and the winner is . . .

Western Fictioneers, formed by professional writers in 2010 “to preserve, honor, and promote traditional Western writing in the 21st century,” just announced the winners of the annual Peacemaker Awards.

Lo and behold, my book Where the Long Trail Ends was named Best Western Novel.

Sometimes you get lucky. I am pleased and surprised in equal measure.

In other award news, two of my works were named finalists for Western Writers of America Spur Awards. “Leftovers,” from my collection Buckoffs and Broken Barriers: Rodeo Poems, is a Spur Award Finalist for Best Western Poem. “Rawhide Robinson Faces Fear,” from the collection of short stories with Michael Norman, Shiny Spurs and Gold Medallions, is a Spur Awards Finalist for Best Western Short Fiction.

Good news from the premier professional organizations for Western writers.

When it rains it pours. Thank goodness—out here in the West we can use the water.