tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86723782386614660792024-02-07T13:45:05.639-06:00THE WESTERN WORDSLINGERMatthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-89908691034109127522014-09-24T12:54:00.000-05:002014-09-24T12:54:20.530-05:00My Favorite Western Novel - FLINT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">My usual reply when
someone asks me to name my favorite Western novel is generally, "Anything
by Louis L'Amour." I realize that is a pretty broad answer considering the
volume of work he published, but I never met a Louis L'Amour novel or story
that I didn't like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">There's a lot of
good ones and it's near 'bout impossible to pick just one. My favorites of his characters are Tell
Sackett, Milo Talon and Lance Kilkenny. I really like <i>The Sackett Brand</i> because it embodies the attitude that I have
toward family and I love all of the Kilkenny novels. The idea of a lone gunfighter who saves the
day and rides off into the sunset is iconic for anyone one who loves the
Western genre.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyLayfcRRMe9nuPKaydyIqB9t-9vys-P6v8VD1wtpd8uI7zvYKZinFoHRHBhkDgVjkziXsLIMkDKB5lfWVtVoofveueLkBM56z2STrpMc1Mrul4IpeOIc10S3hKu-uudWF7qP91TUKIvg/s1600/Flint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyLayfcRRMe9nuPKaydyIqB9t-9vys-P6v8VD1wtpd8uI7zvYKZinFoHRHBhkDgVjkziXsLIMkDKB5lfWVtVoofveueLkBM56z2STrpMc1Mrul4IpeOIc10S3hKu-uudWF7qP91TUKIvg/s1600/Flint.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">However, if I'm
going to have to pick just one, then I'd say my favorite Western novel is <i>Flint
</i>by Louis L'Amour. This is a novel that has it all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">The man who assumes
the name of Jim Flint is an orphan who came from nothing due to the kindness of
a stranger and had everything in life, only to abandon it all. He finds love in an unexpected place and
decides he wants to live again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">As a youngster, this
story had a huge impact on me because Flint was the kind of man that I wanted
to be. A man capable of taking care of
himself, yet wanting more out of life than living it alone. He was a somewhat flawed man who overcame his
hurdles by helping other people. It is a
story of hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Yet with all Louis
L'Amour stories, Flint if full of great quotes that illustrate the author's
perspective on life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">"He had come to
New Mexico wanting no trouble. He had
wanted no trouble at Horse Springs, wanted none on North Plain, but long ago he
had discovered that one has to make a stand.
If a man has to run, there is nothing to do but keep running. And if a
man must die, he could at least die proud of his manhood. It was better to live one day as a lion than
a dozen years as a sheep."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">That quote is by far
one of my favorites in all of literature and one of the best of L'Amour's
lines, and he had a lot of great ones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Flint is a novel
that I highly recommend. I've lost count
of the number of times that I've reread it.
As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to crack it open again. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">What's your favorite Western novel? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-24845141037035500662014-07-03T11:41:00.002-05:002014-07-03T11:41:47.686-05:00The Infant Carrier: A Collection of Short Stories<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://elizabethblogsaboutitall.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/jessie-cox-c2ab-author-the-ray-corngrower-saga-and-other-works.png"><img alt="Jessie Cox « Author the Ray Corngrower Saga and Other Works" class="aligncenter wp-image-3072" src="http://elizabethblogsaboutitall.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/jessie-cox-c2ab-author-the-ray-corngrower-saga-and-other-works.png?w=300" height="142" width="368" /></a></h2>
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The Infant Carrier: </h1>
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A Collection of Short Stories</h1>
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Prequels to the Ray Corngrower Saga</h1>
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The first book of the Ray Corngrower Saga has been newly re-booted with more editing and a great cover.</h2>
<a href="http://elizabethblogsaboutitall.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/cover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="cover" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3071" src="http://elizabethblogsaboutitall.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/cover.jpg?w=235" height="300" width="235" /></a>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>About the Book: </strong></span></h1>
Like the contemporary Native American tribe the characters in this book are law abiding or criminals. Deputy Ray Corngrower walks a thin line between the Red World and the White World, while trying to regain his spiritual beliefs and balance his love life and work with Special Agent Jan Meyers of the FBI.
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<strong>Get the Ebook or Add it to your TBR (Too Be Read) Pile:</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Infant-Carrier-Collection-Corngrower-ebook/dp/B007P54D1K" target="_blank"><img alt="amazon-button" class="aligncenter wp-image-74 size-thumbnail" src="http://raycorngrower.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/amazon-button.jpg?w=150" height="29" width="150" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20371537-the-infant-carrier" target="_blank"><img alt="images" class="size-full wp-image-75" src="http://raycorngrower.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/images.jpg" height="39" width="125" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong> Get the Paperback or Add it to your TBR (Too Be Read) Pile:</strong></div>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Infant-Carrier-Mr-Jess-Cox/dp/146995039" target="_blank"><img alt="amazon-button" class="aligncenter size-thumbnail wp-image-74" src="http://raycorngrower.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/amazon-button.jpg?w=150" height="29" width="150" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14426358-the-infant-carrier" target="_blank"><img alt="images" class="size-full wp-image-75" src="http://raycorngrower.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/images.jpg" height="39" width="125" /></a></div>
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<strong>Get the Full Ray Corngrower Series Ebooks <em><a href="http://raycorngrower.wordpress.com/books/" target="_blank">Here</a></em>!</strong></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Get the Full Ray Corngrower Series Paperbacks <a href="http://raycorngrower.wordpress.com/paperbacks/" target="_blank"><em>Here</em></a>!</strong></h3>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://elizabethblogsaboutitall.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/jesss-grandmother-watermark.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jessie's grandmother in beautiful regalia. " class="size-medium wp-image-3074" src="http://elizabethblogsaboutitall.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/jesss-grandmother-watermark.jpg?w=207" height="300" width="207" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">Jessie's grandmother in beautiful regalia.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://elizabethblogsaboutitall.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/702a2018be1b0a7e9d9aa4-l-_v398469719_sy470_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="702a2018be1b0a7e9d9aa4-l-_v398469719_sy470_" class=" wp-image-3073 alignleft" src="http://elizabethblogsaboutitall.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/702a2018be1b0a7e9d9aa4-l-_v398469719_sy470_.jpg" height="145" width="192" /></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>About the Author: </strong></span>
Jessie Cox is a Native American author bringing us tales from his life experiences being raised on Creek land by his grandmother as a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, a variety of jobs including Law Enforcement, Chief Engineer, Gold Prospecting, Freelance Writer/Columnist, and his time of living and working in the Alaskan tundra.
Find Jessie on his <a href="https://raycorngrower.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Blog</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessie-Cox/246188712163261" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/jessie_cox" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://authorsdb.com/authors-directory/4076-jessie-cox" target="_blank">Author DB</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jessie-Cox/e/B007Q21D6A" target="_blank">Amazon</a> ]<br />
Jessie's grandmother in beautiful regalia. <br />
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><br /></strong></span></h1>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><br /></strong></span></h1>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Reviews:</strong></span></h1>
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<a href="http://elizabethblogsaboutitall.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/images-1.jpg"><img alt="images (1)" class="size-medium wp-image-3070" src="http://elizabethblogsaboutitall.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/images-1.jpg?w=300" height="74" width="300" /></a></h1>
Author Elizabeth Delana Rosa praises the series saying, “I am a big fan of this series. I do not usually read mysteries; in fact, I’m known to shove them off onto another reviewer who does reviews for my site. However, I know Jessie and I said, “I would give an honest review.” To be honest, it took me a while to get it rolling, but once I got started I couldn’t stop. Every book stands on its own but as you read them together you get a larger and larger picture of the community and characters. I enjoyed how the mystery and suspense contained Native American legends. I found the viewpoint new to me and intriguing, to the point I went back to the author to tell me more stories. I, also, loved how you almost hear an old man’s voice telling us the tale. I love how the words flowed. Some would want to fault the author on his wording but for me the wording is what makes it. It’s showing the author’s Oklahoman and Native American roots. I can’t say enough about this series and can’t wait for the books to come.”
