ANDREW McBRIDE INTERVIEWED BY PAUL BISHOP ON THE SIX GUN JUSTICE PODCAST

 I was honoured to be the guest on the much-praised SIX GUN JUSTICE PODCAST.

 Two acclaimed western novelists, PAUL BISHOP and RICHARD PROSCH, have been running the SIX GUN JUSTICE podcast for a while, where the co-hosts look at most things western: western history and fiction, TV, film, radio and books (including interviews with authors, publishers etc.) So far they’ve freewheeled through a wide range of topics from how icons like Buffalo Bill and Custer have been depicted on screen and in books, to TV western shows well-known and obscure (‘Rawhide’ ‘Lancer’) western-themed comics and memorabilia, western songs (‘Ghost Riders in the Sky’) to ‘shooting the breeze’ with authors both new and established, from JAMES REASONER to WAYNE D. DUNDEE.  

Here’s the SIX GUN JUSTICE website: https://www.sixgunjustice.com/p/podcast.html 

Here you can find a list of episodes: https://sixgunjustice.buzzsprout.com/

I was interviewed for 25 minutes by PAUL BISHOP for the SIX GUN JUSTICE PODCAST episode 210, broadcast on November 14^th 2022, titled THE WORLDWIDE WEST TOUR: ENGLAND – PART 2

Paul was a police detective with the Los Angeles Police Department for 35 years and was twice selected as LAPD's Detective of the Year. This served him well in his police procedural and mystery novels, including his series about female detective Fey Croaker. He’s also written screenplays.

 I’ve done AUTHOR FAVOURITES BLOGS for two of Paul’s novels:

LIE CATCHERS:

 Some reviews of LIE CATCHERS:

‘"Lie Catchers" is something else. This is a book which goes way beyond the typical police story. … into psychological aspects rarely used in a "cop" book… Rarely will you find the kind of insight that Bishop demonstrates in this truly 5-star book.’

 ‘Wonderfully well-crafted police procedural with two main characters who leap off the page… unique, suspenseful, surprising, insightful, psychologically complex and wonderfully written.’

 Blog here: https://andrewmcbrideauthor.blogspot.com/2018/09/author-favourites-lie-catchers-by-paul.html

and HOT PURSUIT

Reviews for HOT PURSUIT:

 ‘Could hardly be better.’

 ‘The most exciting caper you're likely to find in print this year.’

 ‘A masterpiece.’

 ‘A spellbinding story.’

Blog here: https://andrewmcbrideauthor.blogspot.com/2018/09/author-favourites-hot-pursuit-by-paul.html 

I had great fun chatting with Paul. He was able to make me less nervous than I usually am doing these things. We talked about my critically-acclaimed new western novel CIMARRÓN,

THE HIGH CHAPARRAL,

The ground-breaking western novel BLOOD BROTHER by ELLIOTT ARNOLD

English western writer MATT CHISHOLM, (real name PETER WATTS) author of the highly successful McALLISTER series among others

Another best-selling western author born in England, J.T. EDSON,

LOUIS L’AMOUR,

my writing process,

whether gunfights ever happened as Hollywood depicts them

and British attempts to ‘do’ westerns on film and TV, including the episode ‘Living in Harmony’ of the cult British TV series ‘THE PRISONER.’ 

PATRICK McGOOHAN in ‘THE PRISONER’ episode ‘Living in Harmony’

 I also name-check two fine English authors, PHILIP CAVENEY (author of thrillers and children’s books) and western writer DEREK RUTHERFORD.

Why not LISTEN IN HERE? https://sixgunjustice.buzzsprout.com/795466/10984559-six-gun-justice-podcast-episode-210-the-worldwide-west-tour-england-part-2?t=0 

PETER BRANDVOLD, acclaimed, award-winning and best-selling western author on THE SIX GUN JUSTICE PODCAST:

‘…Simply the best western podcast going. Paul and Rich know their stuff, and the deep dives into the genre along with conversations with today’s top-of-the-line western professionals make the show a weekly must-listen.’

ANDREW McBRIDE’S REVIEW of SIX GUN JUSTICE PODCAST WESTERN STORIES

 A diverse collection of tightly-focussed western tales.

