Now Available: Faraday: The Buffalo Train - Robert Vaughan and James Reasoner

It started out as a silly idea to bring buyers back to Abilene. Wrangle some buffalo, put them on a train, and ship them to Chicago so folks back east could see the massive, shaggy beasts with their own eyes. The concept seemed sound. What could go wrong?

But for John Creed, agent for the famed Faraday Security Service, it was anything but simple. First, Hank Miles was willing to do whatever was required to prevent the plan from succeeding. Hiding in the shadows was a silent partner. Creed’s biggest threat, however, came from the man in black—an assassin who took pleasure in his work and would not stop coming until the job was complete.

Before the Buffalo Train reached the end of the line, guns would roar, men would die, and Chicago would get a taste of what the “Wild West” was really like.

(This is the first new Faraday book in many years and the first official collaboration between Robert Vaughan and myself. We've known each other for more than 30 years, have worked on many of the same series, and have had some input on each other's books from time to time. I think this is an excellent Western adventure yarn and hope some of you enjoy it.)

YouTube Interview

Last week I took part in a Zoom discussion about writing with Paul Bishop and Robert Vaughan, and it was posted this morning on Wolfpack Publishing's YouTube channel. I always enjoy talking about books and writing, and both guys are old friends, so I had a great time.

Forgotten Books: The Iron Horse - William Grant (James Reasoner)

Today is my birthday, so I thought I'd write about one of my own books for a change. It's certainly forgotten, being the first book in a short-lived series from a publisher that's long since defunct. THE IRON HORSE launched the Faraday series, which was packaged by Book Creations Inc. and created by one of my editors there, Paul Block. The publisher was Lynx Books. The concept was that the stories would center around railroad detectives who worked for an agency headed up by Matthew Faraday, who in my mind always looked like Randolph Scott, although on this cover he looks more like Ted Knight from THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW. These agents would be the actual heroes of the books, with Faraday serving more as a mentor and supervisor.

I remember very little about the plot of this one. It had something to do with some villains sabotaging the construction of a railroad. The hero looked like Audie Murphy, at least in my head. There was an old scout/buffalo hunter who wasn't old enough and whiskery enough to be a Gabby Hayes character. More like Ben Johnson. There was a lot of ridin' and shootin', a little romance, and the good guys won in the end. What can I say? It was more than 25 years ago, and I've written a lot of books since then. I recall that I enjoyed the book and thought it turned out pretty well. There are cheap copies available on-line if you want to judge for yourself.

THE IRON HORSE is the only Faraday novel I wrote. Paul Block, who was a writer as well as an editor for BCI, wrote the second one. Robert Vaughan wrote a couple, as did Bill Crider. Only one of Bill's was published, since Lynx Books collapsed unexpectedly. I've heard that Chet Cunningham also wrote one that went unpublished, but I don't know if that's true. The business was a lot different in those days, but it was fun, too.

2013 Peacemaker Award Nominations from Western Fictioneers

Western Fictioneers (WF) is pleased to announce the NOMINEES for the third annual (2013) Peacemaker Awards

** Nominees are in no particular order.

The Lifetime Achievement Peacemaker will be presented to Robert Vaughan.

2013 BEST WESTERN NOVEL:

City of Rocks (Five Star Publishing — Cengage) by Michael Zimmer

Unbroke Horses (Goldminds Publishing, LLC) by D.B. Jackson

Apache Lawman (AmazonEncore) by Phil Dunlap

Wide Open (Berkley Publishing Group) by Larry Bjornson

2013 BEST WESTERN SHORT STORY:

“Christmas Comes to Freedom Hill” (Christmas Campfire Companion — Port Yonder Press) by Troy Smith

“Christmas For Evangeline”  (Slay Bells and Six Guns — WF ) by C. Courtney Joyner

 “Keepers of Camelot” (Slay Bells and Six Guns — WF) by Cheryl Pierson

“The Toys” (Slay Bells and Six Guns — WF) by James J. Griffin

“Adeline” (Protectors: Stories to Benefit PROTECT — Goombah Gumbo Press ) by Wayne Dundee

2013 BEST WESTERN FIRST NOVEL:

High Stakes (Musa Publishing) by Chad Strong

Wide Open (Berkley Publishing Group) by Larry Bjornson

Red Lands Outlaw, the Ballad of Henry Starr (AWOC.com Publishing) by Phil Truman

Last Stand At Bitter Creek (Western Trail Blazer) by Tom Rizzo

Sipping Whiskey in a Shallow Grave (Sunbury Press) by Mark Mitten

Winners will be announced on June 1, 2013 on the WF website (www.westernfictioneers.com)

Western Fictioneers (WF) was formed in 2010 by Robert J. Randisi, James Reasoner, Frank Roderus, and other professional Western writers, to preserve, honor, and promote traditional Western writing in the 21st century.  Entries were accepted in both print and electronic forms.  The Peacemaker Awards are given out annually.  Submissions for the Peacemaker Awards for books published in 2013 will be open in July, 2013. Submission guidelines will be posted on the WF web site.  For more information about Western Fictioneers (WF) please visit:  http://www.westernfictioneers.com/ or  http://westernfictioneers.blogspot.com/

Western Fictioneers would like to thank Larry D. Sweazy for being Awards Chair for the first three years and for the excellent job he has done.

(On a personal note, I've known Robert Vaughan for close to 25 years and have been reading and enjoying his books for even longer. His Lifetime Achievement Award is a well-deserved honor. Congratulations, and congrats as well to all the nominees.)