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Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-82316372773690828632014-01-31T07:33:00.001-06:002014-01-31T07:33:46.326-06:00Top 10 Western Movie Gunfights<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
What do you consider among the best gunfights in a Western movie? There are a ton of great movies to choose from and selecting just ten of the best is an almost impossible task. There are even several movies with more than one excellent gunfight, making picking just one from that movie extremely difficult. Yet every Western fan has some favorites. Here are my favorite, starting with number 10.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">10. QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">9. SHANE</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">8. THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">7. HIGH NOON</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">6. ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">5. TOMBSTONE</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">4. TRUE GRIT</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">3. THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">2. OPEN RANGE</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">1. UNFORGIVEN</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHW6irlVbhjcQPle5tmtTNniv7dzdOLJvKCBhYHvISkyHty2g7K23CRaqsKOfJELBQfM_YqIG3C2rXRZbaILeo61yRaTxTDIVN7ZEE1zjdmSTu-tIDrNYpIMRL2iw8Dgpx0lvPma1nKjY/s1600/unforgiven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHW6irlVbhjcQPle5tmtTNniv7dzdOLJvKCBhYHvISkyHty2g7K23CRaqsKOfJELBQfM_YqIG3C2rXRZbaILeo61yRaTxTDIVN7ZEE1zjdmSTu-tIDrNYpIMRL2iw8Dgpx0lvPma1nKjY/s1600/unforgiven.jpg" height="271" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
What do you think? Which ones should have been ranked higher? Did I leave out any that should have been included?</div>
Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-86386436611646970062013-11-26T11:10:00.000-06:002013-11-27T07:13:53.278-06:00Top 10 Western One-liners<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Narrowing down this list to just ten was extremely hard to
do. A list of top ten one-liners could be made exclusively from a single movie
like <i>Tombstone</i> or <i>The Outlaw Josey Wales</i>. It could be made
entirely of John Wayne or Clint Eastwood quotes. Yet I've tried to make it as
inclusive as possible, highlighting some of the best of the genre. Here they
are, in no particular order.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>"Get out of Dodge." – Matt Dillon, James Arness, <i>Gunsmoke</i></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> </i>A line that's often overlooked in some
of the other lists I've seen online, probably because it's a television series
and not a movie. But you can't mention anything in the Western genre without
including <i>Gunsmoke</i>.</blockquote>
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>"I'm your huckleberry." – Doc Holliday, Val
Kilmer, <i>Tombstone</i></li>
</ul>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> </i>There are a myriad of lines from the
movie that could have been included on this list, this is just one of them. </blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>"Well, you may not know this, but there's things that
gnaw at a man worse than dying." – Charlie Waite, Kevin Costner, <i>Open Range</i></li>
</ul>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> </i>One of the best Westerns made in recent
times.</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVat2tICtuSDWOZKO89tGVwqzqiBTZmLkQA0qmyOYyT84AFGcVHmFj5BP-6l-vTbzSLMu9UlhuCfbve473bWrhpvUXLh7_irgdsXFf8jiNQwPtqopH28eZcec7NVB1UturPeaCHg2_kPE/s1600/TheShootistQuote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVat2tICtuSDWOZKO89tGVwqzqiBTZmLkQA0qmyOYyT84AFGcVHmFj5BP-6l-vTbzSLMu9UlhuCfbve473bWrhpvUXLh7_irgdsXFf8jiNQwPtqopH28eZcec7NVB1UturPeaCHg2_kPE/s320/TheShootistQuote.jpg" width="224" /></a>
<li><o:p> </o:p>"I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be
laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same
from them." – John Bernard Brooks, John Wayne, <i>The Shootist</i></li>
</ul>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> </i>A great line from John Wayne's last
film. Perhaps one of his best quotes and a good philosophy to live by.</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my
friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig." – Blondie,
Clint Eastwood, <i>The Good, the Bad and the
Ugly</i></li>
</ul>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> </i>A quote from the movie that gave a major boost to Eastwood's career and perhaps the best of the Spaghetti Westerns.</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>"A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than
any other tool: an ax, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the
man using it. Remember that." – Shane, Alan Ladd, <i>Shane</i></li>
</ul>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> </i>A great line from a pivotal Western
that influenced everything that came after it. </blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>"It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all
he's got and all he's ever gonna have." – Will Munny, Clint Eastwood, <i>Unforgiven</i></li>
</ul>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> </i>One of Eastwood's best films that has influenced me and my writing a great deal.</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>"Dying ain't much of a living, boy." – Josey Wales,
Clint Eastwood, <i>The Outlaw Josey Wales</i></li>
</ul>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> </i> A ground breaking film for it's time that was one of the first of the Hollywood Westerns to portray Native Americans as more than ignorant savages. </blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>"That'll be the day." – Ethan Edwards, John Wayne,
<i>The Searchers</i></li>
</ul>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> </i>In my opinion, the best movie ever made,
in any genre. Period.</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5dz8bwcUqPu6zOJlghQDlm2pUAXeYdIofBMcUt4AQL-mRkUVUX_AHohowmtgdmQ8dvlmZqgckGZkAtb7VWv5XL-ED_fXe6VfBTax5I2OGeeqUCF2vAVKRhceq24nzsQ2o2662Q6ISuZY/s1600/captaincall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5dz8bwcUqPu6zOJlghQDlm2pUAXeYdIofBMcUt4AQL-mRkUVUX_AHohowmtgdmQ8dvlmZqgckGZkAtb7VWv5XL-ED_fXe6VfBTax5I2OGeeqUCF2vAVKRhceq24nzsQ2o2662Q6ISuZY/s200/captaincall.jpg" width="200" /></a>
<li>"I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it."
