Why I Admire Louis L'Amour

One of the saddest days in my life came when I realized that I had read everything that Louis L'Amour had ever published. It felt akin to losing a loved one or a close friend. For several weeks I brooded, unsure of what to read next. I tried reading other authors and found several good ones, however most of them just didn't measure up.

I found several books with blurbs on the back stating: "If you like Louis L'Amour, then you'll love 'this' writer!" or "This writer is the next Louis L'Amour." I snatched those books off the library shelf only to be sorely disappointed after taking them home and cracking them open.

While some of those authors are excellent writers, their fiction lacks the essential element that separates L'Amour's work from everyone else. In addition to being a great storyteller, L'Amour had a code. He stood for something and his beliefs transferred into his writing.

There are a multitude of quotes from his work. However the one that has stuck with me over the years is this: "The difference between a man and a boy is the willingness to accept responsibility."

As a young man growing up I instilled that line into every aspect of my life until it became the code that I lived by. L'Amour's work often deals with morals and honor and closeness to family. I incorporated all of those virtues into my own personal code.

Although I never met him and didn't begin reading his work until after he passed away, L'Amour became a foster father to me. Someone that I admired and strove to emulate. The men and women that he wrote about became my heroes. I may sound crazy for admitting it, but some of his characters are my best friends.

Then one day, I had an epiphany. If I there weren't any more new L'Amour stories for me to read, I could create my own stories. I started writing and instantly became hooked. I had always loved to read but writing my own stories was a thrill all its own.

A story often told about Louis L'Amour is that once his daughter walked into the room while he was writing. She asked why he was typing so fast. L'Amour replied, "Because I want to see what happens next."

There are a myriad of reasons why writers write, even why I write. However, I began writing simply because I ran out of L'Amour stories. And I have continued because like L'Amour, I want to see what happens next.

I am not the 'next' Louis L'Amour. There was only one L'Amour and there will never be another. If you liked his work, you may or may not like mine. I don't write to be like Louis L'Amour. I write because of Louis L'Amour.

"The Wanted Man" is a collection of eight of my short stories and it is available for the Kindle at Amazon.com. I am working on a version for the Nook through Barnes and Noble as well as a print version that will be published through Createspace. If you have a Kindle or a device with a Kindle app, download The Wanted Man. It's available for just $0.99. Update: It's now available as a Nook Book at Barnes and Noble: The Wanted Man for Nook.