The real Jack Martin

To celebrate the forthcoming release of my  western Wild Bill Williams in digital format - published this November from Piccadilly Publishing  and available for pre-order NOW, I thought I'd post a little something about the man who gave me my pen name.

And so I present the real Jack Martin

Jack Martin. The man whom I looked up to as a kid, he seemed ten feet tall, and the man whose name I use for my western fiction.

Jack Martin was a coal miner in the South Wales coal fields - indeed it was the dust from this environment that eventually killed him - pneumoconiosis, black lung disease,was common among a certain age group in the village I was raised in. The  sound of chesty coughs would accompany the dawn chorus across the village and sticky mementoes of the coal mines would fill handkerchiefs held in the scarred hands of the old colliers.

The original

 Coal mining, given the then primitive conditions was a  arduous job, and in those days there was only basic safety equipment. Lives were often lost in explosions and one time the level where my grandfather was working flooded and over 20 men were drowned. That was all before I was born. I learned much of this from my grandmother and Gramp never really talked about it.

I was born in 1965 and Gramps had retired by the time I was five so I can't really remember him working, though he was never idle and his garden gave us the best tomatoes around . He was a tall man, always dressed immaculately, even when doing the garden he wore a shirt and tie, as people of his generation did. He grew incredible tasty vegtables  and my first ever paid job was collecting horse manure from the mountain for his garden. I think he gave me something like 10p a bucket which was good money in those far off days when the world was black and white and the sun always shone.

My Grandmother often referred to him as Father Christmas and although they would argue as people did in those days, about anything really - leaving the door open, not wiping your feet and trampling garden over the mat, their relationship was a strong and loving one. They both spoiled me rotten and I always got the latest comics and would go on the annual British Legion day trip to Porthcawl with them. Though often only me and my nan went. Gramps stayed home and probably went for a sneaky pint down the legion. He did so like a sneaky pint or two.

Hey, sorry about the ancient history but I feel almost old enough to remember black and white radio.

My nan and grandfather, possibly the 1930's

Gramps loved the westerns and was always reading a western novel. When there was a western on TV I would watch it with him and he would tell me stories of when he was in the wild west (completely invented, of course. The furthest West he ever went was Tonypandy) and in these stories he would be teamed up with John Wayne or Gary Cooper but never Clint Eastwood - he never really liked him and would refer to him as an unshaven hooligan. As a young boy I believed every word of these wild stories:

That he had been a one legged fighter pilot in the war, that
he had been there when Custer arm-wrestled Wyatt Earp for the price of a drink, that he had smoked the peace pipe with both Geronimo and Sitting Bull.

Jack Martin MK 2

Gramps was a natural storyteller.

Jack Martin - it was his  love of westerns that was passed onto me and apart from the fact that Eastwood is my all time fave, our tastes are very much the same - John Wayne is still the ultimate man's man, and the cowboy creed is a  design for life.

When I published my first western novel, Tarnished Star with Robert Hale LTD (now available as LawMaster)  I was proud that it contained the byline - by Jack Martin. When trying to decide on a pen name to keep my western fiction separate from my other stuff it was only natural to use Gramp's name.

He's been gone now for longer than I care to remember,  and I still miss him but I guess he's still here, inside me - his ideals, his ways, his humour and every one of my westerns that has seen print  is as much his work as mine. For without him I would never have developed my interest and love for the American West.

So saddle up and check out Jack Martin's western page HERE

Bill's back

Wild Bill's gone large

This month sees the large print paperback publication of my novel Wild Bill Williams which was first published in hardcover by Robert Hale back in 2012

Welshman and gambler, William Williams, otherwise known as Wild Bill Williams is no stranger to trouble. It seems to shadow him around. But even as a survivor of the Little Big Horn, or so he claims, he has never before had to face the kind of trouble he finds in the town of Stanton.

I liked the character of Wild Bill and will return to him one day - an action packed though often comedic western. Go and give it a try folks.

And here are those Archive stats.



Weekly Stats Report: 28 Jul - 3 Aug 2014
Project: THE TAINTED ARCHIVE
URL: http://tainted-archive.blogspot.com/

Summary

	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total	Avg
Pageloads	143	172	123	166	148	164	111	1,027	147
Unique Visits	131	134	109	152	133	149	100	908	130
First Time Visits	117	123	104	141	117	145	96	843	120
Returning Visits	14	11	5	11	16	4	4	65	9

Bestelling Black Horse titles: Amazon charts 21 Nov 2012

It's good to see my latest novel holding the top spot for the fourth week running - Wild Bill Williams is available now and offers a new kind of western hero. He's the fastest stitch in the West and although useful with a gun he's certainly quicker on the jaw - old Bill never stops talking, and he's yapping up a storm in Wild Bill Williams.