– Woodrow Call, Tommy Lee Jones, <i>Lonesome
Dove</i></li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
An iconic quote from an epic novel and movie. </blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These are just a few of my favorites. What are some of your
favorite lines? Are there any left out that should have been included? <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com85tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-16999311309099708822013-09-07T01:00:00.000-05:002013-09-07T01:00:01.324-05:00Six-gun Saturday: 1872 Colt Open Top <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The 1872 Colt Open Top bears the distinction of being the first revolver designed by Colt to fire metallic cartridges and was the precursor to the legendary <a href="http://thewesternwordslinger.blogspot.com/2013/08/six-gun-saturday-colt-peacemaker.html" target="_blank">1873 Colt Single Action Army</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The Open Top was an entirely new model and didn't reuse parts from earlier percussion revolvers. It was the first gun made by Colt that could load cartridges from the rear of the cylinder. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirOGI9ey4CPiqF6o9GpMgrm7q3fo9YhmafDTiqI3FGcsF8_Kpv1YJ9AxSyVeNtPO_lXZXBZr6lxDOpuOzU5NUltug4dgBjQQwZhGtvmNsVqH5HmBffmvVZVFIg0vcVQ6luygGh2jT08A0/s1600/800px-Colt_1872_Open_Top_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirOGI9ey4CPiqF6o9GpMgrm7q3fo9YhmafDTiqI3FGcsF8_Kpv1YJ9AxSyVeNtPO_lXZXBZr6lxDOpuOzU5NUltug4dgBjQQwZhGtvmNsVqH5HmBffmvVZVFIg0vcVQ6luygGh2jT08A0/s320/800px-Colt_1872_Open_Top_3.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Photo of an original 1872 Colt Open Top<br />Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Until the extension for Rollin White's breech loading patent was rejected by the U. S. Government in 1870, all previously converted Colt revolvers, such as the Thuer conversion and the Mason-Richards conversions of such weapons as the 1851 Navy or the 1860 Army had to be loaded from the front of the cylinder and the cartridge pushed into the chamber with a loading lever similar to the percussion models.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The Open Top was designed in 1871 but didn't go into production until the following year. Only about 7,000 were made during the production run and it used the .44 Henry rimfire cartridge. The thinking behind using that particular cartridge was so that people could use the same ammunition in both their rifle and their handgun. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Colt submitted the gun to the U.S. Army for testing as part of a contest among gun makers to provide a new service revolver. The Open Top was rejected because the Army wanted a larger caliber with a stronger frame. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The frame of the gun was redesigned with a top strap and a more powerful center-fire cartridge was invented, the .45 Long Colt. The new design went into production in 1873 and became the Peacemaker. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-41271732334014128712013-08-29T01:00:00.000-05:002013-08-29T01:00:03.416-05:00The Immortality of the Western<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Every few years or
so, rumors start up again about the supposed "death" of the
Western. It seems to go on a cycle and
if the rumors are to be believed, then the Western has died a thousand
times. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Yet, the genre is
still around and going strong today. Granted, it is not nearly as popular as it
was during the Fifties and Sixties, but it is a long way from being dead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Iconic Western actor
John Wayne believed in the durability of the genre. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHPchkEixhIFBLjax3HhLUcjeWpG_E5erAi7-OEvsR9hOREs9wXcKIrsduM_iwpaE-6B1ymYXe3dZrljrw65hHVItvG8PowoF1gokn-NwWGGjJGE6kVg5ye90DgXIG2LNqFEwjJK9ZvcI/s1600/JohnWayneFlagBack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHPchkEixhIFBLjax3HhLUcjeWpG_E5erAi7-OEvsR9hOREs9wXcKIrsduM_iwpaE-6B1ymYXe3dZrljrw65hHVItvG8PowoF1gokn-NwWGGjJGE6kVg5ye90DgXIG2LNqFEwjJK9ZvcI/s320/JohnWayneFlagBack.jpg" width="268" /></a><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">"Don't ever for
a minute make the mistake of looking down your nose at Westerns. They're
art–the good ones, I mean. They deal in
life and sudden death and primitive struggle, and with the basic emotions–love,
hate, and anger–thrown in. We'll have Western
films as long as the cameras keep turning. The fascination that the Old West
has will never die."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">The Western will
never die for one simple reason. It is
the one contribution to literature that is entirely and uniquely American. Just as the great works of the Greeks and Romans
are remembered today, so will the Western be remembered thousands of years from
now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">For some reason,
some folks seem to want the Western to die or they at least want society to
believe that it has, perhaps because it is not politically correct and may offend
some people's delicate sensibilities.
However, there are much more offensive things in other genres than there
will ever be in the Western. The
so-called offensive things in the Western are historical fact. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New;">There is nothing
wrong with any aspect of the genre. Some
folks prefer the classic Western with the hero wearing the white hat versus the
villain who wears the black hat.
Personally, I prefer my Westerns of the gray anti-heroic type. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New;">I enjoy all of John Wayne's movies and watch them
time and again, but my biggest influences are Clint Eastwood's movies, from <i>The Good, The Bad and The Ugly</i> to </span><i style="font-family: 'Courier New';">The Outlaw Josey Wales</i><span style="font-family: Courier New;"> to </span><span style="font-family: Courier New;"><i>Unforgiven. </i>However, perhaps my biggest influence is legendary writer,</span><span style="font-family: Courier New;"> Louis L'Amour. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">The Western is not as
popular as it once was, but that is not because there is anything wrong with
the genre. The reason that popularity has
waned is because society has drifted away from the principles and ideals
portrayed in the Western films and books of the past, as well as the ones being
written today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Whenever I meet new
people and tell them that I'm a writer, the first question they ask is about
the kind of stories that I write. When I
tell them that I write Westerns, most of them generally frown and mutter
something about not reading Westerns. To
which I always ask, why not? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">There are a lot of
great Western stories being written today, all over the world. In addition, the Western lends itself well to
blending with other genres. There are a
lot of great Western mystery stories and a lot of Romance Westerns, even Horror
Westerns. Generally, there is some kind
of Western story for everyone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Any story can be
told as a Western and can be told better as one in my opinion because of the
great tapestry that the backdrop of the Old West provides. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">There's no reason to change anything about the
genre. If we do that, then we aren't
writing Westerns anymore. The genre has
gotten along just fine like it is and will continue to do so. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">Regardless of what some tenderfoots may
think, the Western is just too tough to die. </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';"> </span></div>
</div>
Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-15394439246656046932013-08-24T12:42:00.001-05:002013-08-24T12:42:16.666-05:00Six-gun Saturday: The Colt Peacemaker<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkP-8i5IGcZ4Pb66cX5XzICvNGGc4cscrbuOGpaTqnxjSM_2QiuAjOy0X81NKGdRI20ibtzjd-GOy_22xTH2w-PsdInjreDj3LXq2-38EyBbNEfHRAlAA4y_dCnnteu0II9O75ImqTrH0/s1600/800px-Colt_Factory_engraved.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkP-8i5IGcZ4Pb66cX5XzICvNGGc4cscrbuOGpaTqnxjSM_2QiuAjOy0X81NKGdRI20ibtzjd-GOy_22xTH2w-PsdInjreDj3LXq2-38EyBbNEfHRAlAA4y_dCnnteu0II9O75ImqTrH0/s320/800px-Colt_Factory_engraved.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-align: start;">Colt SAA cal .45 Factory Engraved shipped 1893<br />Image from Wikimedia Commons</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Although there was a
plethora of gun types used during the westward expansion of this great nation,
perhaps the most popular was the Colt Model 1873 Single-Action Army or the
Peacemaker as it came to be called.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">It revolutionized
the revolver and is considered by many to be the greatest handgun in
history. Along with the gun, Colt
introduced the .45 Long Colt cartridge and it was the second gun produced by
Colt to use cartridge ammunition, the first being Colt's 1872 Model Open Top. It was the redesigned Open Top model that
became the Peacemaker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">It was designed by
William Mason and Charles Richards as a result of a contest among gun makers to
supply the U.S. Army with a new service revolver. The Peacemaker won the contract and became the
first revolver for the Army to use metallic cartridges.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">It has a long and
storied history as a military service weapon, most famously with Custer's
7th Cavalry at Little Big Horn. Teddy Roosevelt's
Rough Riders were armed with the Single Action Army when they made their charge
up San Juan Hill. General George S.
