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In 2003 I had the hankering to write fiction again and started writing westerns under the pen-name of Clay More for the Black Horse Westerns series published by Robert Hale in London.
I have had five western novels published, four of which have also been published in Large Print format in either the Linford Western Library or by Dales Large Print. The first three are stand-alone stories, while the last two focus on my character Jake Scudder. A sixth novel, also about Jake Scudder and his Apache companion Nantan is in the pipeline.
Many people are scathing about the western genre, usually without having read any of the books. I am proud of my western novels, which I write as historical crime novels. All of them challenge the reader to solve a mystery. So come on in, settle down a while and read a western!
RAW DEAL AT PASCO SPRINGS
When ex-lawman Tom Mallory won the Diamond T ranch in a poker game, he thought Lady Luck had truly smiled on him. It was an impression that swiftly changed when he rode straight into a bushwhacking. And so there started a curious chain of events that led him to take up his former profession. It soon became clear that someone had designs on the Diamond T ranch and would stop at nothing to get it. Murder was afoot and, as tempers frayed, Tom realised that he had to find out who was behind it all - especially if he wanted to save a woman he deeply admired.
NEMESIS FOR THE JUDGE
Judge Wes Talbot was the youngest circuit judge in the history of the territory, a fact of which he was mightily proud, considering that he had started out as an enforcer of the law, rather than a dispenser of justice. When Wes tried Dan Meldrum, the defendant in the infamous Concord Massacre case, the evidence had been damning. Finding him guilty of rape and murder Wes sentenced him to be hanged. Yet Cash Meldum, the bounty hunter known as the deacon, was convinced of his brother's innocence and set out to make the judge pay. But then fate plays a hand and a gang of outlaws kidnaps Talbot's fiancee and her best friend. Now Wes himself is forced on the run and as events close in it surely looks like Nemesis for the Judge.
DOUBLE-DEALING AT DIRTVILLE
Abe Gibson reckoned Dirtville to be as good a place as any in which to live a peaceable life. He had good friends, his saloon was doing well and the town had law. Then, within the space of a few days, everything changed. It all started when Zach Holmes, the town telegrapher, had had to relay a couple of strange messages to the sheriff. Shortly afterwards the stranger Ethan Grant was gunned down at one of Abe's card tables. Then a beautiful woman shot herself in the head beside Grant's grave. As all hell broke loose, Abe figured that there had to be one person behind it all. But could he solve the mystery?
A ROPE FOR SCUDDER
Jake Scudder hauled Hank Lassiter from the jaws of death three times in twenty-four hours. However not everyone was convinced of Scudder's worth. Within a couple of days he had been found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. That was how Jake found himself locked up in a caboose en route to the penitentiary where a rope awaited him. Then fate took a hand and stirred things up. Scudder was given a chance for redemption, but it meant he would have to rescue the woman who wanted him dead and discover who had set him up. Whoever it was, had much to answer for.
STAMPEDE AT RATTLESNAKE PASS
Jake Scudder was just minding his own business when he saw the cloud of dust and heard the noise like thunder that indicated a stampede. Riding as fast as he could to lend a hand he soon discovered that a massacre had taken place at Rattlesnake Pass and that the Rocking H herd had been rustled. And then he found the wrangler, Johnnie Parker barely alive. Throwing his hand in with the Rocking H owners Jake escorted the beautiful Elly Horrocks to Silver City to try to get the herd back. But then followed murder, a kidnapping and a race against time to stay ahead of rustlers' bullets and the hangman's noose. Scudder was determined to find whoever was behind it all - and make them pay!
And here are the Linford Western Library and Dales Large Print versions.
You can order them direct from Ulverscroft: http://www.ulverscroft.com/ Or click on the links by each title to order from Amazon.
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