The charts are:

1 -Wild Bill Williams (Black Horse Western) by Jack Martin (31 Oct 2012

2-Old Guns (Black Horse Western) by Morton Ross (30 Apr 2012)

3-Dollar a Day (Black Horse Western) by Chuck Tyrell (30 Mar 2012)

4-Range of Terror (Black Horse Western) by Billy Hall (30 Mar 2012)

5 -The Hired Ace (Black Horse Western) by Clay Starmer (31 Oct 2011)

6-Gunhawk (Black Horse Western) by John Long (31 Aug 2009)

7- Viva Reaper! (Black Horse Western) by B. J. Holmes (29 Mar 1996)

8 - A Far Country (Black Horse Western) by G.T. Dunn (30 Nov 2001)

9 -Death in the Canyon (Black Horse Western) by Jim A. Nelson (Apr 1997)

10- Death of a Gunfighter (Black Horse Western) by Lewis B. Patten (30 Jun 1995)

Now

Official records show that some 80,000 Welshmen made their home in the place now known as the Wild West, though the true figure is likely to have been much higher. This is the story of one of those men. William Williams, otherwise known as Wild Bill Williams, is no stranger to trouble. It seems to follow him like a shadow. But even as a survivor of the Little Big Horn, as he claims, he has never before had to face the kind of trouble that he finds in the town of Stanton. When the bullets start to fly and the blood begins to run, Wild Bill is never far behin

Pimping my book again - well, someone's got to

Official records show that some 80,000 Welshmen made their home in the place now known as the Wild West, though the true figure is likely to have been much higher. This is the story of one of those men. William Williams, otherwise known as Wild Bill Williams, is no stranger to trouble. It seems to follow him like a shadow. But even as a survivor of the Little Big Horn, as he claims, he has never before had to face the kind of trouble that he finds in the town of Stanton. When the bullets start to fly and the blood begins to run, Wild Bill is never far behind -


"WILD BILL WILLIAMS, the new novel from Gary Dobbs writing as Jack Martin, delivers to us a marvelous new character. Had a fine time with this one, reading it in a single setting." Not the Baseball Pitcher review

 

The Afterlife of Slim McCord

Those publishing lead times - Wild Bill Williams  was published this month and only this morning I signed the contract for a book which will be my fifth Black Horse title for Robert Hale Ltd. Wild Bill was actually written more than fourteen months ago, and by the time it had gone through the publishing process I had completed another western,and no doubt I will have written another by the time this next one comes out. I've got a list of ideas for new western novels that could keep me writing long into my afterlife. (pun intended - read on)

Elmer McCurdy

It's early days yet, and I'm about to start work on a second Granny Smith novel, but I'd like to tell you a little bit about my fifth Black Horse title, which will be published sometime next year. It's called The Afterlife of Slim McCord and uses an unusual premise - here's a very rough draft of the blurb:

“True friendship continues long after living is gone!”

Aging not so bad men Blackman and Tanner thought they had seen it all, but nothing could have prepared them for what they would find in the town of Possum Creek.

Once they had ridden with the notorious outlaw Slim McCord and when they come upon his mummified remains in a traveling carny show, they find themselves thrown into an unlikely and dangerous series of events as they, together with their dead leader, head towards a destiny that seems preordained.

Slim McCord, long after his death, is now involved in the most lucrative bank robbery of his outlaw career, as the three men, together again, face all manner of danger and find that, as the bullets fly, it’s just like old times.

It's kind of the story of the end of the frontier as seen through the eyes of two aged outlaws and one dead one. I was thinking along those lines, or at least the lines of aging outlaws when I stumbled across the real life story of Elmer McCurdy, a badman who was indeed mummified and then shown as part of a traveling carny show. 

Here's a snippet from the author's note that will accompany, The Afterlife of Slim McCord

In 1911 McCurdy was shot during a failed robbery and as no one claimed his body the undertaker embalmed the outlaw with arsenic based preservatives and put the corpse on show. From there the corpse ended up in various traveling shows before disappearing sometime in the 1930s. Incredibly in 1976 a prop man on the set of the TV series, The Six Million Dollar Man, rediscovered it. It had been thought to be a wax model, and used in a fun house set before a finger broke off, revealing it to be actual human remains.  Elmer McCurdy was eventually buried in 1977 in the Boot Hill section of Summit View Cemetery, Oklahoma with most of the cast and crew from The Six Million Dollar Man in attendance.

Truth is indeed stranger than fiction - and there was something fine and dandy about that old corpse causing such a commotion in 1976,all those years after death - the police were called in and production on The Six Million Dollar man frozen until they identified the body. And that's how Slim McCord developed in my mind. I liked the idea of the old outlaw kicking up a storm long after death  - My story is set in the Old West and our mummified outlaw finds himself playing an active part in a bank robbery long after he's cashed in his chips. I like the concept - nothing's truly new and there have been many western novels that have used a parallel between aging characters and the end of the frontier to tone their story, but as far as I know there's never been one with a mummified outlaw at the heart of the story. And I'm mighty pleased with Slim McCord - it's a larger than life story, with action, adventure, comedy and a stirring of sentiment. Above all I think Slim McCord's got a lot of heart.

Those days were gone though and Blackman knew it. It was written in his face and he had a wrinkle for every fence that had been thrown up around previously open range. He could dream though, and in his dreams there were no fences, and enough pretty ladies to warm the coldest of nights. 

Anyway that's it, The Afterlife of Slim McCord and I'm sure I'll be making a big old fuss when publication day nears, but for now the taster above is all your getting.

This book is also dedicated to the memory of Elmer McCurdy and all those who rode the Wild West, both in life and death.

 

 

Bill's first review

The first review of my new novel, Wild Bill Williams is posted HERE

Just the thing for a western writer

How cool is this!!!

Thanks to a close friend who alerted me to the fact that the Colt Peacemaker replica, together with authentic gun-belt was going to be one of the lots at a forthcoming auction I was able to get this Colt for a steal.

Just the sort of thing every western writer needs - of course I only want it for ornamental reasons - it'll look really nice hung on the wall above my desk, and when I'm working away on my western adventures it will maybe provide some inspiration.