Patton used one during the Mexican Punitive Expedition of 1916 and carried it throughout
World War II.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">The first generation
of the Peacemaker was from 1872 – 1941.
Production was stopped during World War II so that Colt could fill other
orders for the war. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqELefOXfCMzUbPCmBFhVE2Xk-GzG23N-QVpofbifhaAL_eNXscZbq15_pvrZ31XNFh7jx2LA6AYawiOjP2uUS0CyEoCQLERkTvduCHsFjbYURm8BpDQmhRW-NPAPJ4Wp3x8Bso7gjSQ/s1600/still-of-john-wayne-in-el-dorado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqELefOXfCMzUbPCmBFhVE2Xk-GzG23N-QVpofbifhaAL_eNXscZbq15_pvrZ31XNFh7jx2LA6AYawiOjP2uUS0CyEoCQLERkTvduCHsFjbYURm8BpDQmhRW-NPAPJ4Wp3x8Bso7gjSQ/s320/still-of-john-wayne-in-el-dorado.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Movie Still from Rio Lobo</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">The rise of the
Western as a genre in Hollywood and on television created a customer demand for
the gun, so Colt resumed production with the second generation of the
Peacemaker in 1956 and lasted until 1974.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">It was used in
hundreds of movies, sometimes erroneously in movies set before 1873, such as <i>Rio Lobo</i>. The most famous Hollywood Colts are the ones used by John Wayne in many of his films.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">The third generation
of the Peacemaker began in 1976. The
Single Action Army has inspired clones and influenced gun designs since it was first
produced. There have been many copies
and replicas made. The most popular
replica is made by Uberti, one of which I happen to own. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">The Colt Single
Action Army is still in production to this day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVAMU8_qk2Qgp8g50kyWRW4Rq3aJS_-Me4YylnhhEGAZYIZtm2lUCs-_ZszjpEShNy7rLnVm_tUemYGRo2NJkolSSrD0cGmkGoZKcvYg_jAca0dnPhBh5RfLzqxIbIvyRXHumxR5ibZ2I/s1600/A-Fistful-of-Dollars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVAMU8_qk2Qgp8g50kyWRW4Rq3aJS_-Me4YylnhhEGAZYIZtm2lUCs-_ZszjpEShNy7rLnVm_tUemYGRo2NJkolSSrD0cGmkGoZKcvYg_jAca0dnPhBh5RfLzqxIbIvyRXHumxR5ibZ2I/s400/A-Fistful-of-Dollars.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">A Fistful of Dollars</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Sources:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Miller, David.
Illustrated History of Guns. Pepperbox Press. Kent, United Kingdom. 2011<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">"<a href="http://historicalfirearms.tumblr.com/post/43750463044/colt-model-1873-single-action-army-revolver-the" target="_blank">HistoricalFirearms Colt Single Action Army.</a>" Feb. 22, 2013. Web. Aug 24, 2013. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">"<a href="http://www.militaryfactory.com/smallarms/detail.asp?smallarms_id=508" target="_blank">Colt Single Action Army</a>." Military History. Sept
2, 2011. Web. Aug 24, 2011. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Interesting Links:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://www.nrablog.com/post/2013/03/04/John-Waynes-Single-Action-Army-from-Rio-Lobo-on-Curators-Corner.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">John Wayne's Single Action Army from Rio Lobo on Curator's Corner</span></a></div>
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Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-72607917196103524292013-04-15T09:55:00.000-05:002013-04-15T09:56:15.753-05:00Wesley Quaid Rides to Wolf Creek<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CC5NLZM?ie=UTF8&assoc_ss_swlb=1&qid=1366035166&ref_=sr_1_1&s=digital-text&sr=1-1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNl_xZRrX66jJCL8vaQ-yU383EAFc1_fU9JCThp6XvEF5ge9M7u4amvkjV8VH22jeyoO8VVFdZU5ES9n9TKHDbggxzpqfWWJHLojKEnOlFAVq6dyq05FIGME3Rjj8uuQeknyu-NT4-eRU/s200/Taylor_County_War.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am pleased to announce that Book 4 of the Wolf Creek series THE TAYLOR COUNTY WAR published by Western Fictioneers has been released. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's a collaborative effort by six different writers, including myself, Douglas Hirt, Clay More, James Reasoner, Chuck Tyrell, and Troy D. Smith. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's an honor to be included among a group of such extraordinary writers.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Here is the official book blurb:</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Welcome to Wolf Creek. </span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">Here you will find many of your favorite authors, working together as Ford Fargo to weave a complex and textured series of Old West adventures like no one has ever seen. Each author writes from the perspective of his or her own unique character, blended together into a single novel.</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">An innocent field trip goes horribly awry when Wolf Creek’s headmaster, Marcus Sublette, and his pupils find themselves in the crossfire of a range war. Ambitious rancher Andrew Rogers will stop at nothing to eliminate his rivals and initiate his broader, nefarious plans –and he has a small army of hired guns to prove it. Can the cowboys of the T-Bar-B, and the lawmen of Wolf Creek, stand in his way, or will the prairie be soaked in blood?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Wesley Quaid in Wolf Creek</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Contributing a chapter to Wolf Creek with Wesley Quaid as my character was a lot of fun because it allowed me to explore more of Wesley's past. This story is set about five years or so before the current Quaid stories and it reveals what he did for a living in the time after the War and before he became an outlaw. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is available as an ebook and in paperback. If you haven't read any of the other Wolf Creek books, be sure to check them out as well. They all make for great reads. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
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Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-16968374744373622102013-03-03T16:18:00.000-06:002013-03-03T16:18:02.872-06:00Six Sentence Sunday - THE WANTED MAN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Wanted-Man-ebook/dp/B006JEQM8U/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ys8dEJgXUdSTuz3sZgHaASOBv6fcItVgGdgknkppRsOq5GME53KUIo8uySSSgsXg-rAsDIkRLsCCtN2ozkjMSP205-KbEF-eOjmvE1w2lwCZWWbp_myJUBTxb6lqfjQXhlW6GG5axds/s320/NEW_TWM+ebook500pix.jpg" width="246" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">By Matthew Pizzolato</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Book Description: </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Wanted Man is a collection of eight short stories set in the American West and touches on themes of vengeance, abuse and honor. Texas Ranger Jud Nelson appears in the title story and receives some aid from an unlikely source in chasing down a killer. Outlaw Wesley Quaid discovers that not only is the law on his trail in the form of Ranger Jud Nelson but a hired assassin has been paid to kill him. Is Texas big enough for the three of them?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Setup:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">These six sentences are from the Wesley Quaid story, "A Stagecoach for Sally." Wesley makes a contribution from one of his forcible banking withdrawals to a saloon girl named Sally and takes offense when the saloon owner refuses to let her leave town.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> "That's none of your damn business."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> "I'm making it my business." I stepped toward him and stopped three paces away. My right hand dangled near the butt of my Colt.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> Jack noticed and swallowed hard. Beads of sweat sprouted on his forehead.</span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
