AUTHOR FAVOURITES: HOMBRECITO'S WAR by W. MICHAEL FARMER

W. Michael Farmer tells me his favourite of his own novels is HOMBRECITO'S WAR, which was a WWA (Western Writers of America) Best First Novel finalist and a New Mexico Book Award Finalist for Historical Fiction. In writing it, Michael says he ‘discovered the pure joy of writing, learned there were infinite subtleties to balance in writing a good story, and that fiction really was a way to find the truth behind a historical story.’

In HOMBRECITO'S WAR Michael writes about the ‘Fountain murders.’

COLONEL ALBERT FOUNTAIN (1838 -?1896) had a colourful, adventurous life before coming to a mysterious end.

In 1860, working as a journalist, he narrowly escaped a firing squad in Nicaragua. Later, serving in the American Civil War brought him to New Mexico, where he was wounded fighting Apaches. He went on to become the lieutenant governor of Texas, killed at least one man in a duel and worked as a judge and attorney - unsuccessfully defending BILLY THE KID in court.

In 1896 Fountains and his 8-year-old son, HENRY, vanished in the desert near White Sands, believed murdered. Local ranchers, who may have been part of a rustling ring Fountain was investigating, were considered suspects, to the extent there was subsequently a shoot-out between them and the law, including PAT GARRETT.

In HOMBRECITO'S WAR Henry Fountain survives, to make bloody war on his father’s murderers, in the ways taught him by Yellow Boy, his Apache mentor.

About the White Sands area of south eastern New Mexico - according to Wikipedia:

‘The desert is located in the Tularosa Basin of New Mexico. Its white sands are not composed of quartz, like most desert sands, but of gypsum and calcium sulfate. Unlike other desert sands, it is cool to the touch, due to the high rate of evaporation of surface moisture and the fact that the sands reflect, rather than absorb, the sun's rays.

At 1185 meters above sea level, there are approximately 442 square kilometers of dune fields and is known to be the world's largest surface deposit of gypsum.’

A western set in the White Sands region, FOUR FACES WEST (1948) starring JOEL McCREA, featured CHARLES BICKFORD playing Pat Garrett, although it wasn’t about the Fountain disappearances.

CHARLES BICKFORD as Pat Garrett in FOUR FACES WEST (1948)

Reviews:

‘A superlative read. … a powerful story.’

This book is a fantastic read… The author uses unique phrases that paint enjoyable mental images that I have never experienced before.’

‘This was a very enjoyable book, which surprisingly, drew me in emotionally. …I cried more than once. The story is told with wonderful details of the landscape.’

‘An outstanding fiction writer.’          

‘We all LOVED this book, even though none of us is much of a fan of the western genre… Farmer paints a vivid picture of southern New Mexico and tells his tale well.’

‘As good as it gets.’

https://www.amazon.com/Hombrecitos-War-W-Michael-Farmer/dp/159526082X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

AUTHOR FAVOURITES BLOG: FURY AT BENT FORK by B.S. DUNN (BRENT TOWNS)

Brent Towns (who also writes as B. S. Dunn, Jake Henry, and Sam Clancy) tells me a favourite of his own novels is his first Black Horse Western FURY AT BENT FORK – credited to B.S. Dunn - ‘because I felt a great sense of achievement.’ (Something I’m sure all us published novelists feel about their debut novel.)

Four big ranchers, known as the Committee, seek to dominate their section of Colorado. They hire a pack of gunmen under Slade Johnson, but smaller ranchers resist – led by young Chad Hunter. Chad’s also being pursued by a cold-blooded murderer just escaped from prison.

‘It became known as the Stone Creek Valley War and for a time, the valley ran red with the blood of innocents and killers alike.’

Range Wars are a popular feature of western fiction but they’re rooted firmly in the history of the Old West. Here I’m referring to conflicts between large-scale cattle owners versus small cattlemen or homesteaders. I’ve dealt with clashes between cattlemen and sheep herders in an earlier blog: https://andrewmcbrideauthor.blogspot.com/2017/12/author-favourites-return-to-silver.html 

Probably the two most famous of these Range Wars were the ‘Lincoln County War’ and the ‘Johnson County War.’ I’ll blog about the latter another day.

Actually the Lincoln County War in New Mexico of the late 1870s saw small ranchers such as JOHN TUNSTALL, an Englishman originally from London,

aligned with cattle baron JOHN CHISUM

and local lawyer ALEXANDER McSWEEN.

Their main beef (pardon the pun) was against two businessmen running a powerful conglomerate based in the town of Lincoln. This pair of Irishmen – J. J. DOLAN and JOHN RILEY – owned a big general store called ‘The House.’  They also controlled most government contracts for supplying beef to army posts and Indian reservations. On top of that they had the law, fronted by Lincoln County Sheriff WILLIAM BRADY, in their pocket.

