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Dead Man’s Saddle
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Dead Man’s Saddle Available Now
Texas Indep
endence, Vigilantes, and Violent Retribution.
Wes Cauble, veteran of the Texas Revolution and ringleader of the vigilante group known as the Lone Star Brigade is determined to eradicate every Mexican, loyal or not, from the newly founded Republic. After arriving at the Eduardo de Anza Ranch, Wes and his vigilante lawmen stumble upon eight-year-old Miguel Carrigan de Anza. Cauble deputizes the boy and requests that his “new deputy” climb a giant oak tree and string a rope through a series of branches. Miguel complies, unknowing that the rope will later be used to hang his father, Eduardo. Cauble hangs Miguel’s father using Eduardo’s saddle as a counterbalance weight – a Dead Man’s Saddle. As Eduardo strangles, Miguel’s mother, Margaret, is killed by deputy June King. Cauble then orders a horrified Miguel to run back to Mexico, knowing the boy will forever be haunted with the knowledge that he strung his own father’s hanging rope. Months after the murder of his parents, a band of Mexican bandits lead by Juan Negras find Miguel. Negras adopts the boy and teaches him the harsh lessons in the way of the gun. Miguel grows into manhood determined to loose his own retribution on the Lone Star Brigade eventually leading him down his own path of bloodshed and destruction.
Buy your Nook version today at:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dead-mans-saddle-mike-kearby/1030867975 Buy your Kindle version today at: http://amzn.to/rckIdx
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Writers of the West Interview
I recently “sat” down for an interview with Writers of the West blog host, Jean Henry Mead. Here’s a transcript of our questions and answers -
Mike, what prompted you to establish the Collaborative Novel Project for teen writers?
Elmer Kelton, James Ward Lee, and Judy Alter spoke on their involvement in a collaborative novella published by TCU Press. The novella was entitled, Noah’s Ride. A few days after the event, I spoke with James and Elmer about collaborating with other professional authors in such an undertaking. After those conversations, I thought it would be a great vehicle for kids who dreamed of becoming writers. As the concept evolved, I came up with two take-aways for participants in the project. They were:
(1) Students will understand that schools can meet and collaborate without being involved competitively.
(2) Small town students will understand that they possess the ability to write as well as their counterparts in larger schools.
I think the project has proven its value. In 2010, The Western Writers of America took over the collaborative novel and re-branded it as the WWA Youth Writing Project. During its first year under the WWA umbrella, I was project coordinator. Our 2010 novella was entitled, Anthology. This fall, WWA members Linda Jacobs and Sherry Monahan will take the reins and drive the project to new heights.
Are your books written for young adults?
I write both adult and young adult novels.
Tell us about your Will Rogers Medallion winner, A Hundred Miles to Water.
A Hundred Miles to Water is an historical fiction account of the Olive family of Williamson County, Texas. The Olives were ranchers who trailed cattle during the cattle drive hey-days. They were a violent family who delivered their own brand of justice to anyone who crossed them, including two Nebraska farmers, Luther Mitchell and Ami Ketchum. The book was written to show that historical events often come blurred as to right and wrong. One of my favorite lines from the book comes when antagonist, E.B. Gunn and protagonist, Pure Reston meet on opposite sides of the Rio Grande. The encounter comes after Pure has raided a bandit hideout slaughtering all inside. After the gunplay, Pure hollers across the river demanding to know how E.B. knew he would attack the bandits. E.B. responds, “Because Pure Reston, you and me . . . we ain’t all that different are we?” The book, while violent, portrays the fruits of such violence. In the end, all of the characters lose. Some their lives, some their health and wealth, and for Pure, he loses the most – which is his inability to look into the mirror each day and like what he sees.
Why don’t most young people like to read for enjoyment? Are there too many video games competing with books? And have kids discovered e-readers such as Kindle?
