BookLife

Cotton Smith is as concerned with the interior landscape of his characters as he is with the exterior landscape of the West.  And horses.  He loves horses, and that affection shows throughout his excellent novels of Western adventure.

Smith is a historian, artist, and writer of both fiction and non-fiction.  His novels include Spirit Rider, Return of the Spirit Rider, Blood of Bass Tillman, Death Mask and last year’s Ride for Rule Cordell. 

Whether writing about Texas Rangers, farm boys, or outlaws, Smith gives readers a look inside the hearts and minds of the people who face hardships day in and day out.  When Smith writes about a range war, shoot-out, or cattle drive, readers are reminded that character and plot are inextricably linked–that plot grows out of character and character grows through plot.

“I am fascinated by the power of the human spirit,” said Smith, “the ability to take blows and grow beyond them.   To never give up.   Everyone gets knocked down; how one reacts to that is the key to success.  This challenge to life is enhanced, in my opinion, in dealing with the rawness – and greatness — of the American West.”
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Jory Sherman started out as a poet. Half a century later, he is a legend known for taking readers on heroic journeys across the West.

Sherman is the author of more than 400 books, including the recent novel The Amarillo Trail (as by Ralph Compton), which came out today.  Death Rattle and Savage Vengeance are due out later this summer.

I’ll hold off on talking about his excellent new book on writing, Master Course in Writing (High Hill Press).  I want to save Master Course for a full-length review.  Suffice it to say that Sherman is a highly respected teacher known for changing whole careers with a bit of well-timed advice or gentle wisdom.  And in Master Course he lays it all out in a straightforward and compelling writing “course”.

Though Sherman is legally blind, his vision of the writing process has never been clearer, never sharper. He is at the top of his craft.  His prose, whether non-fiction or fiction, has never been fiercer, has never been more elegant than it is today.  So, grab a seat at the master’s knee and listen up while Sherman talks about writing fiction in general and the western in particular.
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Mike Blakely writes and sings cowboy songs.  He’s recorded 11 albums of TexAmericana music, including the recent Homemade Serenade and  Live From Luckenbach (with Thomas Michael Riley).  Blakely plays somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 gigs a year, sometimes alone, sometimes with Michael Riley, and sometimes with his father, Doc Blakely, the well-known humorist.

Blakely also writes cowboy books.  He’s the author of 16 novels, including A Tale Out of Luck, which was co-written with Willie Nelson.  Three of Blakely’s novels, Moon Medicine, Comanche Moon, and Shortgrass Song, were nominated for the Western Writers of America Spur Award for Best Western Novel.  The novel Summer of Pearls won a Spur and so did his song, “The Last Wild White Buffalo.”  He’s currently working on a novel with country music legend Kenny Rogers.

Blakely grew up in “ranching and cowboying” in Texas.  His songs and novels are filled with quirky characters that reflect the vast Texas landscape.  On stage or in print, Blakely has a way of letting a song or story unfold in its own time, on its own terms.  Below, Blakely and I talk about learning from his father, setting out on his own, and getting back up after being knocked down.
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