William Brady in 1872

The other faction didn’t see why Dolan and Riley should have a monopoly on either trade in Lincoln or beef contracts.

Tension between the two sides exploded into violence in February 1878. Brady sent a posse to seize some of Tunstall’s horses as payment for an outstanding debt. They encountered Tunstall out on the range. When Tunstall refused to hand the horses over, Deputy Sheriff WILLIAM MORTON shot him in the head.

Men in the employ of Tunstall and Chisum formed a posse of their own – nicknamed The Regulators – and set out to get their revenge. Which is when The Lincoln County War enters the realms of legend: one of these ‘Regulators’ was a slight young man – probably in his early 20s - called HENRY ANTRIM or HENRY McCARTY. It’s wrongly claimed he was born William Bonney, but history remembers him as BILLY THE KID.

I’ve already blogged about Billy the Kid here:  
https://andrewmcbrideauthor.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-arizona-kid-by-andrew-mcbride.html

To briefly summarise the violence that ensued: The Regulators captured Morton and another of his posse and shot them. In an even more audacious move they ambushed Sheriff Brady as he walked the streets of Lincoln. Brady and another deputy were felled by a hail of bullets from cover.

Events culminated in a 5-day siege (the so-called ‘Battle of Lincoln’) in July 1878. The Regulators were cornered in McSween’s home in Lincoln by supporters of ‘The House.’ Despite desultory exchanges of gunfire there were no casualties until the fifth day, when McSween’s house was fired. The besieged fled the burning building, braving a blizzard of gunfire that cut down McSween. In total perhaps seven men (two of the ‘House’ faction, and five Regulators) were killed. The remaining Regulators scattered.

The Lincoln County Cattle War was over and ‘Billy the Kid’s’ side had convincingly lost.  

Legend attributes the prominent role in these actions to Billy and claims he did most of the killing. In reality he was only one of a number of participants. He only seems to have taken over as leader during the ‘Battle of Lincoln.’

Most fictional depictions of the Lincoln County War show teenage Billy as looking up to Tunstall as a wise elder, a kindly uncle if not father figure. As it happens Tunstall at the time of his death was 24, possibly only two years older than Billy.

The FURY AT BENT FORK scenario of small ranchers/homesteaders versus big ranchers naturally brings to mind SHANE.

Alan Ladd in ‘Shane’ (1953)

The hero being unjustly convicted of cattle rustling, when his real crime was standing up to a powerful conglomerate, made me think of BROKEN LANCE.

Richard Widmark, Spencer Tracy and Robert Wagner in ‘Broken Lance’ (1954)

Reviewer for FURY AT BENT FORK: ‘Wow! Great book.’

https://www.amazon.com/Fury-Bent-Piccadilly-Publishing-Western-ebook/dp/B01LXBBJN6 and https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fury-Bent-Black-Horse-Western/dp/0719819245

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fury-Bent-Black-Horse-Western/dp/0719819245

THE ARIZONA KID by ANDREW McBRIDE

Up until April 2017 I had 2 acclaimed western novels, THE PEACEMAKER – published by Sundown Press as a paperback and e.book – and SHADOW MAN published by Crowood Press as an e.book – available to buy.

Reviews of THE PEACEMAKER:

‘A great book’ Spur award-winning and Pulitzer Prize-nominated author ROBERT VAUGHAN

‘For pure writing style, McBride’s gritty prose nails the time and place of his story with bold authority. …this relatively new author has thoroughly, and rightly so, claimed his place among the top Old West storytellers.’ RALPH COTTON (also a Pulitzer-Prize nominated novelist.)

SHADOW MAN: ‘A little masterpiece waiting for you to turn the page.’

Well, now 7 out of 8 of my western novels, (all but CIMARRÓN) which were originally published as hardbacks and paperbacks have been re-issued as e.books. Five, including SHADOW MAN, have been published by Crowood Press. The other Crowood Press e.books are CANYON OF THE DEAD, DEATH WEARS A STAR, DEATH SONG and THE ARIZONA KID. They too have received acclaim. I’ll be blogging about them separately over the coming weeks.

Today I discuss THE ARIZONA KID, which was the fourth of my westerns to be published.

It took me a couple of novels to find my stride and my ‘voice’ as a novelist. By THE ARIZONA KID I’d achieved that. I’d found a stripped-down writing style I liked and I was also lucky enough to stumble into a strong plot idea – basically a character who betrays those around him when he takes a job just for the money, a Faustian bargain that causes him personal grief in the long run. As a consequence I think THE ARIZONA KID is the best written and most focused – and the best overall – of my first 5 novels.

THE ARIZONA KID BLURB:

When former hired gun, Calvin Taylor, took the job of sheriff of Oxford County, New Mexico, it was for one reason only – to catch, or kill, the notorious Arizona Kid, and pick up the fifteen hundred dollars reward the governor had secretly offered.