Is the outlaw Wesley Quaid capable of being a knight is shining armor? Find out in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Wanted-Man-ebook/dp/B006JEQM8U/" target="_blank">THE WANTED MAN</a> short story collection.</div>
Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-48832074265542517872012-12-25T04:38:00.000-06:002012-12-25T04:38:08.786-06:00OUTLAW - Western Roundup<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Outlaw will <b><u style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Outlaw-ebook/dp/B009GDDGU8/" target="_blank">FREE</a></u></b> for the Amazon Kindle from Tuesday, December 25 through Thursday, December 27th. Click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Outlaw-ebook/dp/B009GDDGU8/" target="_blank">HERE</a> to download it now! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Find other free books as part of the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/312767035509921/" target="_blank">Bargain Books - Western Roundup event</a> currently happening on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/312767035509921/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Outlaw-ebook/dp/B009GDDGU8/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_d-baZtt1D-AmZ9EsrMVIY5XOm2U1eZKBkhNTv4vFBhhjT5Gm7CjrK-z8duejf-bGsnR3TwV6wQpCCtXtc3Y944efzTEZFgJnfmjAdyAs90iT7gGwGeAexQWkGrUESBIEEBSCG6w28Nc/s200/Outlaw-FRONT+small.jpg" width="154" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Book Description:</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white;">The outlaw Wesley Quaid wants to put the past behind him and start his life anew in another place where no one has ever heard of him. When a mysterious woman he once knew resurfaces, Wesley discovers that a man can't run from his past anymore than he can run from the kind of man he has become.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">4.4 out of 5 Star Rating</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i><b>"I would never have thought of reading a western genre book before but since this was quite short I gave it a try and I'm really glad I did. Outlaw is an entertaining action packed read."</b></i></span></blockquote>
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<i><b> <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Outlaw is a very enjoyable read. I wasn't sure what to expect, as I haven't read a lot of books in this genre, but I was immediately drawn to the character Wesley Quaid, the protagonist/anti-hero so expertly crafted by the author Matthew Pizzolato. This is a riveting, page-turning story which provides an excellent combination of action, romance, heart-break and humor."</span></b></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><b> <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"There's the fast pace and action you expect in the genre, enough romance to satisfy any female readers, well drawn and interesting characters and a realistic setting."</span></b></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>"The action is relentless (including dalliances with some lovely and willing females), the characters colorful (in addition to the aforementioned females), and the passages of introspection on Quaid's part give the reader a welcome dose of insight into the man. A real (electronic) page-turner. Recommended."</b></span></i></blockquote>
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Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-21872954419092215852012-12-04T09:21:00.000-06:002012-12-04T09:21:47.676-06:00The Evolution of the Cowboy Narrative<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Guest Post by Philip J. Reed, Writing on behalf of Stetson.</b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Arguably no figure is more
iconic in American culture than the cowboy. With his unmistakable </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.stetson.com/hats/western-hats" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">cowboy
hat</span></a></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">, boots, stirrups and trusty
steed, the cowboy rides in from the wilderness at a moment of conflict and
intervenes against the forces of corruption and greed. The typical cowboy is a
self-reliant, often aloof figure, treating others with dignity and respect but
maintaining his independence at all costs. Though those staples of the
archetype have been around for more than a century, the cowboy has changed
greatly through decades' worth of depictions in literature and film.<br />
<br />
Cattle herders of one sort or another have existed for as long as humans have
kept livestock, but the heyday of the Western cowboy period lasted about 15
years, from just after the Civil War into the 1880s. Cowboys, many of them
veterans of the Civil War, likely herded between three and four million cattle
from southern Texas to ranches in Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming during this
period. The time of the historical cowboys was relatively short, yet their
image has lived on in popular culture ever since.<br />
<br />
Starting in the late 1800s, the cowboy appeared as a recurring figure in short
stories and pulp dime novels throughout the United States. The first true
Western novel was Owen Wister's <i>The
Virginian</i>, whose eponymous hero was a cowboy living on a ranch in Wyoming.
Though the Old West was not yet terribly old at that time, cowboys were already
becoming romanticized in </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.stetson.com/stetson-life/timeline" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">American popular
culture</span></a></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">. The success of Wister's
novel paved the way for even more popular works by later Western writers.<br />
<br />
The emergence of the cowboy in popular culture came at the same time as the
emergence of film as a popular medium. Very early shots even featured the
original Western icon, Buffalo Bill, and members of his Wild West show. Perhaps
the first seminal Western film was <i>The
Great Train Robbery</i>. Directed by Edwin S. Porter, this 1903 silent film was
one of the first examples of true narrative storytelling on screen, and its
closing shot of actor Justus D. Barnes firing point-blank at the audience
remains one of the most iconic images in film history. Thanks in large part to
the power of the cowboy image, <i>The
Great Train Robbery</i> succeeded in involving the audience in the story
to an unprecedented degree.<br />
<br />
The 1920s saw popular culture take center stage in everyday life, and the cowboy
was front and center on stage and in literature. Thousands of silent Western
films were produced in the early and middle portion of the decade; however,
when movies added sound in the late 1920s, Hollywood producers more or less
abandoned the genre. Smaller studios kept the cowboy alive in film until the
late 1930s, when a series of big-budget Westerns sparked renewed interest in
the genre. Most notably, John Ford's <i>Stagecoach</i> hit
theaters in 1939 to rave reviews and established John Wayne as one of the biggest
stars in Hollywood history. Wayne's portrayal of rugged, independent characters
that treated others with the utmost respect and required the same from everyone
they met solidified the image of the cowboy in popular culture.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the 20th century saw the cowboy take center stage in the world of
popular literature. Perhaps the first great Western author was Zane Grey, who
published dozens of cowboy novels in the early 1900s and became one of the
world's first millionaire authors. Grey's influence on the cowboy archetype has
been felt for decades after his death, with more than 100 films produced based
on his writings. Following in Grey's footsteps was Louis L'Amour, who wrote
dozens of novels and short stories over a career that spanned more than four
decades. L'Amour's cowboys were often impossibly strong, larger-than life
figures; though often a reluctant hero, once forced to act this cowboy was
unstoppable in the pursuit of his goals.<br />
<br />
As with any archetypal figure, the cowboy has inspired his share of parodies.