The Colt Single Action Army — also known as the Model P, Peacemaker, M1873, Single Action Army, SAA, and Colt 45 — is a single action revolver with a revolving cylinder holding six metallic cartridges. It was designed for the U.S. government service revolver trials of 1872 by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company, today Colt's Manufacturing Company, and was adopted as the standard military service revolver until 1892.The Colt Single Action Army has been offered in over 30 different calibers and various barrel lengths. Its overall appearance has remained consistent since 1873. Colt has discontinued its production twice, but brought it back due to popular demand. The revolver was popular with ranchers, lawmen, and outlaws alike, but current models are mostly bought by collectors and reenactors. Its design has influenced the production of numerous other models from other companies.

I'm pleased with this gun and because it's an exact replica of a Colt Model P, right down to the weight and makes one hell of a noise when you fire a blank, it means that I can practise my quick-draw in front of the mirror - well what did you expect!

(A) Bill comes through the post

No wonder Amazon are the top dogs in online shopping - I've not even had my complimentary copies from my publishers yet (they usually come about two weeks before publication) but Amazon delivered a copy of my new book, Wild Bill Williams this very morning - that's a full three weeks before official publication!!!

The cover image looks stunning on the glossy boards used for the binding. Robert Hale use stock images for their western novels, which can often result in the cover image having little to do with the actual novel, but for this book this is not the case and the scene on the cover comes from within the book - right down to the colour of shirt old Wild Bill wears, and the time of day even. The scene within the book that so closely resembles the cover image occurs at sunset - and look at those saturated colours in the cover image! I'm one happy chappy and grateful for the work my publisher's have done in ensuring the book comes to market as the best possible product.

Anyway I do hope many of you will go get the book, even those who have never tried a western - it is first and foremost a western, a genre I love above all others, but at the heart of the story is a character study of an often hilarious but always deadly Welshman. I had a great deal of fun writing this fish out of water story, and found that the Welsh humour didn't have to be forced into the western setting, but was perfectly at home on the wild frontier.

‘Do you want to die?’ Stanton asked, presently.

‘Die, me?’ for a moment Bill seemed to be considering the question but then he smiled. ‘I don’t think I’m quite ready to die yet. There’s still so many drinks I have not drunk and pleasant thoughts I have not thunk. The world is a wondrous place, full of possibilities so no, I do not wish to die.’

The book this time around is dedicated to the memory of my late mother, for it was she who taught me to read in the first place and opened up a wonderful world of adventure and romance. And I hope I've captured a certain spirit of adventure, of optimism in Wild Bill Williams.

The initial idea for Wild Bill Williams came from a book review by fellow Black Horse author, Nik Morton.  The book in question was Welsh Cowboys and Outlaws by Dafydd Meirion and published by Ylofa Books. Now being Welsh and a western nerd, not to mention a writer of breezy little westerns, I had to get the book.  I'd just completed work on The Ballad of Delta Rose and had no clear idea what my next western would be, but as soon as I read the Welsh Cowboys book I knew that the main character would be, like myself, a Welshman and also, like myself, he would hail from the small village of Gilfach Goch - a fitting birthplace for a Welsh cowboy since the name translates to Red Valley.

As soon as I had that idea the story came to me quickly - especially the character of William Williams AKA Wild Bill Williams.  I found old Bill to be a quirky sort of fellow, and as I started writing of his visit to the town of Stanton he revealed much about himself to me - for instance Bill loves to knit (claims it improves his trigger finger) and carries several balls of wool and knitting needles in his saddlebags, he dislikes and distrusts authority and understands that quite often  law and justice are not quite the same thing.

The fastest stitch in the West.

I figured that the likes of Dodge City and Tombstone wouldn't offer too much of a shock for a man used to the Rhondda Valleys of a Saturday night. The point was how would the Americans find the Welsh cowboy with a bell in every tooth, a penchant for knitting and a deadly fast draw?



There was nary a frown when Wild Bill Williams was in town. He had a way about his manner that enabled most folks to forget all their troubles and become positively festive. It was said that Bill could start off a dance at a funeral and carve a grin out of the most granite of faces.

I'd always thought of Wild Bill as a standalone novel, and it is,but lately I've been thinking that Wild Bill could return again one day, because a character with a heart as big as his perhaps deserves a few more wild stories spun about him. Ahh well, that's another story and one I may tell one day but for now go get your hands on a copy of Wild Bill Williams.


Visit Wild Bill's Facebook page and give him a big old Like - HERE 

Wild Bill's HERE!!!!!

The official publication date is Oct 31st 2012, but Amazon are already shipping the book with a one day delivery on orders using the prime service. Wild Bill Williams is the fourth western I've done for the Black Horse imprint and I hope it will prove just as popular as the others.

The Wild Welsh go West

The initial idea for Wild Bill Williams came from a book review by fellow Black Horse author, Nik Morton.  The book in question was Welsh Cowboys and Outlaws by Dafydd Meirion and published by Ylofa Books. Now being Welsh and a western nerd, not to mention a writer of breezy little westerns, I had to get the book. And so, credit card in hand,  I set off on a quest up the Amazon and a day later I had the book.

I'd just completed work on The Ballad of Delta Rose and had no clear idea what my next western would be, but as soon as I read the Welsh Cowboys book I knew that the main character would be, like myself, a Welshman and also, like myself, he would hail from the small village of Gilfach Goch - a fitting birthplace for a Welsh cowboy since the name translates to Red Valley.

As soon as I had that idea the story came to me quickly - especially the character of William Williams AKA Wild Bill Williams.  I found old Bill to be a quirky sort of fellow, and as I started writing of his visit to the town of Stanton he revealed much about himself to me - for instance Bill loves to knit (claims it improves his trigger finger) and carries several balls of wool and knitting needles in his saddlebags, he dislikes and distrusts authority and understands that quite often  law and justice are not quite the same thing.

