Peacemaker Finalist!

Western Fictioneers—an organization formed in 2010 by professional Western writers to preserve, honor, and promote traditional Western writing in the 21st century—recently announced the annual Peacemaker (named for the iconic Colt revolver) Awards. My book, Hanging Man: The Hunting of Man Book 1, was a Finalist for Best Western Novel.

Ernest Hemingway once wrote, “There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.”

That quotation seemed a good description for a bounty hunter, and Matt Crowder was born. A middle-aged former Deputy United States Marshal turned bounty hunter, Crowder is relentless in his pursuit of justice—although, at his age, he would rather not sleep on the ground anymore if he can help it.

In Hanging Man, Crowder comes upon a man hanging from a tree in an isolated area and pursues the mystery of who he is, why he died, and who killed him. He chases the two men he believes responsible, and along the way discovers graft and corruption involving the US Army, and in a chance encounter captures another wanted man.

In Running Man: The Hunting of Man Book 2, and Hiding Man: The Hunting of Man Book 3, Matt Crowder’s adventures lead him across the Old West on the trail of other outlaws.

Nothing to say.

 

Interesting times.

 

There is a curse, wrongly attributed to the Chinese, that says, “May you live in interesting times.”

We certainly do.

As most of you probably know, that strange assemblage of little squares above is a QR Code (QR is shorthand for Quick Response, I’m told). You see them all over the place in these interesting times. They bear about as much resemblance to the real world as Rorschach ink blots. Word is, if you point your smart phone at one, it will link you to some other place online.

As one living in interesting times, and feeling a slight tug at times to keep up, I got my very own QR Code. It links to my web site, writerRodMiller.com. I had to borrow my wife’s smart phone (because I don’t own one) to test it. It works. I was amazed and surprised at the success of my first-ever experience with a QR Code.

Try it.

P.S. The hero of four of my novels, Rawhide Robinson, was jealous and wanted a QR Code of his own. So, I got him one. Try it, too. Here it is:

 

P.P.S. All My Sins Remembered was just named a finalist for the Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award for Best Novel of 2022!

 

“Black Joe” wins.

Western Fictioneers is a professional organization of authors formed in 2010 to “to preserve, honor, and promote traditional Western writing in the 21st century.” To that end, each year they bestow Peacemaker Awards—named for Samuel Colt’s famous pistol—to honor the best in Western writing.

 The 2021 Peacemaker Award winners were announced recently, and I am tickled pink to pass along news that my story “Black Joe” took the prize for Best Western Short Fiction. “Black Joe” was published in the Winter 2019/2020 issue of Saddlebag Dispatches magazine.

The story was inspired by a song of the same name from Brenn Hill’s album Rocky Mountain Drifter (which also includes the song built from my poem “And the River Ran Red”). Brenn’s “Black Joe” song was inspired by a violent encounter with a mustang stud as told to Brenn by his compadre Andy Nelson, a standout cowboy poet, performer, humorist, and author. Andy got the story from his father, Jim Nelson. There’s a lot of literary license involved in my telling, but there is no doubt about the seed from which the story sprouted.

“Black Joe” is a fine short story—if I do say so myself—but the credit goes to those mentioned above. All I did was type.

 

Another campfire tale from Rawhide Robinson.

Rawhide Robinson, the ordinary cowboy who often finds himself in extraordinary situations, has news. This time—unlike his usual campfire anecdotes—it’s true from beginning to end.

Western Fictioneers, an international organization of professional authors who write about the Old West, recently announced the winners of their 2016 Peacemaker Awards. You may recall that earlier, I wrote that Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail: The True Tale of a Wild West CATastrophe—was named a Finalist for Best Western Novel for Young Adults, and I promised an update if there were any developments.  

Well, it won.

That sentence probably deserves an exclamation point, but I try to follow Elmore Leonard’s advice and limit myself to two or three for every 100,000 words of prose. But don’t let the lack of a punctuation mark fool you—I am surprised and stunned and happy and honored to have a book I created win an award named after Samuel Colt’s most famous creation. Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail: The True Tale of a Wild West CATastrophe is available in hardcover and e-book and will make enjoyable reading for book lovers from junior high school to geriatric age.

Finally, since cat videos are so popular on the Internet, I’ve posted the little promotional video for the book. Click on it and take a look. (Spoiler alert: it does, in fact, include cats.)

The cat is out of the bag. Sort of.

Western Fictioneers, an organization of authors who write novels and short stories about the Old West, recently announced nominees for their annual Peacemaker Awards. The awards, named in honor of the Colt revolver, are bestowed upon the Best Novel, Best Short Fiction, Best First Novel, and Best Novel for Young Adults or Children.

I’m happy to say that Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail: The True Tale of a Wild West CATastrophe, is nominated in the latter category. Winners will be announced June 15 and if there is further good news I will pass it along.

This recognition, along with being named a Western Writers of America Spur Award Finalist, is high praise for my latest novel.

If you haven’t read Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail, you can order a copy through your local bookstore or online, both in hardcover and e-book. There’s a short video about the book on my Amazon Author Page and out there elsewhere. Whether young or old—say from junior high school student to senior citizen—you’ll get a grin out of the extraordinary exploits of an ordinary cowboy.