Great question. During the mid-eighties, when parents wanted to relax from a hard day’s work, they came home, and stuck a video game or movie in their kid’s hands and said, “Go watch a movie or play a game so Daddy and Mommy can have some quiet time.”
It worked really well.
Great question. During the mid-eighties, when parents wanted to relax from a hard day’s work, they came home, and stuck a video game or movie in their kid’s hands and said, “Go watch a movie or play a game so Daddy and Mommy can have some quiet time.”
It worked really well.
Too well, in fact, for soon after those same movies and video games sat prominently on the kid’s bookshelves. And the books dwindled in number until they were gone. As is the case with most ills in society, the adults are usually the ones to initiate the problems. The kids simply observe and follow the examples they are given.
During my time as a reading teacher, the prevailing thought regarding reading was if a child had books available at home, and if the parents read in front of the child, then one day that child would read also. If every school in the U.S. would allow one hour per day for students to read, and by read, I mean read whatever they want, then in less than a decade, we would see a huge difference in our kids enjoying the learning process and best of all seeking out knowledge. You can still maintain required reading, but every child needs time to read what they enjoy – be that Sports Illustrated, People Magazine, the Sunday paper, or a graphic novel. And here’s why, we know that a child who reads and associates reading with pleasure will continue to read throughout their life. The pleasure comes from reading something that interests their minds. Over time, the brain will ask that child to read something more challenging. The graphic novel about The Alamo becomes easy, and the child turns to the biography of David Crockett or Juan Seguin. It’s really a simple process that unfortunately, we adults have messed up.
It does take time and varies by child, but then not all children walk at the same age, talk at the same age, etc…
And why is reading so important? Reading is the foundation for all learning, from science to math. A child who reads well is a confident child. Most discipline problems in our schools can be traced back to a child who does not read at their grade level. It is much easier to be a problem than be exposed as “that dumb kid who can’t read.”
As far as reading on Kindle-type devices, what I see is that kids will probably never join the electronic reader revolution. Today’s kids and the generations to follow only want to have one device. And that device will be a phone-like device that allows them to read, watch movies, purchase merchandise, etc… While iPhone type devices do much of that today, I see another device arriving over the next three years that will obsolete today’s smart phones. I think the Kindle and Nook are an interim step for the generations of the 50′s 60′s and 70′s. The newer generations will be reading on “one device does all” handhelds.
What prompted you to begin writing in 2005 and how have you been able to turn out nine books since that time?
In 2005, I looked up and asked myself, “Where did all the time go?” I sat down with my wife and told her I was going to sell my business and do the one thing that I had wanted to do all of my life, and that was – write. I didn’t want to go another ten years and regret having not tried. As far as “churning” out the novels, I decided early on in the process that in order to enjoy any success, I had to “go to work everyday.” I am an early morning person, so at 5:30 a.m. each morning I am at my desk writing. I usually finish by 8 a.m. and then edit the morning’s writing in the afternoon.
Are all your books set in Texas, or do you travel to other areas for research?
Currently all of my work is set in Texas.
Currently all of my work is set in Texas.
What do you tell young students that fires them up to read?
I always begin my school talks with the question. “What is the most important muscle or organ in your body to exercise? The one good thing about today’s kids is they exercise. The exercise might be skateboarding, playing sports after school, or walking, but most kids do it. So the normal response is to shout out, “Your heart!” Then I ask, but what organ or muscle tells your heart to beat, and your lungs to breathe? Then, they understand. Once I tell them that exercising your brain will not make them sweaty, or tired, or in need of a shower, and that it makes them smarter without studying, I get their full attention. Since peer pressure can be intimidating within some student groups, I always encourage kids to read at home before they go to sleep at night. Before I leave any speaking engagement, I extract a pledge from the students that they will read thirty minutes every day on whatever interests them.
Who most influenced your own work?
I grew up reading Ray Bradbury. His books fueled my imagination early in my reading life. Western-wise, I read Clair Huffaker, Louis L’Amour, and of course Elmer Kelton.
Advice for fledgling writers of the West?