The fastest stitch in the West.

I figured that the likes of Dodge City and Tombstone wouldn't offer too much of a shock for a man used to the Rhondda Valleys of a Saturday night. The point was how would the Americans find the Welsh cowboy with a bell in every tooth, a penchant for knitting and a deadly fast draw?



There was nary a frown when Wild Bill Williams was in town. He had a way about his manner that enabled most folks to forget all their troubles and become positively festive. It was said that Bill could start off a dance at a funeral and carve a grin out of the most granite of faces.


 I found that the book contained much more humour than my previous westerns, but pulled back from out and out comedy. The humor comes from the  characters, especially Bill himself and the Billy the Kid-alike young man he befriends. There's all the usual action and adventure expected from a western, but alongside that I hope I've created characters that live and breath as real people rather than western stereotypes. When I offered the manuscript to my publishers they called it a, "truly excellent western."

The book is available now and I guess the real test is when you, my readers, get hold of it.I do hope you all enjoy it, but the one thing I know for certain is that Wild Bill Williams was a project that I enjoyed from start to finish.

And I sincerely hope you do.

Visit Wild Bill's Facebook page and give him a big old Like - HERE

The Wild Welsh go West

The initial idea for Wild Bill Williams came from a book review by fellow Black Horse author, Nik Morton.  The book in question was Welsh Cowboys and Outlaws by Dafydd Meirion and published by Ylofa Books. Now being Welsh and a western nerd, not to mention a writer of breezy little westerns, I had to get the book. And so, credit card in hand,  I set off on a quest up the Amazon and a day later I had the book.

I'd just completed work on The Ballad of Delta Rose and had no clear idea what my next western would be, but as soon as I read the Welsh Cowboys book I knew that the main character would be, like myself, a Welshman and also, like myself, he would hail from the small village of Gilfach Goch - a fitting birthplace for a Welsh cowboy since the name translates to Red Valley.

As soon as I had that idea the story came to me quickly - especially the character of William Williams AKA Wild Bill Williams.  I found old Bill to be a quirky sort of fellow, and as I started writing of his visit to the town of Stanton he revealed much about himself to me - for instance Bill loves to knit (claims it improves his trigger finger) and carries several balls of wool and knitting needles in his saddlebags, he dislikes and distrusts authority and understands that quite often the law and justice are not quite the same thing.

The fastest stitch in the West.

I figured that the likes of Dodge City and Tombstone wouldn't offer too much of a shock for a man used to the Rhondda Valleys of a Saturday night. The point was how would the Americans find the Welsh cowboy with a bell in every tooth, a penchant for knitting and a deadly fast draw?



There was nary a frown when Wild Bill Williams was in town. He had a way about his manner that enabled most folks to forget all their troubles and become positively festive. It was said that Bill could start off a dance at a funeral and carve a grin out of the most granite of faces.


 I found that the book contained much more humour than my previous westerns, but pulled back from out and out comedy. The humor comes from the  characters, especially Bill himself and the Billy the Kid-alike young man he befriends. There's all the usual action and adventure expected from a western, but alongside that I hope I've created characters that live and breath as real people rather than western stereotypes. When I offered the manuscript to my publishers they called it a, "truly excellent western."

The book is out in a few weeks and I guess the real test is when you, my readers, get hold of it.I do hope you all enjoy it, but the one thing I know for certain is that Wild Bill Williams was a project that I enjoyed from start to finish.

And I sincerely hope you do.

Visit Wild Bill's Facebook page and give him a big old Like - HERE

The Wild Welsh go West

Wild Bill Williams is published this month by Robert Hale Ltd - visit the book's Facebook page and give Bill a big old like.

HERE

Official records show that some 80,000 Welshmen made their home in the place now known as the Wild West, though the true figure is likely to have been much higher. This is the story of one of those men. William Williams, otherwise known as Wild Bill Williams, is no stranger to trouble. It seems to follow him like a shadow. But even as a survivor of the Little Big Horn, as he claims, he has never before had to face the kind of trouble that he finds in the town of Stanton. When the bullets start to fly and the blood begins to run, Wild Bill is never far behind.

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Robert Hale Ltd (31 Oct 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 070909633X
• ISBN-13: 978-0709096337

Wild Bill's page

My fourth novel from Black Horse Westerns will be published this October and you can like the Facebook Page HERE


Official records show that some 80,000 Welshmen made their home in the place now known as the Wild West, though the true figure is likely to have been much higher. This is the story of one of those men. William Williams, otherwise known as Wild Bill Williams, is no stranger to trouble. It seems to follow him like a shadow. But even as a survivor of the Little Big Horn, as he claims, he has never before had to face the kind of trouble that he finds in the town of Stanton. When the bullets start to fly and the blood begins to run, Wild Bill is never far behind

Wild West eMonday returns - the genre too tough to die

It's on it's way - the next Wild West eMonday.

"One of the most vapid and infantile forms of art ever conceived by the brain of a Hollywood film producer." ...Dwight Macdonald, The Miscellany 1929

"The western remains, I suppose, America's distinctive contribution to the film."...Arthur Schlesinger Jr, Show April 1963

Geographically and historically the concept of "The West" is very loosely defined, when associated with the literary and film genre of the western. With the possible exception of the Eastern Seaboard almost every part of the USA had been called "The West" at some stage in the country's history.

