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www.blackhorsewesterns.org

Cowboy Bob's Trading Post #1

For all the disappointed good ol' boys who wonder why "leg art" seldom gets a look-in on BHW covers, we have the latest word from publisher John Hale. "I suppose I do turn down the occasional design submitted which includes a woman. This is not only because the presence of a woman on the cover of a western can give the wrong impression, but also because in the relatively few designs which include some female interest the woman is usually of a Calamity Jane type — that is, unsuitable for the vast majority of the westerns we publish."	BHW cover art . . . as glamorous as it gets.

Dog lovers will find plenty of reading tucker in BHWs. In Frank Fields' recent *Greenwood Vendetta, the hero's trail pard is a black and white Jack Russell terrier called Sam, ever-ready to rush at the hardcases' ankles. "Don't rely on that damned dog of yours again," says one gunnie. "First chance I get I'm goin' to kill him." And Chap O'Keefe's* upcoming *Ride the Wild Countryfeatures a hound of mixed ancestry called Hornet* , who "grew into adulthood with his father's Alsatian build plus his mother's wolf-like agility and wondrous keen brain". After playing a decisive role at the climax, Hornet flees the scene, "back the way he had came, through the cottonwoods and the aspens. Back, maybe, all the way to the wild country."

Veteran movie actor and director Robert Redford threatened to move to Ireland if US President George W. Bush was re-elected. So far he hasn't made good on his threat. Maybe his lifetime love of the American West has kept him hanging in. Redford is a preservation stalwart and environmental activist who has served on the boards of the Natural Resources Defence Council and the National Wildlife Federation. Knowing western writers have by their desks his big-format 1978 book, *The Outlaw Trail* — a fine blend of history, inspiration and thoughtful commentary spiced with spectacular scenic and archive photography.

A literary agent specializing in representation for authors of westerns claims the genre is "indigenous" to the US and that American editors and readers will accept only books written by Americans, past or present. Maybe he should be told about Englishman Mike Linaker. Mike's current BHW *The Savage Journey* , under the pen-name Richard Wyler, is appearing simultaneously in the US as a HarperTorch paperback, billed as "a classic tale of the West". A second Wyler book, *Incident at Butler's Station*, has already been put out as a Harper paperback. Mike says, "Seeing that the Harper book has already sold enough copies to gain me a nice royalty payment, I'm saying no more." Sorry, Mr Agent — looks like you're 200% wrong!	Transatlantic Journey.

BHE is not alone as a keeper of the western flame. Cotton Smith says, "Every year some so-called pundit announces the 'western is dead' — and every year, the number of western novels increases. Why? Because readers are enjoying what always works — a great story with memorable characters written by a craftsman." Smith speaks with passion. He's vice-president of Western Writers of America, a nonprofit organization founded in 1953 that promotes and honours the genre.

At the time of his death in October 1950, classic novelist Ernest Haycox was writing informational highway signs for the Oregon Historical Society, of which he was a director. More recently, five of his novels have appeared in BHW editions. A huge influence on fellow writers and the Hollywood western during the late 1930s and the '40s, Haycox "sold" the allure of the West to many thousands of fans. Some say his works could partly explain the blip in US westward migration post-World War II. His son, Ernest Haycox Jr, says the notion would have saddened his pa. Though not against progress, he believed in treasuring the uncluttered landscape and absence of overcrowding in the Pacific Northwest.	On-screen influence . . . . from the Haycox story to DVD.

Western movie lovers reckon the 750-acre Paramount Ranch is the best remaining link to Hollywood's golden age. It has now been mentioned as a possible United Nations World Heritage Site, a designation held by Stonehenge and the pyramids of Giza. The ranch was bought by Paramount Studios in 1927 and has been used off and on ever since. During the 1950s and '60s, it was home to television westerns such as *The Cisco Kid, Gunsmokeand Bat Masterson. In 1991, CBS adopted the site for Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman. The town was recently the location for a Hallmark TV western called Hope Rose, starring Lou Diamond Philips, Ernest Borgnine* and Lee Majors.

The last issue of BHE gave older British readers a nostalgic reminder of the western serials that ran anonymously in the D. C. Thomson story paper *Adventure* in the 1950s. Bibliographer Steve Holland, author of the critically acclaimed *Trials of Hank Janson, reveals the author of The Strange Quest of the Coward Cavalry* was Ron A. Carpenter, while Solo Solomon was the creation of Reginald G. Thomas. Both writers were stalwarts on the story paper and comic scene for years — ex-teacher Thomas from the 1930s to the '50s and Carpenter, who bought an English manor house that put him in huge debt, until the early '80s.

BHW collectors could have fistfuls of dollars on their bookshelves. Less than a year after publication, three dealers in rare and used books were listing on the Net *Bad Day in Dirtwood* by I. J. Parnham at $87.26, $86.22 and $80.42. One said, "A superb, faultless copy — virtually as new. A Black Horse Western. Very scarce indeed." Of course, the prices quoted were asking prices, not prices of sold items. Still, with the book's original price being around £10, that suggests a good return on a Bad Day. Parnham BHWs as an investment option?	Cleaning up with Dirtwood.

Did the death toll seem a mite high in the last BHW you read? Unrealistic maybe? Be reassured as the blood flows and the badmen put fresh notches in their guns — those who "died with their boots on" really were legion. Estimates put the number of men who died violently on the western frontier between 1830 and 1900 at twenty thousand.

US publisher Morrow has issued *The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard, taking many of his present-day thriller fans by surprise. Of course, western readers have been aware of Leonard's westerns for years. Several were given UK hardcover outings by BHW publisher Robert Hale Ltd. Back when Leonard was young, westerns were the popular reading of the day. So he wrote a few magazine pieces and submitted them. His first story published was Trail of the Apache*, produced while he was working in advertising in Detroit and raising a family. It now opens the new "complete" volume. Most of the book's 30 stories were written 40-some years ago, but they're still packed with thrills. Leonard says he researched weapons, stagecoach lines and scenery to give his yarns authenticity.

Writer Lance Howard asked, "How would a person travelling from New York to England in 1888 go? By ship of course, but what kind of ship?" Back came the answer from fellow BHW scribe Gillian F. Taylor, "The history of liners and sea travel happens to be an interest of mine, and I've got five reference books piled in front of me now! Feel free to email me if you need more info." It was an example of the cooperative spirit that exists at the Yahoo discussion group dedicated to BHWs. If you have any interest in western fiction (as a reader, writer or movie-watcher) and don't already belong, join in the fun now! You can put your views, ask questions, or just eavesdrop. "Subscription" cost to members is nil. Email Yahoo. You could say it's plain sailing . . . .