Blood money, some called it, and pinning on a sheriff’s badge set Taylor against the woman in his life and the community in which he lived. He found himself on the trail of the infamous gang known as the Regulators, hunting down a man who’d once been his friend.

And as this trail wound deeper into the wilderness, into the hell-on-earth that was the White Sands, the pursuit became, in every sense, a journey of death.

All 8 of my westerns are set in the territories of Arizona and New Mexico in the 1870s and 1880s. All feature CALVIN TAYLOR as the central character – former Indian scout turned man hunter, Wells Fargo agent, Range Detective and sometimes sheriff.

Anyone familiar with western history will have no difficulty in recognising THE ARIZONA KID as a fictionalisation of the story of BILLY THE KID (who once sported the nickname ‘The Arizona Kid’) and his pursuer PAT GARRETT, in eastern and south-eastern New Mexico in the early 1880s – events including probably the most celebrated gaol break in western history.

BILLY THE KID vies with JESSE JAMES for the title of most famous outlaw in the West, and remains a controversial figure even to this day, partly because a great deal of mystery still surrounds him. Even his name is still a matter of dispute. Was he really William Bonney? Or Henry McCarty? Or Henry Antrim? Was he born in New York City, or Missouri? When he died was he a 21-year-old who’d killed a man for every year of his life, or a 25-year-old involved in 7 or 8 killings? Was he an illiterate half-wit, or a man steeped in culture (particularly Mexican culture?)

I consulted various sources about Billy, from ‘The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid’ co-written by Pat Garrett and Ash Upson and published only a year after the kid’s death, to Robert Utley’s ‘Billy the Kid: A short and violent life’, ‘Pat Garrett: the story of a lawman’ by Leon Metz and ‘The Western Hero in Myth and Legend’ by Kent Ladd Steckmesser.

Billy has been depicted in numerous movies over the years, sympathetically and unsympathetically, from BILLY THE KID (Robert Taylor) to THE KID FROM TEXAS (Audie Murphy) to PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID (Kris Kristofferson – probably the largest actor to play Billy, who was noted for his slight size and build) - YOUNG GUNS (Emilio Estevez) and GORE VIDAL’S BILLY THE KID (Val Kilmer.)

 Val Kilmer

 A particular favourite of mine is THE LEFT-HANDED GUN (with Paul Newman) – even though Billy appears not to have been left-handed!

I haven’t seen Chuck Courtney’s performance in BILLY THE KID VERSUS DRACULA!

Fictionalisations have also been done, perhaps most notably in ONE-EYED JACKS, with Marlon Brando in the Billy role.

Almost as controversial as Billy was his nemesis, SHERIFF PAT GARRETT (1850- 1908.) Born in Alabama, Garrett was also a buffalo hunter and Texas Ranger. Standing 6 feet 4 or 5 inches tall he was nicknamed ‘Juan Largo’ (Long John) by Mexicans. 

He’s also been frequently depicted on screen: PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID (James Coburn) YOUNG GUNS (Patrick Wayne) THE LEFT-HANDED GUN (John Dehner.) An interesting Garrett film is FOUR FACES WEST (1948) which for once doesn’t focus on Garrett and Billy, but another aspect of Garrett's career.

Charles Bickford gives a quality performance in a movie about the pursuit of an outlaw into the White Sands area of New Mexico (an area of desolate beauty that also features in THE ARIZONA KID.)

THE ARIZONA KID EXTRACT

Calvin Taylor gazed at the ground ahead of him, studying the rocks and shadows on the slopes under the canyon walls, seeing nothing amiss. Then he felt the hairs prickle on the back of his neck and arms; it was only instinct, but it told him that his enemies were behind him. His back felt as wide as a barn door. He turned in the saddle and the shot came.

The bullet whined past his ear.

His instinct had been right, the shot had come from behind. He glimpsed over his right shoulder, a dark wisp of powdersmoke!

Taylor yelled. A yell with a lot of fear in it. He spurred the dun and ducked low as the horse broke into a run.

Another rifle cracked. Off the slope above him, to the left. His instinct had only been half right, he was caught in a crossfire!

To find out more, where to buy etc. see my Amazon author pages, Amazon.com:

 https://www.amazon.com/Andrew-McBride/e/B01N9O1C05/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

And Amazon.co.uk:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-McBride/e/B01N9O1C05/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

REVIEWS OF MY WORK GENERALLY:

‘Tough, taut and elegant… characterised by assured storytelling… the Calvin Taylor books are quietly remarkable for their subtle reinvention of the western, eschewing clichés… the writing is powerfully evocative of time and place.’

Of THE ARIZONA KID: ‘Will delight fans of the well-told tale. The desert setting leaves your mouth dust dry, the violence is vivid… If McBride's stories can't bring the western back to life then someone better call an undertaker.

As I say, I’ll be blogging about each re-issue separately over the coming weeks. Watch this space!