And the Winner is:

The winner of the Father's Day give away is Richard Prosch.

Congrats, Richard, and thanks to everyone for playing along.

Review of THE BADGER'S REVENGE

A nice review of The Badger's Revenge at Journey of a Bookseller:

Josiah is now a widowed Texas Ranger with only Lyle, his son, left of his family.  Being a Ranger can be dangerous, but he never expected to captured by Indians.  Especially not Indians that took him town to deliver him to his fate...


Mr. Sweazy was running a contest for a free copy of his book, and I was lucky enough to win it.  I don't read a lot of westerns, so this was a treat.  I thought I'd tell you about it in case you'd like to read an old-fashioned western that has a taste of Larry McMurtry in it.


I grew up reading Zane Grey westerns.  I'd be surprised if Mr. Sweazy hadn't read a few himself.  He writes very authentic old west tales with more bad than good characters roaming around. The Indians are tired of being shoved around and having their land being taken from them; the war veterans are carrying their own baggage; and the most common goal of the remainder is to get what they can, how they can.


Josiah just wants to do his job and get back to a calmer life at home with his child and perhaps a new love.  However, the Badger is after him and he has no choice to try to find him and kill him first.


The plot has several different facets.  Even his friends seem to have ulterior motives.  He can't trust anyone.  And he has a good chance of being killed, leaving Lyle an orphan.


The action is fast, the pages turn quickly and I'm wondering just what challenges Josiah will be facing in the next book.


This is the third book in the series.  Here is the link to Mr. Sweazy's website:

Each book is a stand-alone, so you can read just one - or read all three.  Why not follow Josiah's life and see how he handles his challenges?  He's got plenty of them, and he's just a man.  His decisions may not all be right...


Check the books out online or in the store.  And read a real wild west story.


Happy reading!

Jo Ann Hakola
The Book Faerie
4225 Harrison St
Las Cruces, NM  88005

Who is Josiah Wolfe? -- Nuvo Interview -- Larry D. Sweazy

Q: Who is Josiah Wolfe and why should we care about him and his world? What happened in Books I and II? What should we expect in books III, IV? 

 

Josiah Wolfe is Texas Ranger, trying to make a life for himself in 1875 Texas.  After suffering a major tragedy, Josiah is widowed and is left to raise an infant son on his own, all the while trying to make living at the beginning of the “official” Texas Rangers, the Frontier Battalion.  Not only must Josiah face the difficulties of being a single father, but he must face the ongoing violence that was so prevalent in the West, as well as disease, threats from Comanche and outlaw.  In Book 1, THE RATTLESNAKE SEASON, Josiah faces off with an old enemy who kills his captain, and puts Josiah’s son in extreme danger.  It’s also the first time Josiah considers moving on with his emotional life, and begins a relationship, of sorts, with his captain’s daughter.  Book 2, THE SCORPION TRAIL, takes Josiah out on the trail, where he tries to determine if his friend, Juan Carlos, is still alive or not.  It’s his first engagement with the Kiowa and Comanche in a historic battle.  Book 3, THE BADGER’S REVENGE, finds Josiah held captive by two renegade Comanche scouts, and he must free himself and work his way back home to stop two major outlaws from combining forces. 

There will be at least six books in the Josiah Wolfe series, and each books finds Josiah in a situation that is historically based, and represents the growth of the Texas Rangers as a law enforcement entity, as well as Josiah’s own emotional recovery, and ongoing growth as a human being in the 1870s.

Q: What is unique about the genre in which you are writing? How does it differ from novels, historical fiction, fictionalized history; detective etc.

Westerns have a bad rap in a lot of literary circles, just like a lot of genre fiction does.   My novels are a blend of all that you mentioned, specifically historical fiction and detective fiction (each book has a standalone mystery plot, as well as being an episodic story).  I have never offered any apologies for writing genre fiction.   My novels have strong characters as well as recognizable plots.  I didn’t get the memo that said all genre fiction is supposed to consist of bad writing and cardboard characters. 

The recent popularity of the remake of True Grit is a perfect example.  By most accounts, it is a coming of age story of revenge, but at its heart, it’s a western through and through, with all of the familiar tropes, but turned up on their heads, offering instead a good story that every generation can relate to.  That’s exactly what I aspire to with the Josiah Wolfe novels.  I present Josiah Wolfe with 21^st century problems that must be resolved with 19^th century resources.  I’ve been told that my novels are emotionally complex, and written with a sensitivity and style not commonly found in genre fiction, and that’s been a wonderful confidence builder for me as I continue to write the series.    