The federal government defines "The West" as including the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. But from the movies and books both Kansas and Nebraska can be added. And maybe Hawaii and Washington should be removed. The West of popular imagination usually contains those areas associated with the final frontiers of American settlement - anything West of the Mississippi River. An area associated with cowboys, Indians, outlaws and lone lawmen.

Amongst the earliest western literature with artistic merit were the works of James Fennimore Cooper, his most famous works being 1826's Last of the Mohicans - though by the true definition of the genre none of the author's works are strictly westerns. The books were set in colonial America and featured the British rule but true westerns are set in independent America.

EZC Judson, writing under the pen name Ned Buntline was an early writer of traditional westerns. He earned himself the nickname of, 'Father of the Dime Novel' and turned Buffalo Bill into a figure of mythic proportions. However the first western with the classic ingredients was Owen Wister's The Virginian in 1902, which largely invented the guidelines that western writers still follow today.



The names Louis L'amour and Zane Grey have dominated the genre for many years and still do to some extent. But an early European champion of the genre was Karl May with his popular Shatterhand books. He wrote over 60 books but Shatterhand remains his most famous character. Indeed Shatterhand was revived by B.J. Holmes in a series of books for the successful UK western house, Black Horse Westerns.

The cinema has always had a love affair with the western and during the silent era there were many hundreds of westerns made. Most of these have been lost but there are still some prime examples of early westerns to be sought out by fans.

Some of the most important silent westerns that still exist and can be found on DVD or in many cases for free download from archive.org include:

The Iron Horse (1924) directed by John Ford
The Covered Wagon (1923) directed by James Cruze
Battle of Elderbush Gulch (1914) directed by D W Griffith

In cinematic terms there is little doubt that the Golden Age of the western took place between the years 1940 - 1970. There were many classics before and since but during these years there was never a time when most major studios didn't have at least one western in production.

During the Fifties and Sixties in particular the western also dominated the small screen with many western TV series being aired. Among the most well known are:
Bonanza
Gunsmoke
The Big Country
The Virginian
The Rifleman
Have Gun will Travel
Wyatt Earp
Wanted Dead or Alive

The modern era has also seen many classics of the genre, both on the screen and between the covers - Lonesome Dove, Sons of Texas, Blood Meridian, Tombstone, The Unforgiven to name but a few. And of course in recent years we've seen the Coen's re-make of True Grit and next year will bring us Quentin Tarantino's long awaited take on the genre with Django Unchained. And that's not to mention my own LawMaster which is in the early stages of production with Burnhand Films.

The Western truly is THE GENRE TOO TOUGH TO DIE. Kevin Costner is working on a new western and there is a remake of Butch and Sundance in the works. American greats like Dusty Richards and  Larry McMurtry continue to write quality western works. And British western house, Black Horse Westerns are continuing to bring out new western fiction written by writers from all over the world. Among these you will find such loved writers as B. J. Holmes, Ben Bridges, Jack Giles,Nik Morton,  Ian Parnham, Mathew P. Mayo, Chap O'Keefe, Jim Lawless and myself, Jack Martin. And this is just a small selection of the writers producing all new traditional westerns under The Black Horse banner. And of course there is the story of John Locke who became the worlds' first self published writer to sell a million eBooks on Amazon, and several of his titles are westerns. Mind you Locke was recently discredited when it emerged that he had paid for many positive reviews which helped sell his books.

Westerns have also made the transition to eBooks and the excellent publishing house, Piccadilly Publishing is reissuing western classics in the new electronic format, and of course the popular Edge series is also available in eBook. The Edge books, for instance, are a particular favorite of mine and I am proud to say that I was instrumental in initially bring the series to eBooks, but the reissue program is now in the industrious hands of Malcolm Davy.

So if you've never tried  a western then maybe now is the time to do - they've never been so easily available and online giant Amazon has many titles at good prices.

Come on saddle up and let's ride.

Take a look at my Jack Martin page at Amazon - click HERE

The Archive will soon be running another of it's popular Wild West eMonday initiatives with guest posts from many modern luminaries of the genre, so make sure you stick with the Archive for our forthcoming western onslaught, which will take place the first Monday in November 2012.

 

The deal with Wild West eMonday is that we'll give you a solid weekend of western related posts from various hands, maybe as many as a hundred posts over the three day period, and hopefully by the big day itself you will be inspired to buy a western  or two.

Sample from Wild Bill Williams

Pre-order Wild Bill Williams now CLICK HERE

OCTOBER 2012

Like many other nationalities, the Welsh made a unique contribution to the time and place we call, The Wild West. Official records show that some 80,000 Welshmen made their home on the American frontier, though the true figure is likely much higher.

This is the story of one of those men.


William Williams, otherwise known as Wild Bill Williams was no stranger to trouble. It seemed to follow him, sticking to him like a shadow. A survivor of the Little Big Horn, or so he claims, he has never had to face trouble like that which he found in the town of Stanton. When the bullets start to fly and the blood begins to run, Wild Bill is never far behind.

  .
My previous bestselling westerns, The Tarnished Star, Arkansas Smith and The Ballad of Delta Rose are still available - check out your favorite bookseller or request the books at your local library.

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Robert Hale Ltd (31 Oct 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 070909633X
• ISBN-13: 978-0709096337

Visit Amazon's Jack Martin page HERE

Under the name Jack Martin I am well known in the western community and have written several highly popular westerns. My debut was The Tarnished Star which was followed by Arkansas Smith and 2011 saw my most hardboiled western, The Ballad of Delta Rose. I also write under my actual name Gary Dobbs and my historical crime thriller, The Rhondda Ripper is available for the Kindle with a print edition to follow. Arkansas Smith II the sequel to my popular hardcover Arkansas Smith is now available as a Kindle only book, as is Savage Slaughter. October of 2012 will see the publication of a new hardcover from Robert Hale Ltd entitled, Wild Bill Williams. 



