“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.

 

Dispatches from the West.

Saddlebag Dispatches has a new issue available. As always, it’s big and colorful and filled with all things Western. A few of the items in the magazine have my name at the top.

A new short story, “Black Joe,” is about a wild mustang stud and his clashes with a rancher. There’s a feature article about the PBR Ty Murray Top Hand Award, and the collaboration between Ty Murray and the designer and sculptor behind the award, Jeff Wolf. My rodeo poem about how the Star Spangled Banner affects bareback riders, “Long May It Wave,” is given a beautiful presentation. And, finally, my regular “Best of the West” column features what must be the oldest of the Old West’s best towns, Taos Pueblo.

If you don’t read Saddlebag Dispatches, you’re missing out on a fine publication, offering a lot of variety in its presentation of the American West, old and new. Follow the link and take a look.

Back in the Saddle(bag).

The latest issue of Saddlebag Dispatches is now available. Dedicated to rodeo, this issue of the magazine includes three contributions from me.

First is a cover story, “The Man Who Invented Rodeo.” It’s all about Earl Bascom, whose inventions and improvements and developments back when make modern rodeo what it is today. Bascom is enshrined in numerous rodeo-related halls of fame recognizing his achievements. He was also an accomplished artist.

My regular “Best of the West” column features Larry Mahan, record-setting rough-stock rider and hero of my rodeo youth. Also included is a poem about the struggles of rodeo wives left at home while their cowboys struggle on the circuit. It’s titled “Nowhere Rodeo.”

Go online and take a look at Saddlebag Dispatches, or order a printed copy of the big magazine. If you’re a rodeo fan, you’ll be a fan of this issue.

Reporting on poetry.

The Spring/Summer 2018 issue of Saddlebag Dispatches is now available, and it’s a keeper. Most of its pages, rightly so, honor the late, great Dusty Richards—founder and executive editor of the publication, as well as award-winning author and all-around good guy. A car accident took Dusty’s life earlier this year, and his passing was noted in a post at the time.

But, as always, there’s more to the magazine. Including a big, colorful article about one of the world’s best Western celebrations, the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada.

I had the privilege to report and write the story, and illustrate it with photos I took (despite specious rumors and claims to the contrary) at the 2018 Gathering. Quoted in the story are first-time visitors and some who have attended for years, as well as poets.

My regular “Best of the West” column features the great Western movie High Noon.

The story—and all else in the magazine—are well worth a read. Visit Saddlebag Dispatches for online access or to order a printed copy.

Another dispatch from the saddlebag.

The Fall/Winter 2017 issue of Saddlebag Dispatches is now online, with a print version available as well. As usual, its pages are chockablock with short stories, articles, columns, and other reading matter that “fits under a cowboy hat,” as the editors say.

In its pages you’ll find my regular column, “Best of the West,” this time featuring what I believe to be the best cowboy poem of all time, “Anthem” by the late Buck Ramsey.

Elsewhere in the magazine is, for me, a real treat—a beautifully designed spread presenting a new poem I penned. “The Knowing” is built from the sights and sounds and smells experienced by a range-riding cowboy through days and nights, miles in the saddle, tending cattle, watching wildlife, experiencing sunshine and storms, and the comfort of campfires. There’s even a reference to the poem on the magazine’s cover (above), claiming, in one of the most extreme over-statements of our time, “Cowboy poet Rod Miller invokes the Bard.”

Magazines written for Western readers become rarer by the day, so don’t miss a chance to read—and support—Saddlebag Dispatches.

A full Saddlebag.

A new issue of Saddlebag Dispatches is now available and you can access it online. Included is the conclusion, Part 3, of my long short story, “The Passing of Number 16.” It’s a modern-day rodeo mystery about the death of a prime bucking horse. Parts 1 and 2 are available in the magazine’s back issues if you need to catch up. Or, you can read the story in its entirety in my new collection of short fiction, The Death of Delgado and Other Stories, from Pen-L Publishing.

But, back to Saddlebag Dispatches. The magazine is an ambitious venture ramrodded by my friend, legendary writer Dusty Richards. The publication is all about the American West and includes short fiction, nonfiction, historical articles, photo essays, and more. There’s even a column they asked me to write. I call it “Best of the West” and it features what I think is some of the best in Western literature, art, and anything else Western. The first column featured the classic poet Charles Badger Clark. 

“Best of the West” in the new issue is all about sculptor Jeff Wolf, whose creations capture the heart and soul and spirit of the West in remarkable works of art. Featured in the magazine are photos of several of Jeff’s sculptures. Don’t miss this chance to see the West through an extraordinary artist’s eyes and hands.

Finally, a plug about the Write Here in Ephraim Writer’s Conference. If you have ambitions to be a writer or improve your writing, it’s the place to be April 22-23. I’ll be doing sessions on writing about the West and cowboys and poetry. See you there.

New online magazine for Western fans.

My friend Dusty Richards is always up to something. Since completing his term as president of Western Writers of America, I guess he needed something to do (besides turning out one good Western novel after another) so he gathered up a bunch of other folks and started a magazine.

The first issue of Saddlebag Dispatches is now online. It features Western fiction, poetry, and nonfiction about the West, with stories by some fine writers.

And me.

“The Passing of Number Sixteen” will run as a three-part serial in the first three issues. It’s a modern-day mystery with a rodeo setting, all about the strange shooting of a bucking horse.

Saddlebag Dispatches is free. All you have to do is click on this link: http://www.saddlebagdispatches.com/campfire.html. It will take you to the magazine, then click on the cover and the whole thing will download.

Then start reading. And enjoy.