Two acclaimed western novelists, PAUL BISHOP and RICHARD PROSCH, have been running a podcast called SIX GUN JUSTICE for a while, where the co-hosts look at most things western: western history and fiction, TV, film, radio and books (including interviews with authors, publishers etc.) So far they’ve freewheeled through a wide range of topics from how icons like Buffalo Bill and Custer have been depicted on screen and in books, to TV western shows well-known and obscure (‘Rawhide’ ‘Lancer’) western-themed comics and memorabilia, western songs (‘Ghost Riders in the Sky’) to ‘shooting the breeze’ with authors both new and established, from JAMES REASONER to WAYNE D. DUNDEE.  

Here’s the SIX GUN JUSTICE website: https://www.sixgunjustice.com/p/podcast.html 

They’ve now branched out into publishing fiction, and their first effort is SIX GUN JUSTICE PODCAST WESTERN STORIES, an anthology of 13 western short stories by MICHAEL RITT, JEFFREY J. MARIOTTE, WAYNE D. DUNDEE, JACKSON LOWRY, EASY JACKSON, SCOTT DENNIS PARKER, JOHN D. NESBITT, RICHARD PROSCH, STEVE HOCKENSMITH, JACQUIE ROGERS, CHERYL PIERSON, BILL BOULDEN and VONN MCKEE. It’s edited by Richard Prosch, and Paul Bishop writes the introduction.

Simply on grounds of length, I’m not going to review every story in the anthology, so apologies to anyone left out. And MERRICK by BEN BOULDEN has already appeared as an independent novella, which I’ve given a four star review to (‘Razor-sharp western noir’) here on Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Merrick-Ben-Boulden-ebook/dp/B075JN7Y21/ref=sr_1_15?dchild=1&qid=1635517158&refinements=p_27%3ABen+Boulden&s=books&sr=1-1

and Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36226257-merrick

The stories in this excellent collection show an under-appreciated aspect of the western: the variety and diversity inside the genre. The book kicks off with:

THREE DAYS TO PINE RIVER by MICHAEL RITT

This tells of a lawman bringing in a prisoner through the Colorado Mountains. The morality play underlying this not-what-it-seems tale, and Ritt’s effective, cinematic prose made me think of a ‘conventional’ 50s western movie, which is no criticism, as I’m a great admirer of the best 50s western movies. It brought to mind the lean economy of those tough outdoor adventures featuring Jimmy Stewart directed by Anthony Mann, or Randolph Scott directed by Bud Boetticher – which often centred on a journey of some kind.

JAMES STEWART in 'The Naked Spur' (1953)

In contrast DULCIE’S REWARD by EASY JACKSON has a young woman as the central character, attempting to survive in a man’s world by organising a cattle drive in post-Civil War Texas. Jackson writes a pacy, first-person narrative in a very readable, colloquial style.

NIGHT HORSE by JOHN D. NESBITT, concerning doings on and around a small Wyoming ranch, has elements of murder mystery, and a back story of thieves falling out, told sparely and effectively. Unusual and interesting.

HIRED GUNS: MULE’S GOLD by STEVE HOCKENSMITH is a stark outdoors tale of prospectors searching the harsh Sonora desert for an abandoned gold mine. Meanwhile, they’re being stalked by hidden enemies. Again this features terse, cinematic prose, with some laconic humour. It reads like the gritty first chapter of a novel (or a series) which I would be very happy to read.

Prospectors in the Old West

HEADWATERS by VONN MCKEE is an interesting, expertly-written character study about professional gambler Lex Tucker. Fiddle-footed Lex is always looking for ‘one more river to cross.’ He sets out to find and make peace with his cruel, abusive father, and perhaps end his years of wanderlust.

My two favourite stories in the anthology are in marked contrast to each other, showing the wide range inside the genre.

HOLLIE JOLLY COURTSHIP by JACQUIE ROGERS is a beautifully-written western romance about Idaho farmer Jack Wade’s quest for a bride. A warm and funny tale that Jacquie found inspiration for in her own family history.