BOOK SAMPLE FOLLOWS:

There was nary a frown when Wild Bill Williams was in town. He had a way about his manner that enabled most folks to forget all their troubles and become positively festive. It was said that Bill could start off a dance at a funeral and carve a grin out of the most granite of faces.

He had been born a Welshman; in a village called Gilfach Goch, a name that was unpronounceable to all but himself. But as a young man of fifteen summers, with no compulsion to go and work in the coalmines, those same mines that had aged his father beyond his years, he had had set out in search of adventure and found himself stowed away on a ship making the Atlantic crossing to the United States. He’d landed in New York and after a few aimless years had started out West in search of the future he had in mind for himself.

“Go West, Young Man, and grow up with the country”, The New York Tribune had advised in striking headlines that had filled men such as Bill Williams with optimism for a future on the rugged frontier. It had seemed Bill’s destiny to follow the westward trail. What that destiny was no one, Bill included, knew.

GILFACH GOCH AS BILL WOULD HAVE KNOWN IT

Indeed if Bill had ever known what he had intended to do with his life then he’d long forgotten. And these days he just walked through life happy-go-lucky and faced whatever fate threw at him.

Fate sure did like to interfere with Wild Bill Williams.

Take today for instance; one moment Bill was enjoying a poker game after drifting into the town of Stanton, and the next he was in the jailhouse nursing a split head.

It had happened thus:

Bill, face totally expressionless, peered over his cards at the men seated around the table. He was holding, “Aces Up”, a strong enough hand but he would have preferred better. There were three men, four counting himself, at the game and Bill looked at each of them in turn. Dutch Carter had a sweat on, Sam Jessup looked to be almost asleep and Cleveland Ohio, lovely name that, sat trying to suck life into a massive cigar.

‘You know,’ Bill said, about to make his move when the batwings suddenly swung open and a young man of maybe seventeen summers stood in the doorway, his face furious, his hands hanging, gunfighter style, at his side. Whatever Bill had intended to say then was lost, even to himself as the actions of the armed man had stolen Bill’s train of thought.

‘Caleb Stanton,’ the young man said. ‘I’ve come to kill you.’

The saloon fell silent and at the far end of the counter, a big man of about thirty, Caleb Stanton, Bill guessed, stepped forward. The big man was dressed completely in black - black pants, black shirt, black boots, with a black Stetson sat upon his head. He even wore a matching gun-belt and save for the glow of the Schofield pistol, the only colour about the man was his thick red hair, which was a trait of the Stanton clan.

‘Come back when you grow up,’ the man spoke directly to the kid. He seemed completely at ease but Bill noticed the way the man held his body, coiled, ready to act at any moment.

‘I’m plenty growed up,’ the young man said and pulled a Colt. He pointed it directly at the man named Stanton. ‘Make a fight then,’ he prompted.

‘I’m not going to draw on you,’ Stanton said, calmly.

‘Then I’ll shoot you down like the dog you are,’ the young man snarled. ‘Now defend yourself.’

‘In front of all these people, I don’t think so,’ Stanton said and Bill had to admire his coolness. ‘For the last time, boy. I’m not going to fight you.’

‘You’ve got no guts less it’s for disrespecting women?’ the young man sneered.

BLACK HORSE WELSHTERNS

The fastest knitting needles in the West

Pre-order Wild Bill Williams now CLICK HERE

OCTOBER 2012

Like many other nationalities, the Welsh made a unique contribution to the time and place we call, The Wild West. Official records show that some 80,000 Welshmen made their home on the American frontier, though the true figure is likely much higher.

This is the story of one of those men.


William Williams, otherwise known as Wild Bill Williams was no stranger to trouble. It seemed to follow him, sticking to him like a shadow. A survivor of the Little Big Horn, or so he claims, he has never had to face trouble like that which he found in the town of Stanton. When the bullets start to fly and the blood begins to run, Wild Bill is never far behind.

  .
My previous bestselling westerns, The Tarnished Star, Arkansas Smith and The Ballad of Delta Rose are still available - check out your favorite bookseller or request the books at your local library.

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Robert Hale Ltd (31 Oct 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 070909633X
• ISBN-13: 978-0709096337

Visit Amazon's Jack Martin page HERE

Under the name Jack Martin I am well known in the western community and have written several highly popular westerns. My debut was The Tarnished Star which was followed by Arkansas Smith and 2011 saw my most hardboiled western, The Ballad of Delta Rose. I also write under my actual name Gary Dobbs and my historical crime thriller, The Rhondda Ripper is available for the Kindle with a print edition to follow. Arkansas Smith II the sequel to my popular hardcover Arkansas Smith is now available as a Kindle only book, as is Savage Slaughter. October of 2012 will see the publication of a new hardcover from Robert Hale Ltd entitled, Wild Bill Williams.

It's a Welshten - Bill is coming!!!

Official records show that some 80,000 Welshmen made their home in the place now known as the Wild West, though the true figure is likely to have been much higher. This is the story of one of those men. William Williams, otherwise known as Wild Bill Williams, is no stranger to trouble. It seems to follow him like a shadow. But even as a survivor of the Little Big Horn, as he claims, he has never before had to face the kind of trouble that he finds in the town of Stanton. When the bullets start to fly and the blood begins to run, Wild Bill is never far behind.