Q: How is the business of in which you publish distinctive from publishing of other genres? Your publisher and your relationship with editors, etc. there.

I write PBOs (paperback originals), and I don’t really think the western genre, or the business of it, is different than any other genre, other than size.  My publisher publishes one original western a month.  There are a few other established publishing houses who still publish westerns, but the pool for original work is small.   The competition to publish westerns is stiff, maybe stiffer than other genres.  I feel extremely lucky to have the support for the Josiah Wolfe series that I have received from my publisher, and I’m glad they are making an effort to bring new writers to the readers, instead of just republishing Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour novels.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of both writers, but the perception of the West, and writing styles have changed since they were at the top of their game.   

I couldn’t ask for a better relationship with my publisher and editor.  I’ve had input on every cover in the Josiah Wolfe series, and that rarely happens from what I’m told, especially with an author just starting out.  My editor is hands-on when it comes to the content of my work.  She has absolutely made each book better than it was beforehand.  They say editors don’t really edit anymore, mine does and I have benefited greatly from the experience.  The process of publishing three novels in the last 18 months has been an incredible adventure.

Q: What do you want readers to take away from your Josiah Wolfe series? 

I really hope my readers walk away wondering what’s going to happen to Josiah next.  I hope the story takes them away from their everyday struggles, and entertains them and informs them of a piece of history and fiction that has just as much relevance today as it did in the 19^th century. 

Q: Who is Larry Sweazy and how did you get into writing? Who are your literary heroes and mentors?

I’m a guy who grew up in Central Indiana during the 1960s, watching westerns and crime dramas of the day on a black and white TV, dreaming of someday seeing those mountains for myself one day.  I was lucky to live in a house where there were always books laying around, from Raymond Chandler to Elmore Leonard to whatever was on the bestseller list.  My uncle was a newspaper writer, and it seemed like everyone in my family was nuts about crossword puzzles.  So I was surrounded by words and books.  I was an early reader, and knew at a young age I wanted to be a writer.

I’ve been influenced by A.B. Guthrie (an Indiana writer), Jack London, Elmore Leonard, Elmer Kelton, and too many writers to list, really.  Loren D. Estleman, author of over sixty mystery and western novels, is a good friend, and has been there for me every step of my publishing journey with answers to my questions, and constant encouragement.  Honestly, the writing community is far more generous than one might expect.  It took me 15 years of actively trying to publish my first novel, and I made a lot of friends along the way.   

Q: What's next? 

THE COUGAR'S PREY Josiah Wolfe #4, comes out in October, and I have a standalone, modern-day police procedural, THE DEVIL'S BONES, that will be out in February, 2011.  Beyond that, I’m writing Josiah #5, THE COYOTE TRACKER, which is due later this year.  After that, I’ll start on Josiah #6, THE GILA WARS.  In between, I hope to write some short stories.  I just turned in a steampunk short story that will appear in the anthology, WESTWARD WEIRD, published by DAW sometime in 2012, and another short story, SHADOW OF A CROW, set to appear in BEAT TO A PULP, ROUND 2.  Between speaking engagements, and the publishing services company that specializes in production work that I run, as well, I hope to stay busy for the foreseeable future.

Questions provided by Rita Kohn for publication in Nuvo, March 30, 2011

from Penguin. com -- Are Writers Made or Born? by Larry D. Sweazy

buy now

From Penguin.com  04/15/11

I can hardly remember a time in my life when I didn’t want to be a writer. I was an early reader, and I was lucky enough to grow up in a house where books were ever-present, and crossword puzzles were a daily challenge. My mother and uncle would spend hours on the phone working out a puzzle together, and my grandmother’s crossword dictionary was the first dictionary I learned how to use. Words in all of their varied structures were prized, and an essential part of the air I breathed. My uncle wrote a column for the local newspaper on and off for his entire working life, and he dreamed of publishing a novel, but unfortunately, never did.

I compare my upbringing to that of musicians, born in a house full of music. I think it’s rare to find a guitar player whose parents or grandparents didn’t play an instrument of some kind, or a singer that came from a tone deaf family. There are exceptions, of course, but I always ask, “Who else in your family plays an instrument?” when I encounter a musician. Ninety-nine percent of them always answer to the positive, that someone else plays a saxophone or a violin, or whatever… Same goes with artists, and accountants, as far as that goes. There always seems to be a thread to follow. It helps make you feel less crazy, I guess, knowing you’re not alone in your skills.