I teach writing classes for several organizations. The first handout every student in one of my classes receives is my “writing ante” page. I’m sure everyone knows that ante is a poker term that describes the initial contribution a player makes before any cards are dealt. I tell my students that a writing ante is their “stake” or what must be paid to be allowed in the writing game. My ante is three-fold.
(1) I will be a voracious reader
(2) I will write everyday
(3) I will always present a perfect manuscript to my publisher
I go on to tell the students that they need to decide what their writing ante will be. And then build up that ante so they can sit down at the writing (poker) table.
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Wordcraft – Texas Tales at A Real Bookstore
I was pleasantly surprised to see blogger, and former journalist, Melissa Embry at last Saturday’s book signing at A Real Bookstore in Fairview, Texas. Here’s what Melissa had to blog about the event -
It’s been nearly a year since the closing of North Texas’ largest independent bookstore, Legacy Books in Plano. Since then its successor, A Real Bookstore, has opened in Fairview. The differences between the two are indicative of the economy’s changes.
Legacy’s three-story location in an upscale Plano site has been replaced by a more modest one-story building between Macy’s and J.C. Penney’s in the Village at Fairview. A Real Bookstore’s owner Teri Tanner believes the new location will have more appeal in its neighborhood. And she is determined not to repeat a key mistake of one of her former employers, Borders. A Real Bookstore sells online, at www.arealbookstore.com/ , keeping more of its sales dollars in North Texas.
The store also offers a home for regional artists and writers, something not always available from a national chain. That’s why I was there last Saturday — to get a signed copy of Texas Tales Illustrated, written by award-winning Western writer Mike Kearby and illustrated by Mack White of Austin. The first volume of Tales is the opener for a series of Texas history volumes in graphic novel form. Written to follow the state’s seventh-grade history curriculum, the book features true stories of young Texans of the 1830’s. (Photo- Mike & Texas Tales Illustrator, Mack White)
I also got Kearby’s newest book of fiction, A Hundred Miles to Water, for which he received the Will Rogers Medallion Award for Best Adult Fiction at the Fort Worth stockyards Sunday. The book is based on the pioneer ranching family of James Olive, whose members lived violently and often died the same way. And on the exploits of African-American cowboy and gunslinger Jim Kelly. “To most along the trail,” Kearby writes, “(Kelly) was known as the Ebony Gun.”
A Hundred Miles to Water is published by Goldminds Publishing LLC. The publishing house plans to take its line to national distributors, according to regional sales manager Kelly Netherton, who accompanied Kearby and Mack at the signing.
Independent sellers such as A Real Bookstore, Ms. Netherton said, are key components of Goldminds’ plan to sell Western novels in hardback, a genre larger publishers issue only in paperback. But as the publisher expands, it, like A Real Bookstore, is taking a long view, emphasizing quality over quantity and building its own online business at www.goldminds.pub.com/ Goldminds accepts submissions from authors, but authors should check its site for guidelines.
You can find Melissa’s blog at: http://nojobforsissies.blogspot.com/
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Texas Tales Illustrated Reviewed by Texas State History Museum
Derek Lemons of the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum recently interviewed Mack White and myself to learn more about our graphic novel series: Texas Tales Illustrated.
Derek’s review appeared in the 2011 summer issue of the museum’s magazine, The Star.
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A Hundred Miles to Water Honored
July 1, 2011 – A Hundred Miles to Water has been honored as a recipient of the 2011 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Best Adult Fiction.
The Will Rogers Medallion Award is presented each year to those books that represent an Outstanding Achievement in the publishing of Western Literature. They are books that exemplify outstanding excellence in content and design with an enduring quality that preserves and celebrates the history and spirit of the West and the memory of Will Rogers.
Order your copy at www.goldmindspub.com/
Kindle and Nook versions are available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
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Dead Man’s Saddle
Kindle and Nook versions of Dead Man’s Saddle are now available for purchase at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
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