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| Click to Buy from Amazon |
Can a story set in Pennsylvania be considered a
Western?
Probably not, if you want to get technical. But my publisher
Billie Johnson thought Fallen From Grace met the test in spirit if not place
and decided to make it the first entry in Wild Oaks, the new Western
imprint of Oak Tree Press.
I couldn’t be happier, because I love the genre. I grew up
(and now live again) in a house reputed to have been built by a man who rode
with Buffalo Bill. My mother said she devoured pulp Westerns while carrying me
and I cut my reading teeth on the likes of Zane Grey (who, incidentally, began
his writing career in Pennsylvania ), Emerson Hough, Jack London and others
from my dad’s well-stocked library.
All of this contributed to a lifelong interest in the
history of the West and desire to trod in the footsteps of those legendary
characters, both actual and literary, discovered in my reading.
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| Click to Buy From Amazon |
Fallen From Grace was inspired by Sylvester Tilghman, a
character I’d featured in two short stories and who asserted himself, demanding
a book role. Characters can be like that. They pop up in a writer’s
imagination, develop personalities and demand a place in our stories.
Tilghman’s grandfather was in my first novel, Schlussel’s Woman, and his father
has a bit role in Watch The Hour. Maybe he thought it was a family prerogative
to be featured in a book.
Fallen From Grace is set in the 1890s. Tilghman is the
third in his family to serve as sheriff in the small town of Arahpot ,
Pennsylvania , a generally peaceful place. Sylvester’s biggest immediate
problems are lack of a deputy and the refusal of Lydia , his girlfriend, to
marry him despite many proposals. That all changes when a stranger to town is
fatally stabbed.
Tilghman recalls witnessing a strained encounter between the
victim and Valentine Deibert, an obese man with a wife half his age. When
questioned, Deibert denies knowing the victim.
Tilghman is unconvinced, but lacks a connection until the
victim’s widow arrives in Arahpot. Suddenly Sylvester is plunged into
investigating two murders. As he works through an abundance of motivated
suspects, Tilghman finds himself in danger. And worse— Lydia is pushing her
obnoxious cousin as a candidate for depty.
Fallen From Grace is available from Oak Tree Books, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other major booksellers.
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Fallen From Grace (March 2011), Wild Oak
Being Someone Else (July 2010), Whiskey Creek Press
Thanks for this opportunity, Wenona.
ReplyDeleteThere is a Western flavor to your writing and wordage. You could transplant Sheriff Tilghman to any Western state and he'd feel right at home!
ReplyDeleteA western set in Pennsylvania sounds like something I would write. Best wishes for much success, John.
ReplyDeleteFallen from Grace is a wonderful book. I read it in an afternoon. (See my review on Amazon.com)
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, of course it's a western. Lindermuth could have set the story on the moon and it would still have been a western!
William Doonan
www.williamdoonan.com
John,
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
I love the way you talk about your characters as if they were real. I feel that way about mine too. They truly have minds of their own sometimes, don't they?
So glad that you stopped in today John. Thanks for sharing your book with us :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a wonderful book. I've only recently started reading a few westerns, and I believe there were probably Old West type towns all over the country. Looking forward to your book.
ReplyDelete