Next month will see the publication of my fourth Black Horse Western hardcover, when Wild Bill Williams goes on sale at the end of October. The book, like my other Black Horse titles, will only get a limited print run and likely sell out pretty quickly, so preordering is the best way to ensure you get a copy. A good thing about pre-ordering is that no money will be deducted from bank accounts until the book is sent out, and often readers get their copies a few days before official publication.

Pre-order UK HERE
pre-order USA HERE

Let's talk a little about Will Bill.

Bill, full name William Williams hails from the small Welsh village of Gilfach Goch. I know Gilfach well since, like Bill, I too was born and raised there. -  He had been born a Welshman; in a village called Gilfach Goch, a name that was unpronounceable to all but himself. But as a young man of fifteen summers, with no compulsion to go and work in the coalmines, those same mines that had aged his father beyond his years, he had had set out in search of adventure and found himself stowed away on a ship making the Atlantic crossing to the United States. He’d landed in New York and after a few aimless years had started out West in search of the future he had in mind for himself. 

For a young man during this period, especially one from industrial South Wales, America sounded like a distant promised land. It was a land of riches, Bill thought, where gold dust fell like rain from the sky. Of course Bill soon finds that the reality isn't quite like that, but nevertheless he takes to the life of a happy go lucky drifter, and finds that when his feet are on the open trail, nothing but the big sky above him, he is truly content. And besides, Bill often reasons, his riches are just around the next bend.

“Go West, Young Man, and grow up with the country”, The New York Tribune had advised in striking headlines that had filled men such as Bill Williams with optimism for a future on the rugged frontier. It had seemed Bill’s destiny to follow the westward trail. What that destiny was no one, Bill included, knew. 

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Robert Hale Ltd (31 Oct 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 070909633X
• ISBN-13: 978-0709096337

The Welsh Invasion

I have spent that last two days going through the final proof of Wild Bill Williams, which my publisher sent over a few days ago. It's been well over a year  since I sold the novel and I'd not really read it since typing -  The End.

Of course I knew the basic drift of the novel, but I'd been away from it for so long, done so much since, that much of it seemed new to me - It's an unusual western, I think in that the main character is probably the antitheses of the standard western hero. There's a lot of action and, I'm pleased, a great deal of suspense. There's also some character comedy that I'm especially proud of.

I'm excited by this one and even the cover image matches the story perfectly If fact it directly represents a scene from the book - something not often achieved given the use of stock images

The book's gone back to the publishers now, with a couple of minor edits highlighted. The next step is the printers and then in October it will hit the shelves.

The book's already available for pre-order on Amazon and pre-ordering is a good option since no money is taken from bank accounts until the book is ready to ship. It also works out that you usually get your book a week or so before official publication.

For now, though I leave you with the first chapter:

ENJOY

One

There was nary a frown when Wild Bill Williams was in town. He had a way about his manner that enabled most folks to forget all their troubles and become positively festive. It was said that Bill could start off a dance at a funeral and carve a grin out of the most granite of faces.

He had been born a Welshman; in a village called Gilfach Goch, a name that was unpronounceable to all but himself. But as a young man of fifteen summers, with no compulsion to go and work in the coalmines, those same mines that had aged his father beyond his years, he had had set out in search of adventure and found himself stowed away on a ship making the Atlantic crossing to the United States. He’d landed in New York and after a few aimless years had started out West in search of the future he had in mind for himself.

“Go West, Young Man, and grow up with the country”, The New York Tribune had advised in striking headlines that had filled men such as Bill Williams with optimism for a future on the rugged frontier. It had seemed Bill’s destiny to follow the westward trail. What that destiny was no one, Bill included, knew.

Indeed if Bill had ever known what he had intended to do with his life then he’d long forgotten. And these days he just walked through life happy-go-lucky and faced whatever fate threw at him.

Fate sure did like to interfere with Wild Bill Williams.

Take today for instance; one moment Bill was enjoying a poker game after drifting into the town of Stanton, and the next he was in the jailhouse nursing a split head.

It had happened thus:

Bill, face totally expressionless, peered over his cards at the men seated around the table. He was holding, “Aces Up”, a strong enough hand but he would have preferred better. There were three men, four counting himself, at the game and Bill looked at each of them in turn. Dutch Carter had a sweat on, Sam Jessup looked to be almost asleep and Cleveland Ohio, lovely name that, sat trying to suck life into a massive cigar.

‘You know,’ Bill said, about to make his move when the batwings suddenly swung open and a young man of maybe seventeen summers stood in the doorway, his face furious, his hands hanging, gunfighter style, at his side. Whatever Bill had intended to say then was lost, even to himself as the actions of the armed man had stolen Bill’s train of thought.

‘Caleb Stanton,’ the young man said. ‘I’ve come to kill you.’

The saloon fell silent and at the far end of the counter, a big man of about thirty, Caleb Stanton, Bill guessed, stepped forward. The big man was dressed completely in black - black pants, black shirt, black boots, with a black Stetson sat upon his head. He even wore a matching gun-belt and save for the glow of the Schofield pistol, the only colour about the man was his thick red hair, which was a trait of the Stanton clan.

‘Come back when you grow up,’ the man spoke directly to the kid. He seemed completely at ease but Bill noticed the way the man held his body, coiled, ready to act at any moment.

‘I’m plenty growed up,’ the young man said and pulled a Colt. He pointed it directly at the man named Stanton. ‘Make a fight then,’ he prompted.

‘I’m not going to draw on you,’ Stanton said, calmly.

‘Then I’ll shoot you down like the dog you are,’ the young man snarled. ‘Now defend yourself.’