Perhaps the most iconic such film is Mel Brooks' <i>Blazing Saddles</i>, which pokes fun at the racism obscured in
Hollywood depictions of the cowboy by installing a black sheriff in an
all-white town. <i>Blazing Saddles</i> also
features numerous anachronisms; perhaps in reference to the cowboy image's
itself being an adaptation of the medieval idea of chivalry.<br />
<br />
More recent films have challenged the long-standing image of the rugged,
independent good-guy cowboy. Clint Eastwood's <i>Unforgiven</i> focuses on the darker side of the Wild West,
dealing with intense violence and the less than pure nature of its
protagonist's motives. Conversely, Russell Crowe's portrayal of Ben Wade in the
2007 remake of <i>3:10 to Yuma</i> shows
a more sympathetic side to the cowboy's antagonist, the Western outlaw. The
controversial 2005 film <i>Brokeback
Mountain</i> uses the cowboy image to present the complex relationship
between two men in the American West, an acknowledgment of changing societal
attitudes towards romance.<br />
<br />
Outside the realm of popular culture, the cowboy has come to be associated with
the United States as a whole, for good or ill. Former President George W. Bush
was often called a 'cowboy diplomat' because of his independent-minded and
sometimes reckless approach to foreign policy. Throughout the past century, the
cowboy has become synonymous with a spirit of adventure, independence and
respect, one that is deeply ingrained in American culture.</span></div>
Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-90732059189527823092012-10-29T20:10:00.000-05:002012-10-29T20:11:10.338-05:00The Next Big Thing Blog Hop<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
BLOG HOP — The Next Big Thing</h2>
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<o:p>I've never participated in a blog hop before but I was tagged by </o:p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/riseofthepenguins" target="_blank">Steven Hammond</a>, author of the upcoming novel <i>Rise of the Penguins</i>. His entry in the blog hop can be found on his blog, <a href="http://stevendhammond.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rise of Penguins and Other Musings</a>. Many thanks to Steve for tagging me, this was a lot of fun to do.</div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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The rules for the Blog Hop are as follows:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 39.75pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 39.75pt; text-indent: -21.75pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>Give credit to the person/blog that tagged you</div>
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<o:p>2</o:p>. Post the rules for the blog hop</div>
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3. Answer these 10 questions about your current WIP (work in progress) on your
blog<br />
4. Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and
meet them</div>
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<o:p> </o:p> </div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing:</h3>
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<b>What is the working title of your book?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Outlaw-ebook/dp/B009GDDGU8/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNjuCH1rCe0hgTQK_AZS-qoenHsBWBzrUfe1rqU_iCou6D-jBYdozCLVUnnyXOZUse9vhl4_RhBv0frmFx0exMdYqbttx08THgLoRZVjlddU9dl_cE93JUsE83ITmOCpjdCwVAJfduFU/s200/Outlaw-FRONT+xtrasmall.jpg" width="154" /></a>My next book will
be a short story collection that I've tentatively titled <i>Two of a Kind</i>. It is a
sequel of sorts to my recently published novella, <i>Outlaw</i>, and will be a series of short stories with the same
characters. The events of some of the stories will transpire
after the ending of <i>Outlaw,</i> while others will take place before, but each story stands on its own. I'm planning on publishing it during the first part of next year.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Where did the idea come from for the book?</b></div>
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I've had the idea
for several more Wesley Quaid stories bouncing around in my head the entire
time that I was writing <i>Outlaw</i>. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>What genre does your book fall under?</b></div>
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<o:p>T</o:p>he stories in <i>Two of a Kind</i> will be Westerns. While some of them will contain aspects of
the traditional Western, most of the stories will feature my antihero Wesley
Quaid and his assassin girlfriend Sabrina and will be of a darker nature. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a
movie rendition?</b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFLtpU2HUDHYmruYn9H4EIv7zLmoCvSdlYVn3Hocn-QsDPintlAdtVuqIzH4fyM2Gr6TiHEQBU9Vov3-mnYN5cXphiyeNXQckvbQzoL2U5Xik1w-AQj4nXg42nPTOjltmdG8dNd1ABrk/s1600/ChristianBale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFLtpU2HUDHYmruYn9H4EIv7zLmoCvSdlYVn3Hocn-QsDPintlAdtVuqIzH4fyM2Gr6TiHEQBU9Vov3-mnYN5cXphiyeNXQckvbQzoL2U5Xik1w-AQj4nXg42nPTOjltmdG8dNd1ABrk/s200/ChristianBale.jpg" width="167" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christian Bale, <i>3:10 to Yuma</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8V3h34jSi2CjYNK2Yp2vkmXJ7kProKGoT6tMe0KmIt4XeZF4QBFIQydyQ8zfeBTF9YDuywZMDKAP41mQbqqi0shOrmp5Gky0FoLiAC2TGZqve4NsjOCWCL7gRd5A-04Bs9A7CrcJfpOg/s1600/___KateBeckinsale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8V3h34jSi2CjYNK2Yp2vkmXJ7kProKGoT6tMe0KmIt4XeZF4QBFIQydyQ8zfeBTF9YDuywZMDKAP41mQbqqi0shOrmp5Gky0FoLiAC2TGZqve4NsjOCWCL7gRd5A-04Bs9A7CrcJfpOg/s200/___KateBeckinsale.jpg" width="166" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kate Beckinsale, <i>Underworld</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
I think that
Christian Bale would make a good Wesley Quaid.
He did excellent work in the remake of <i>3:10 to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Yuma</st1:city></st1:place>
</i>and he played the dark, conflicted antihero role in the <i>Dark Knight</i> trilogy very well. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As for Sabrina, I
would pick Kate Beckinsale. </div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?</b></div>
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Texas Ranger Jud
Nelson and the outlaw Wesley Quaid meet again, but this time Quaid has the
assassin, Sabrina, watching his back; is time running out for Ranger Jud
Nelson?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Will your book be self-published or represented by an
agency?</b><br />
It will be
self-published because I like having creative and quality control over the
entire project. I've seen many e-books
from major publishing companies that contain horrendous formatting and
proofreading errors. I want to be able
to have one hundred percent control over the final product.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>How long did it take you to write the first draft of your
manuscript?</b></div>
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I have six of the
stories already written and I'm planning to write at least four more for the
collection. It is a cumulative project
that I've worked on over the past couple of years. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>What other books would you compare this story to within your
genre?</b></div>
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It will be similar
in feel to my first short story collection, <i>The
Wanted <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Man<span style="font-style: normal;">.</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-style: normal;"> If you enjoyed the Clint Eastwood movie </span>Unforgiven <span style="font-style: normal;">or the character of Cullen Bohannon in </span>Hell on Wheels<span style="font-style: normal;">, you should like Wesley Quaid. </span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Who or What inspired you to write this book?</b></div>
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Wesley Quaid inspired this collection because
he's become my favorite character to write.
He is an antihero and I enjoy that aspect about writing him because he
allows me to explore the gray areas of morality in my work.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?</b></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The stories in </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Two of a Kind </i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">will feature my antihero Wesley Quaid, so they will
be of a darker nature than a traditional Western. A couple of the stories will feature my
assassin, Sabrina, and will reveal a few hints at her back story, something in
which a few of my readers have expressed an interest. </span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">In addition to stories that transpire after the events in <i>Outlaw</i>, <i>Two of a Kind </i>will also contain a couple of previously published stories including the very first Wesley Quaid story that was printed in Issue 1 of <i>Pulp Modern</i> and has never appeared anywhere else. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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Writers that I'm tagging in The Next Big Thing Blog Hop are:</div>
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Jacquie Rogers - <a href="http://jacquierogers.blogspot.com/">http://jacquierogers.blogspot.com/</a> </div>
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Beth Trissel - <a href="https://bethtrissel.wordpress.com/">https://bethtrissel.wordpress.com/</a> </div>
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Troy Smith - <a href="http://tnwordsmith.blogspot.com/">http://tnwordsmith.blogspot.com/</a></div>
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Shotgun Bo Rivers – <a href="http://shotgunborivers.com/">http://shotgunborivers.com/</a> </div>
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Anna Kathryn Lanier - <a href="http://annakathrynlanier.blogspot.com/">http://annakathrynlanier.blogspot.com/</a> </div>
</div>
Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-29444412210460215122012-10-03T09:47:00.000-05:002012-10-03T09:47:22.520-05:00The Origins of Wesley Quaid<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Outlaw-ebook/dp/B009GDDGU8/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXeM-w1xCnMpuMR3wSMHBr9cUAkMnYek8q9N1C3RpChus4FQx8aRQiGoGqsPwd4a1hA5a_zMkV2VIkNGGjJ-63NYKg9I-bSjCJUBzl3dOpFOx8jw8y8LhGN1pzrptmNhGhNA9rXEb-u2E/s1600/Outlaw-FRONT+xtrasmall.jpg" /></a>Looking back on it, I think Wesley Quaid was created in my
subconscious the first time I watched the Clint Eastwood movie, <i>Unforgiven</i>. The ending gave me chills and goose
bumps. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Until that time, the majority of my experience both in
reading and in my writing had always been of the hero, who wore the white hat
and the villain, who wore the black hat.