But natural skill, or talent, only goes so far. I know some really talented writers who for whatever the reason, have just decided that the life isn’t for them—like my uncle. It’s not an easy career choice. Writing’s a persistence game, with no definable tract to follow like a lawyer or doctor has laid out before them. The first novel I sold, The Rattlesnake Season, was the seventh novel I’d written…along with countless short stories. There were long stretches of rejection letters, hours upon hours sitting at the typewriter (seriously, that’s what I started working on), wondering if I would ever get published. But I realized then, and now, that those hours I spent writing were like a musician practicing scales, learning one new riff after the next, or one new chord to add to the repertoire. I went to conferences. Took courses. Joined a writer’s group, and most importantly, I read voraciously. I was putting in my time. And without that dedication and those hours practicing how to tell a story, and learning how to handle rejection, I don’t believe it would have been possible for me to become a professional writer. Being born with a gift, if that’s what you want to call it, is one thing, but transforming it into a viable skill, and way of life, is another thing entirely.

Even now, more than twenty years after I began my serious embrace to writing as way of life, I still feel like I’m learning, like I’m just getting started. Each new novel I write teaches me a new lesson, a new skill, and my enthusiasm for practice is just as unbridled as it was in the beginning, if not more so.

So, I guess I think some people are born to be writers, but they have to want to live the life, they have to want to do the work, and experience the joy of it, before it truly becomes a reality. Climbing Mt. Everest shouldn’t be easy, and neither should writing a novel. Readers deserve a writer’s best, and I hope to give it every time ink hits the paper with my name on it. 

Book Signing Events This Weekend: THE BADGER'S REVENGE

04/09/11
1PM to 3PM
Mudsock Books and Curiousity Shoppe
11850 Allisonville Rd.
Fishers, IN 46038

****

04/10/11
2PM to 4PM
Frankfort Community Public Library
208 West Clinton Street
Frankfort, IN
765-654-8746


****

Join Larry for an AUTHOR CHAT at Librarything.com starting on 04/11/11

Book Signing -- 4/05/11 Noblesville Barnes & Noble

Bruce Neckar and Wally Anderson

Friend April Mathias Scott from Highland High School

Ronald Buckner

Fellow writer and friend, Tom Rumer

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Barnes & Noble.  It was a special night for Rose and I, and great to see so many friends, and readers of the Josiah Wolfe series.

Special thanks to Wally Anderson, Bruce Neckar, and Bob Foster, owner of the Hedgehog in Arcadia, for the fantastic music.

And a hearty thanks to the staff of the Noblesville B&N.  Thanks Jeff, Mary, Andy, Renee and Margi, for a wonderful time.  I greatly appreciate all of your efforts as you help readers find my books.

Win a FREE signed copy of THE BADGER'S REVENGE

The Badger's Revenge releases next Tuesday, 4/05/11, and I'll be giving away 2 signed copies of the book that day.  All you need to do is enter a comment in the comment section of this blog, with a way that I can contact you, and I'll drop the book in the mail to you.  

If you've won in the previous Josiah Wolfe contests, please don't enter, so someone else can have a chance to win.

Here's the recent 4 star review that appeared in Nuvo:

THE BADGER'S REVENGE: A JOSIAH WOLFE TEXAS RANGER NOVEL BY LARRY D. SWEAZY

****

NY: Berkley Books, 2011, S6.99. Sweazy spins a

good yarn. Within 300 pages he slides in a lot of 1874 descriptive landscape with the resul­tant sounds, smells, feels and tastes of natural and manmade events as Ranger Wolfe pursues vigilantes in the name of making Texas a law abiding state. As in the first two books in the series, Wolfe gets into and out of near death situations while confronting a changing roster of personal enemies. With this book, the score seems to get settled with most of them, but his life remains unsettled as he tries to deter­mine how to raise his two-year old son and come to grips with conflicting love interests. Sweazy paints a realistic social, cultural, politi­cal triptych, drawing us into the climate and manners of the time and place. Once again we experience city and small town life juxtaposed with farmsteads. And once again we're on the open road in southern Texas, feeling the vast open spaces. Characters come and go but their presence is fully experienced. Some we hope show up in book #4. If you're already a reader of the series, #3 won't disappoint. If you're newly interested, pick up the trio. They're page turners and very shareable. - RITA KOHN