‘In front of all these people, I don’t think so,’ Stanton said and Bill had to admire his coolness. ‘For the last time, boy. I’m not going to fight you.’

‘You’ve got no guts less it’s for disrespecting women?’ the young man sneered.

That seemed to hit Stanton and did provoke a flash of anger in his eyes, but it was momentary, and immediately replaced by a smile.

‘Someone been telling tales?’ Stanton said.

‘Fight you coward,’ the young man insisted and fired his gun, sending a bullet into the floor. ‘The next one gets you.’

Suddenly the kid was pushed forward as another man came through the batwings. The newcomer, a short squat man immediately charged the young man, bringing an elbow into the small of the kid’s back and sending him sprawling.  The kid lost his grip on the Colt and it clattered to the floor.  Stanton immediately came across and kicked the gun away from its owner.

‘Get up,’ Stanton said.

Winded, the kid was unable to oblige, but it was no matter because the squat newcomer lifted him to his feet and Stanton drove a punishing fist into the kid’s stomach. The kid’s legs buckled and if the man hadn’t been supporting him he would have fallen back to the floor. Stanton immediately followed up with a left hook to the kid’s face, smashing his lip and sending a spray of blood onto the saloon counter. The kid’s eyes rolled back in his head as unconsciousness overtook him.

‘Ain’t finished with you yet,’ Stanton said and slapped the kid open handed across the cheek, reviving him.

The squat man, holding the kid, laughed.

Stanton hit the kid again and again.

Bill looked around him and frowned. The saloon was filled with folk, but no one stepped forward to help the young man, they all just stood there silently watching the kid take a beating. The kid may have started the fight but this was brutal.

‘You gentleman will have to excuse me,’ Bill said as the man called Stanton delivered another brutal punch to the young man’s face, which was beginning to resemble raw meat. The Welshman stood up and sent his chair flying backwards, whilst immediately turning on his feet and pulling his own Colt. He stood there; legs bent at the knees, hand held rock steady with the gun pointing at the man called Stanton.

‘Sit down, stranger,’ Stanton warned.

‘I don’t think I will,’ Bill said. ‘And if you strike that kid once more I’ll bloody well shoot you.’

Everyone in the saloon seemed to take a sudden breath.

‘You new in town?’ Stanton asked.

‘I am indeed,’ Bill answered, smiling jovially. If not for the gun in his hand he could have been greeting the other man at a social function.

‘That figures,’

‘Meaning?’

‘Meaning you don’t know how much trouble you’ve brought on yourself.’

‘That’s always the way with me,’ Bill said. ‘My tad was the same and no doubt his before him, trafferth wherever we go. If there’s one thing a Williams seems to court, trafferth is it.’

There were several muffled laughs around the room, not to mention the odd sigh of astonishment but Stanton stood still, regarding the Welshman in stunned silence.

‘Do you want to die?’ Stanton asked, presently.

‘Die, me?’ for a moment Bill seemed to be considering the question but then he smiled. ‘I don’t think I’m quite ready to die yet. There’s still so many drinks I have not drunk and pleasant thoughts I have not thunk. The world is a wondrous place, full of possibilities so no, I do not wish to die.’

‘You’re loco, mister,’ Stanton sneered.

‘That’s as maybe,’ Bill said and then his voice took on a harder edge. ‘Now let the kid go. Lower him down gently. I’m sure you gentlemen don’t want to hurt him.’

Stanton nodded to the squat man and he gently lowered the kid down to the floor.

‘Good boys, you are,’ Bill said. ‘Now step back from him. Go on, a bit further.’

Bill moved cautiously forward putting himself between the two men and the kid.

‘Now toss your guns over, very slowly,’ he ordered. ‘I’m likely to get jittery and blast one of you.’

‘Mister you really do not want to be doing this,’ Stanton said.

‘Now there you go again,’ Bill said, aware of the young man holding onto one of his legs and trying to use it to pull himself to his feet. ‘Guns. I shall not ask again.’

Stanton lifted his Schofield by thumb and index finger and tossed it towards Bill.

‘Now you, Shorty,’ Bill said and grinned at the squat man.

The squat man shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t carry a gun and had never needed any weapons other than his fists. He lifted his shirt to show he was unharmed.

‘You don’t carry a gun?’ Bill asked, knowing such a thing was a rarity this far west.

‘These are the only weapons I need,’ the squat man held up his hands and made two powerful looking fists.

‘Okey-dokey,’ Bill said and without taking his gun off the two men he bent and picked up Stanton’s gun. He slid it into his own waistband and then helped the stunned young man to his feet.

‘What’s your name?’  Bill asked and allowed the young man to lean against him in order to stay upright.’

‘Henry,’ the young man managed, speaking through blood soaked and swollen lips. ‘I’m Henry.’

‘Well Henry,’ Bill said. ‘Do you think you can back out of here with me?’

‘It’s a whole heap of trouble coming your way,’ Stanton said but the Welshman ignored him.

‘Yeah,’ the kid said and regarded Bill through the tiny slits in the middle of his bruised eyelids.

‘Then come on, boyo,’ Bill said and, keeping the gun trained on both men, he backed away, moving for the batwings.

Bill would have reached them too, had fate not decreed otherwise. But at the very last moment, Sheriff Tray Clemens came through the batwings, and in one fluid and well-practiced movement, brought the hard butt of a Peacemaker down on the Welshman’s skull.  And for a moment Bill Williams had been back home in Wales, sitting upon a hilltop, his beloved Blodwen within his arms, but then there was just nothingness.