 May 2009
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24. The Trailsman #330 The Trailsman #330: Tucson Temptress
by Jon Sharpe (Author)
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