VENGEANCE AT SUNDOWN -- available for pre-order

I have a new Western series from Berkley (Penguin Random House) starting in August (2014), featuring ex-Confederate spy, Lucas Fume.

Here's the cover and summary:

  Lucas Fume has had plenty of fights in his life: spying for the Confederate Army, standing up to the railroad company when they tried to take his land, then getting framed for the murder of his business partner—only to lose his land as well as the love of his life. But Lucas isn’t finished fighting yet…

With help from Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Henry, a fellow inmate and former slave, Lucas manages to escape prison. Riding with Zeke to St. Louis, he soon discovers that his former partner is still alive, using a different name, and doing big business with the railroads—and he has Lucas’s lost love with him. On the run from the law and up against a rich and influential enemy, Lucas is about to take on the most dangerous fight of his life.

You can pre-order the book here

There and Back Again -- 2013 WWA convention in Las Vegas

Vegas at night

I have to be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of going to Las Vegas in June.  It really wouldn't have mattered when it was, Vegas has never been on my radar.  I gamble enough by being a writer and freelance indexer.  Slot machines and blackjack tables aren't attractive to me.  But we made plans and went to the 2013 WWA (Western Writers of America) convention.  It's one of the few things that could have got me there.

And--I'm glad we went.

My opinion of Vegas is still the same.  Not somewhere I would go just for pleasure.  It's hot (we had record temperatures of 120 degrees), bleak in places, sad in others, and there's always somebody trying to distract you, stimulate you, or just get into your wallet.  We didn't have time for any shows, but I doubt that would have made a difference.

But--if you're going to go to Vegas, it's really cool to go with a couple hundred of your friends who share the same love and passion about western writing as you do.  The conference was excellent, and the organizers are to be commended.  There were a lot of distractions.

If you're interested in western writing, you might want to consider next year's conference.  It's in Sacramento, California.  

Here are some random pictures from the convention:

 Matthew P. Mayo and Thomas Cobb

with Brett Cogburn

Western entertainers Jim Jones and Mary Kaye

Rose and I after the Spur Award banquet.  I won a Spur (my second) for Best Mass Market Paperback, for The Coyote Tracker.

With singer/songwriter Royal Wade Kimes.

If you follow this blog at all, you know I really like the TV show, Justified.  I was thrilled when Jim Beaver (Sheriff Shelby/Drew Thompson) emceed the Spur Awards.

So--Vegas was fun.  Thanks again to WWA for putting on a great convention.  Now it's time to get back to work.