Just saw this write up at Western Fiction Review........

After barely surviving the Civil War, all Confederate sharp-shooter Ethan van Kirk wants is a quiet life on his homestead with his eight-year-old daughter, Lucy. Then a shadow from his past appears. Suddenly he is forced to use his deadly shooting skills again in a deal with the Devil. Ethan must kill an innocent man to save his daughter’s life.

And the clock is ticking….

This is Lee Walker’s third Black Horse Western and having read the previous two I was eager to read this.

The majority of the tale takes place during one morning, and Lee Walker creates an air of menace and tension superbly ensuring the reader will find this a very difficult book to put down before the end is reached. Ethan’s frantic struggle to save his daughter and not kill an innocent man seems destined to fail as he discovers those he thought were friends cannot be trusted and time is running out fast. Unknown to Ethan there are a couple a people trying to help but are they strong enough to do so? And even if they are can they act before the time Ethan has to squeeze the trigger?

I can’t really say more about the story without spoiling it for those who intend to read this book. What I will add is I’d highly recommend it to all who enjoy edge-of-the-seat plotlines that will have you guessing as to the books’ outcome. 

Lee Walker is a pseudonym used by Ed Ferguson and on the strength of this book and the two before it, this author has joined the top ranks of my favourite western writers.

Hi all

 

Got a very pleasant surprise in the post yesterday. I had ordered in advance a copy of Nik Mortons How to Write a Western in 30 Days (with bullet points!) I thought it wasn't meant to be out until the end of July but it was brought forward.

 

First, the look and feel of the book is terrific! What a great cover!

 

I immediately sat down with a cup of coffee and dived in. When I looked up again nearly two hours had past.

 

I'm not going to give too much away for those who are going to buy a copy in the future but all I can say is I wish this book had been available before I started out - it would have saved me a ton of rewrites and edits!

 

And even though I'm on my fourth Western, 30 Days is peppered with great little nuggets of wisdom, suggestions and gentle reminders of what the western is all about and how to write one!

 

Well done Nik. This will be taking pride of place in my collection of Western reference books. Going over to Amazon now to give you a ***** star recommendation.