A farmer and wife in the Old West

THE FOX AND THE SNAKE by JEFFREY J. MARIOTTE tells of Fox Caldwell, an old widower living alone in the Arizona wilderness c. 1915, who was once an outlaw. But then the past comes calling: a daughter he hasn’t seen for years, and a posse serving an old warrant led by a lawman wanting personal revenge. Mariotte wastes not a word in this taut, superbly-written tale. Once more, the cinematic qualities of the writing brought movies to mind, perhaps a Sam Peckinpah-directed end-of-the-west elegy with a script by Elmore Leonard.

SAM PECKINPAH's end-of-the-west elegy 'The Wild Bunch' (1969)

Overall, a diverse and surprising collection I can highly recommend.

I’ve done a four star review of SIX GUN JUSTICE PODCAST WESTERN STORIES (an edited-down version of this blog) for Goodreads and Amazon.co.uk, which you can find here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Six-Gun-Justice-Western-Stories-ebook/dp/B09CMV5GMH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1ICV8QNKABI&dchild=1&keywords=six+gun+justice+western+stories&qid=1635790037&sprefix=six+gun+justice+western+stories+%2Caps%2C71&sr=8-1

and here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58941209-six-gun-justice?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=OH1Xwa10LY&rank=5

‘The Six-Gun Justice podcast is simply the best western podcast going. Paul and Rich know their stuff, and the deep dives into the genre along with conversations with today’s top-of-the-line western professionals make the show a weekly must-listen.’ PETER BRANDVOLD, acclaimed, award-winning and best-selling western author.

Find SIX GUN JUSTICE PODCAST WESTERN STORIES here: https://www.amazon.com/Six-Gun-Justice-Western-Stories-ebook/dp/B09CMV5GMH and here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Six-Gun-Justice-Western-Stories-ebook/dp/B09CMV5GMH/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=… …

AUTHOR FAVOURITES: GUNS OF LEGION by RICHARD PROSCH (writing as A. W. HART)

RICHARD PROSCH is an author who not only writes westerns but thrillers (including his Dan Spalding series.) He’s written novels and short fiction, winning a Spur Award in the latter category.  He tells me his favourite of his westerns is his novel GUNS OF LEGION (where he writes as A. W. HART.) This is the Ninth book in the AVENGING ANGELS series.

GUNS OF LEGION is no ordinary western. The protagonists are a pair of bounty hunters – very common in western fiction, if hard to find in the history of the Old West. But this pair are twins: Reno Bass and his sister, Sara. When they arrive in Lone Jack, Wyoming Territory, they’re not pursuing any common-or-garden outlaw, but a mysterious and monstrous creature terrorising the area.

Soon other surreal elements intrude: the appearance nearby of a decidedly strange and sinister travelling show and menagerie run by Mendelssohn Jobe.

The twins find themselves embattled in the West’s weirdest range war – between a besieged rancher and a carnival of grotesque giants, dwarfs and other horror-show freaks. And behind everything is the threat that The Guns of Legion are coming to unleash devastation on the world.

In the real Old West circuses, menageries and troupes of travelling players brought entertainment to remote communities. Premier among them were BARNUM & BAILEY.

PHINEAS TAYLOR BARNUM (1810 – 1891) established "P. T. Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome" in 1870, a traveling circus, menagerie, and museum of "freaks." JAMES ANTHONY BAILEY (1847 – 1906,) born JAMES ANTHONY MCGINNIS, was an American circus ringmaster and impresario. He met with Barnum and together they established BARNUM & BAILEY’S CIRCUS (for which Bailey was instrumental in obtaining Jumbo the Elephant) in 1880. Their combined show opened the following spring at Madison Square Gardens. Their entourage adopted many names over the years, including THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH.

Travelling side-shows, medicine shows and troupes of nomadic actors have featured in many westerns, from ‘Wagonmaster’

to ‘Heller in Pink Tights.’

One of my favourite scenes in any western is the wonderful vignette in ‘My Darling Clementine’ (1946) where the actor played by ALAN MOWBRAY is forced to recite Hamlet’s ‘To Be or not to Be’ soliloquy to the jeering and unappreciative Clanton Gang.  