There was no middle ground. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I'd tried to get that particular antihero character onto
paper ever since, but for whatever reason, I could never make it work. He's had different names over the years, but I
never felt right about him, so none of those early stories were ever
published. I couldn't make him work
until I started writing OUTLAW.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I began writing that particular story about two years ago
and got stuck. I was inspired partly by
a personal event and wanted to put that into a story, but about halfway through
it became evident that wouldn't work, not with Wesley Quaid. He had his own story to tell. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because I agree with Robert B. Parker that writer's block is
just another word for lazy, I figured that since I was stuck on this story, I
could write a series of short stories with the characters from OUTLAW as a way
to get to know them better. Thus Wesley
Quaid came to life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first short story he appeared in was "Pack of
Wolves" that was published in Issue 1 of Pulp Modern. I've had a total of seven Wesley Quaid
stories published and they have served several purposes. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First, they are all back story to the novella and that
allowed me to write OUTLAW without working in flashback to explain who the
characters were since they were already established. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Secondly, I was able to get to know Wes a lot better and
once I'd accomplished that, I was able to go back and finish OUTLAW, even
though it was no longer my story that I was telling, it was Wesley's. However, I think that personal event aspect
of it is what finally allowed me to create Wesley Quaid. I had to put part of myself into the
character. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I hope you like ole Wes.
I've got a lot more planned for him now that OUTLAW has been released, or perhaps
I should say that he's got a lot more planned for me. OUTLAW is available for the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Outlaw-ebook/dp/B009GDDGU8/">Kindle for $0.99</a>, but if you have Amazon Prime, you can borrow it for free. </div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Outlaw-ebook/dp/B009GDDGU8/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiW62uGYwF_SUunqzjgLJU640obCupGVhUlmyrbY5ejKqbrGcFO90zzdJIafDJkOARIfd3R6iRGxLFBz0BC0ahPHwbuMaeqgJ3Sbj2slJ-yWmRRHBHotGzXQZM1XSeqkqmoSQ2ptUWNQc/s400/Outlawfinalpaperbackmed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
Book Description:<br />
The outlaw Wesley Quaid wants to put the past behind him and start his life anew in another place where no one has ever heard of him. When a mysterious woman he once knew resurfaces, Wesley discovers that a man can't run from his past anymore than he can run from the kind of man he has become.<br />
<br /></div>
Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-81968678072251319252012-09-24T01:19:00.000-05:002012-09-24T01:19:27.995-05:00[Cover Reveal] OUTLAW - A Wesley Quaid Novella<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2>
My next book, OUTLAW, a Western novella that features Wesley Quaid will be released on October 1st.</h2>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Book Description:</b><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.5pt;">The outlaw Wesley Quaid wants to put the past behind him and start his life anew in another place where no one has ever heard of him. When a mysterious woman he once knew resurfaces, Wesley discovers that a man can't run from his past anymore than he can run from the kind of man he has become.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/343984002358170/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0M44VxzcpSBJUXr50XUCsT5YEcLsAE1V5I4cABWECPbdGti5jByrOhiCT-CVVPvGiP-Ah7iSgdhPx_8UXk_Jkc0ZMadDsWWGkmmLLxaL80qQyjK8utWmmuhmsLCOVXU7KqwZmJaOzVtQ/s1600/Outlaw-FRONT+xtrasmall.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/343984002358170/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRr4CbSiM9SNKnjXjqmoTC1uOgWrfwcLnLA0PplKjbkQEdVNl_IgvmKv-lkCUWz-T3XmgHGtgRlTGR2X0DjWitpxHi63eGvsIpl8LgIA8Vcupw3KpclZRGaYwJJ8SKRzLupIW8bb4CuG0/s1600/Outlawfinalpaperbacksmall.jpg" /></a></div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Cover Art Copyright 2012 by Michael T. Pizzolato. </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />The cover for OUTLAW was designed by my uncle, Michael Pizzolato. He also designed the covers for my short story collection, THE WANTED MAN. To see more of his artwork, visit his <a href="http://artbymike.blog.com/">art blog</a>.</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span class="apple-converted-space">OUTLAW will be released on October 1, 2012. Join the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/343984002358170/">OUTLAW - Book Release</a> event on Facebook! Consider this an open invitation. Everyone is invited!</span></span></h4>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-84886084316910478682012-09-13T00:03:00.000-05:002012-09-13T00:07:03.341-05:00The Appeal of the Western<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Guest Post by Icy Sedgwick</span></h2>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzO6iGZRUsZyDjKm-csIJCi4jrpQqVBSNJmcvdhn5TTfZ5adOWbET3MGefdcJJZ-zsnHXgN0zMb9wyUt0ABnWVFdrA-OEvNO8Ha0zHfFV8JJ5erdpbh3imrXnVYg6XoMUzPN6505LsUM/s1600/IcySedgwick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzO6iGZRUsZyDjKm-csIJCi4jrpQqVBSNJmcvdhn5TTfZ5adOWbET3MGefdcJJZ-zsnHXgN0zMb9wyUt0ABnWVFdrA-OEvNO8Ha0zHfFV8JJ5erdpbh3imrXnVYg6XoMUzPN6505LsUM/s200/IcySedgwick.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Icy Sedgwick</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span lang="EN-GB">When
you think of the Western, you think of gunfights and horse chases, played out
against a dramatic backdrop like <st1:placetype w:st="on">Monument</st1:placetype>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Valley</st1:placetype> or the plains of <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kansas</st1:place></st1:state>. By contrast, I
grew up in <st1:place w:st="on">Newcastle upon Tyne</st1:place>, a city that
sprang from the Roman settlement of Pons Aelius, and expanded through the local
industries of coal mining and ship building. It's a city with an industrial
heritage - a far cry from the clapboard towns and settlements that litter the
Old West. It's also the most northern city in <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">England</st1:country>
before you reach <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">Scotland</st1:country></st1:place>
- in between the city and the borders lie rugged coastline, wide open moors,
and small villages that centre around either farming or fishing. So what on
earth made me write a Western?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-GB">Like
most people with a TV, I grew up watching Westerns on TV. There were the
movies, from <i>The Good, The Bad and The Ugly</i> to <i>Shanghai Noon</i>, and TV shows like
<i>Little House on the Prairie</i>. My grandfather used to read novels by Zane Grey.
The Western always had a certain amount of popularity in the <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">UK</st1:country> - and judging by the success of more recent
films like <i>3:10 to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Yuma</st1:place></st1:city>,
True Grit</i>, and <i>Cowboys and Aliens</i>, it still does. I even studied the history of
the American West for my GCSE in History, and I found the whole thing utterly
fascinating. So when the opportunity arose to write a Western of my own, I
jumped at the chance.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-GB">Of
course, there was one thing wanting to write <i>The Guns of Retribution</i>, and
another thing entirely actually doing it. I knew from the movies that I wanted
the story to be set in <st1:state w:st="on">Arizona</st1:state>, but I'll be
honest, I've never been further west in the <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">US</st1:country>
than <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Florida</st1:place></st1:state>.
