A note from the author: I've always admired the Western movies by directors Budd Boetticher and Anthony Mann. Truth be told -- but let's keep this a secret, will you -- with the exception of The Searchers, I'd rather spend time watching Winchester '73 (Mann), Comanche Station (Boetticher), The Naked Spur (Mann) or Ride Lonesome (Boetticher) than a John Ford Western. Besides, I think Devil's Doorway (Mann) and Seven Men From Now (Boetticher) are among the best Westerns ever made.
So, I set out to write Río Chama with Anthony Mann and Budd Boetticher as my inspiration. A traditional Western, a journey Western -- setting it in the New Mexico country I adore. Problem is, even with Boetticher and Mann pointing me down the trail, I can't write just a traditional Western. And I can't tell somebody else's story. This is mine, with a little bit of help from two great movie directors. Hope you enjoy it.
tooling design courtsey of
Charles Favour - Santa Fe, NM
Jeremiah Cole has been sentenced to hang for lynching a priest, but
most people in New Mexico believe that Cole's father, a powerful
senator and ruthless land baron, will never let his son reach the
gallows. Yet gunman Britton Wade, who is slowly dying of consumption,
is determined to see justice carried out -- and make something out of
his life.
Thus begins a violent, brutal journey from Santa Fe to
Chama. Wade is joined by another gunman, Clint Paden, and Paden's two
saddle pals, who have their own designs on Jeremiah Cole, and a fiery
Irish woman, Fenella Magauran, who is seeking her own justice.
They'll have to get past mobs of angry settlers who want Cole dead,
Senator Roman Cole and his men, who want Wade dead, warring Apaches,
turncoats, and a relentlessly harsh country along the Chama River.
It's a journey that will change everyone.
Roundup:
“This is not a simple Western .... His familiarity with the landscape
-- he lives near Santa Fe -- is a definite advantage as he puts the
reader right into New Mexico and particularly through the rugged
landscape along the Río Chama. And while this may seem to be a fairly
traditional Western, the conclusion is anything but. Another good read."
