STICK TO THE FACTS--AND A GIVEAWAY! by JERRY GUIN

I wrote my first book back in 1995. It is a nonfiction book titled Matsutake Mushroom, which was published in 1997. It is simply a true story about the harvest and sale of wild forest mushrooms, from the Pacific Northwest, for profit.

My education began when I started selling the book.

https://www.amazon.com/West-Big-River-Western-Novels-ebook/dp/B01I5T0LVA/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
I visited the publisher to pick up a few copies to get started. When the publisher learned of my intended five-day, three-state tour, she insisted that I take on 400 copies. Despite my reluctance to attempt to sell so many, I took the books. What the heck, if they did not sell, I could always bring them back.

I was received warmly by many small book stores and convenience stores. The average sale was three to five copies. I visited the area where the actual story of the book took place and found that I had many critics. Men would thumb the pages and ask, “Where's the pictures?” Women would ask, “What kind of recipes are in here?” That book contained neither. Where did I go wrong? The story is based on actual facts, which no one can dispute. It seemed that some folks expected something other than what I was offering but, thankfully, by the end of my tour I had sold over 300 copies.

I learned quickly that if you are going to write nonfiction, number one, you better know what you are talking about and number two, don't get too far off the beaten path of what is expected. The book, hard copy only, still sells modestly.

Around 1995 I turned to writing what was and is my predominant interest, which is western fiction.
I never expected to write award winning stories such as those by greats Louis L'Amour, Zane Grey or Max Brand but I felt that I could spin a yarn, which could be construed as actually happening.

https://www.amazon.com/Code-West-Classic-Western-Novels-ebook/dp/B01JM2UONO/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
I began writing short stories and presented them for consideration with mild success.

https://www.amazon.com/Traditional-West-Western-Fictioneers-ebook/dp/B005E1JI8U/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
In 2011 I was accepted as a member of Western Fictioneers. Happy to correspond with well known authors Robert Randisi, James Reasoner, Frank Roderus, Jory Sherman and others. I was greatly inspired by having a story included in the Fictioneers first anthology, The Traditional West. It got the creative juices flowing.

Troy, Livia, Cheryl and others offered and encouraged me to write compelling stories that aren't necessarily true but could have happened, if given enough historical facts to support the tale. The more facts you can produce, the better.

https://www.amazon.com/Once-Drover-Jerry-Guin-ebook/dp/B01D7P3MD6/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
The actual history involved in a story could leave a writer scratching his head to find a way around it. I will not attempt to change history in any of my stories. The story has to revolve around the facts.

The Wolf Creek series is purely fiction and locked into 1871, now 1872.

In Wolf Creek 16, Luck of The Draw, part two, one of my characters is Luke Short, yes the famous gambler and gunman. Young Luke Short, eighteen at the time, according to history, did participate in driving a herd of cattle to Abilene, Kansas. He wanted to be a gambler so bad that he gave up trailing cattle and set out to make his own way as a professional gambler.

https://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Creek-Luck-Draw-part-ebook/dp/B01GFCWVR6/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
For the purpose of putting a well known name into 'Bet The Boots' I used Luke Short. One, he was a gambler. Two he was in Abilene in 1871 and turned to gambling as a way of life. So I had him stop into Wolf Creek for the poker tournament. In actuality, as far as anyone knows, after Luke left Abilene he was known to be selling rotgut whiskey in a buffalo camp on the plains near what would later become Dodge City.

If Wolf Creek existed at the time, lured by the gambling, why wouldn't Luke pay a visit? In my mind his appearance in the story is believable without disturbing historical facts.

Stretching the truth a little, such as a potion salesman's claims of the miracle cures by the consumption of his product is as far as I will go in pushing the envelope.

Creating heroes, hardships, finding a lost love or having a character cheat, steal, or kill others are enough to keep any writer busy crafting a believable story around historical facts.

https://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Creek-Hunters-Moon-18/dp/1540539717/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Nobody can change history and a good story will reflect the facts as they are.

I'm giving away a copy of the boxed set, CODE OF THE WEST! Just leave a comment to be entered in the drawing. Don't forget to leave your contact info, too, in case you win!

Jerry Guin is a member of Western Fictioneers and Western Writers of America.

He has authored more than 40 western fiction short stories and 7 western novels.

His latest novel– Once a Drover – was first introduced in 2014 by Western Trailblazer.
It was re-introduced by Sundown Press in 2016.

New Release -- CODE OF THE WEST Six Classic Western Novels in a Boxed Set -- Only 99 cents

Are you ready to ride into the old west with six fantastic tales of outlaws, lawmen, Apaches and ex-gunmen? There’s nothing like outwitting a band of Apache warriors, facing down a man with a hard grudge, or standing with a brother you don’t agree with—because he’s your blood—and doing it all from your easy chair! Each and every one of these tales of the west are guaranteed to keep you turning pages. You’ll share these hard-hitting action adventures as surely as if you were standing in the dusty Texas heat or the wilds of Indian Territory alongside the outlaws, marshals, and bounty hunters captured in the pages of CODE OF THE WEST! So, DRAW…if you dare!

ONE-EYED COWBOY WILD by John D. Nesbitt

Gene Hill welcomes his brother Zeke home, but some of Zeke’s new habits have him worried. When Zeke takes up an old feud with the Bickford brothers, Gene has no choice but to stand with his blood—even if it costs him the woman he loves…or his life.

THE OUTLAW, BILLY STARBUCK by Kit Prate

When Will Simpson decides to turn outlaw, he does it up right! Robbing trains will bring him the fame and wealth he craves—and will also ensure he’ll end up with the girl he loves. But his first train robbery goes awry and he makes a lifelong enemy of payroll guard Kyle Lassiter, who loses his arm in the heist.

GHOST RIVER by Livia J. Washburn

After his entire hometown turns against him for a crime he didn't commit, Jacob Travers runs away and joins a gang of bank robbers. But when a job goes bad and Travers is seriously wounded, he sees the man he considers his only friend turn tail and run—leaving him to die or be caught. Disillusioned but determined to survive, Travers crawls to the site of a deserted trading post in Ghost River—a place he never knew existed—where he recovers, repents, and swears to stay clean. Life has a way of making that difficult, however.

HALF-BREED LAW by Chuck Tyrell

Halfbreed marshal Garet Havelock sets off across the Mojave Desert to retrieve $100,000 in stolen gold bullion. Fate has served up its own brand of justice when he realizes the man he’s after is the Yankee raider who shot him years before, Buzz Donovan. But Donovan is pure evil, and Havelock is the only man who can stop his cruel atrocities with a taste of HALFBREED LAW…if he lives through it.

ONCE A DROVER by Jerry Guin

Trouble seems to find Sam Hall, no matter how he tries to avoid it, from St. Louis to Fort Worth and the wide plains in between. But when Sam comes home to Texas to see after his aunt’s spread, he’s determined to settle down. Fate says differently when a woman in need of his help turns up unexpectedly.  No matter what his good intentions were, he must take up his gun once more to save her life.

RIDE THE WILD RANGE by Cheryl Pierson

Young Will Green's entire family is murdered by Red Eagle's Apache renegades. During the long days and nights of captivity, Will plans his vengeance as only a ten-year-old boy can. But those plans are thwarted, along with his own imminent death, by a lone stranger who boldly walks into the Apache camp and forcefully takes Will from the band of warriors. Angry and humiliated, the Indians swear to follow Will and his savior as soon as they can round up their horses—and they won't stop until blood runs red.