Here’s BEVERLY GARLAND as a dancer in a sideshow in ‘The Saga of Hemp Brown’ (1958.)

The weird elements of GUNS OF LEGION definitely put me in mind of the TV Western series ‘The Wild Wild West.’ I thought of the episode ‘The Night of the Sudden Death.’

And I thought of all the western/horror mash ups. But that’s the subject for another blog…

  REVIEWS of GUNS OF LEGION:

‘Intriguing characters… a heck of a book.’

‘Another great story of the twins that you can't put down.’

‘This book has plenty twist and turns to keep it very interesting.’

‘Great western.’

Find GUNS OF LEGION here: https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Angels-Legion-W-Hart-ebook/dp/B086Z32VGB/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=guns+of+legion&qid=1594546417&s=books&sr=1-1

And here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Avenging-Angels-Legion-W-Hart-ebook/dp/B086Z32VGB/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1APN5RIYHFAQK&dchild=1&keywords=the+guns+of+legion+a+w+hart&qid=1594546566&sprefix=guns+of+legion%2Caps%2C184&sr=8-1

My review of THE SHOT RANG OUT by SCOTT HARRIS AND 51 FRIENDS

Acclaimed novelist SCOTT HARRIS set himself and 51 other authors the challenge of coming up with a 500 word short story with the same 18 word prompt:

‘The shot rang out. I heard her scream at the same time the bottle crashed to the floor.’

The result is the anthology THE SHOT RANG OUT. I’m one of these authors but I’m not reviewing my contribution.

One thing this anthology illustrates is the variety within the Western genre, something that has kept it alive for decades. And how many of these authors skilfully sidestep or eschew clichés to produce playful, original and surprising work. Certainly there’s a lot of saloons and gambling, including a lady gambler who bets a bottle of Napoleon brandy.

But there’s myth-makers too – Wild West shows, travelling players, dime novel writers alongside real western characters like Mark Twain, Calamity Jane and Doc Holliday.

We go from the humorous to the charming to the dark. From the action-packed – ‘Easy Work’ by RICK BREEDEN – to JOHN WHALEN’S ‘The Mescalero Incident’ with its sci-fi and horror elements. We have Mormons, lady outlaws and mail-order brides. Stories seen from the viewpoint of women, children and – in the case of LINDA HERMES’ ‘Hoot’n’Holler’ - two mules. 

VIC ANDERSON writes of the modern west. We get great opening lines – STEPHEN BURCKHARDT's ‘The heat was weighing on me like death on a corpse’ - and mean punchlines.  But CHERYL PIERSON bravely dispenses with a punch line and shows a short story can still hit the mark without one.  ERIC HARPER definitely has the best title. PATRICK MULDOON gives us a poem. Whilst some tales are ‘miniatures’ intensely focussed on one small incident, others like MICHAEL RITT’S ‘The Siren Song of Texas’ effectively pack a novel’s worth into 500 words.

If I was to list all the stories I liked this would be the world’s longest review. It’s difficult to pick favourites from among so many goodies, but three have particularly registered so far:

‘The Long Ride’ by TYLER BOONE flirts with the otherworldly. An outlaw on the run finds himself drinking – literally – in the ‘last chance saloon.’

‘One Last Job’ by RICHARD PROSCH. A lawman burying the pain of loss in alcohol decides to resolve the issue one way, but events steer him to another.

And ‘What Beats Three of a Kind’ by PAUL THOMAS which makes absolutely every word count.

Overall a collection of diverse thinkers having fun, and deceptively quick tales that reveal new layers each time you visit. Recommended.  

Other reviewers of THE SHOT RANG OUT:

‘One of the most unique and enjoyable books I have read in a very long time.’

‘The concept immediately suggests that these 52 stories will be repetitious. Yet nothing could be further from the truth… Short on words, long on pleasure.’

‘There are several stories I would love to see expanded into a full novel.’

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C2GFV2B/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1523345636&sr=1-1&keywords=the+shot+rang+out+scott+harris

and

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07C2GFV2B/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1523345888&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=the+shot+ring+out+scott+harris