I did all of my visual research on Google Earth, mapping the terrain and
finding locations for the fictional towns of Retribution and Sandwater. I read
copious history books to get a real feel for the period, and tried to do as
much research as I could to make the setting feel as authentic as I could,
given I was writing it in a flat in London.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Guns-of-Retribution-ebook/dp/B005M4E6C2/ref=tmm_kin_title_0" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8RzQS2Mj82pKxer-uO1ev-8731l_08AZa1bWFQsd1L9PJVvuJFx6HpK5YpRTJQ9TNdNnoLFOxg0luT-iiXecWesEdDR8ZQbfoYCXcRWu6KNnEyXEEqd7BEXrb9L3E4YtKeef5zfo3zM/s320/GunsOfRetribution.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-GB">But
why the appeal? I think partially, it has a lot to do with the fact that the
settlement of the West is so unlike anything we have in British history. Yes,
we had the expansion of the <st1:place w:st="on">British Empire</st1:place>,
but our history stretches back for centuries. The Romans invaded in AD 43 but
we had an indigenous population before then - we've never really had to settle
here. Our civil wars took place in the seventeenth century, and seem so much
more removed than the nineteenth century American Civil War. We don't have the
same variety of scenery, and the gold rushes seem so much more adventurous than
the Industrial Revolution that transformed <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">Britain</st1:country></st1:place>. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">Britain</st1:country></st1:place> has always been dominated
by its class hierachy - there's something 'epic' about the idea of settling a
plot of land and setting up a homestead for yourself. Perhaps it's because I'm
viewing it from such a dislocated time and place, but the Old West has a mythic
feel, and an inherent sense of romance. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-GB">It's
this sense of the Western as modern myth, with the notorious gunslingers and
infamous law men standing in for the gods, that gives the genre an almost timeless
appeal. 1950s science fiction may feel 'twee' or 'dated' by modern standards,
and horror can rapidly descend into hackneyed cliche, but the Western stands
apart as a genre populated by larger-than-life characters with as much
relevance now as they had back in the day. Just as pirates, with their largely
fictional 'Pirate Code', have seen a resurgence of interest in recent years,
perhaps it's time for the denizens of the Old West to bring their Code of
behaviour to a new audience?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU2ZoH-ULoTzd0d_nia02HZayc4bNcdP8mB_vo4PaxwZTozl1xpGC-WLrDp_ZpzplPkkcpn9sgkzn__QNMePym-Uu3oyCbhWbHQdx73Eg9xcYQe8EHfk7n1BYNhtt4yYyxQhX6V6QFddc/s1600/quote04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU2ZoH-ULoTzd0d_nia02HZayc4bNcdP8mB_vo4PaxwZTozl1xpGC-WLrDp_ZpzplPkkcpn9sgkzn__QNMePym-Uu3oyCbhWbHQdx73Eg9xcYQe8EHfk7n1BYNhtt4yYyxQhX6V6QFddc/s640/quote04.jpg" width="442" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>Bio</b> – Icy
Sedgwick was born in the North East of England, and is based in <st1:place w:st="on">Newcastle upon Tyne</st1:place>. She has been writing with a view to
doing so professionally for over ten years, and has had several stories
included in anthologies, including Short Stack and Eighty-Nine. She teaches
graphic design and spends her non-writing time working on a PhD in Film
Studies. Icy had her first book, a Western named <i>The Guns of Retribution</i>,
published through Pulp Press in September 2011.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>Her blog</b> – <a href="http://blog.icysedgwick.com/">http://blog.icysedgwick.com</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>Find
her on Twitter</b>
– <a href="https://twitter.com/icypop">@icypop</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>Facebook</b>
– <a href="https://www.facebook.com/miss.icy.sedgwick">https://www.facebook.com/miss.icy.sedgwick</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>Goodreads</b>
– <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/Icy_Sedgwick">http://www.goodreads.com/Icy_Sedgwick</a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>Buy
The Guns of Retribution</b> – </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1908544007/">http://www.amazon.com/dp/1908544007/</a></div>
</div>
Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-73258362482656756552012-08-06T22:16:00.000-05:002013-03-03T16:28:18.091-06:00High Plains Drifter as Social Commentary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZf5lqdi0Qh5LiV8L5H_r6B1mNeXBxhbg71AmnnP-Jthqd46scCrw5XVIe3TjpRPiuoRvmCIx0VwmYpAhbbmCKBHcjw-1yWyY_OlF2AQUiNVv83uk3Wb7JPTgwFfsG9IU3GVyp19VRqWc/s1600/___HighPlainsDrifter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZf5lqdi0Qh5LiV8L5H_r6B1mNeXBxhbg71AmnnP-Jthqd46scCrw5XVIe3TjpRPiuoRvmCIx0VwmYpAhbbmCKBHcjw-1yWyY_OlF2AQUiNVv83uk3Wb7JPTgwFfsG9IU3GVyp19VRqWc/s320/___HighPlainsDrifter.jpg" width="242" /></a>While it has long been hailed as one of Clint Eastwood's best
films, <i>High Plains Drifter </i>is much
more than a Revisionist Western with supernatural elements. It is an example of social commentary at its
finest.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eastwood's character is not the typical Western hero. He rides into town from nowhere and his first course of action is to rape a woman in broad daylight. Yet, no one stops him. Why?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While some critics don't like this scene, it draws into
sharp focus the theme of the entire movie.
As the plot unfolds, it develops through a series of flashbacks that his
character is a former marshal who was bull-whipped while the entire town watched
and did nothing to stop it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The townspeople represent everything that is wrong with
society. They are cowards, they are
bigots and they are hypocrites, even to the point that they plot to kill Eastwood's character, the man they hired for protection because they are too afraid to even
defend themselves. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The theme of <i>High
Plains Drifter</i> can best be summarized by this quote from Albert Einstein.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those
who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
His character proceeds to run roughshod over the
town, upsetting the entire social order and ruining the lives of prominent
townspeople whose inaction led to the former marshal's demise. He seeks retribution against the three men
responsible for the bullwhipping.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the end of the movie, the town is destroyed and it is
revealed as Eastwood rides past a grave that his character is former Marshal
Jim Duncan who was killed by that bullwhipping.
The eerie music plays and the marshal disappears into the shimmering
heat waves. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>High Plains Drifter</i>
illustrates nothing new. People have
looked at evil and done nothing since the beginning of time and are still doing
the same thing today. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, the film offers several lessons. Eastwood's character forces the townspeople
to paint all the buildings red and changes the name of the town from Lago to
Hell. According to <i>High Plains Drifter</i>, Hell isn't any specific place, it is moral
cowardice.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While ignoring evil may be the easier course of action,
eventually there will be a reckoning.
Looking on and doing nothing is not the same as committing the evil
itself, but it will ultimately lead to the same place – Hell. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If this movie is any indication, this world
doesn't have to go far to get to Hell; we are already there.</div>
</div>
Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-69361097109309901522012-08-01T01:19:00.001-05:002012-08-01T01:24:05.670-05:00The Code of the West by @ShotgunBoRivers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;">Guest Post by Shotgun Bo Rivers</span></h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4GGqXiv_SmHuH7LQ7fhKDxeCsmwsj9rhaYtiy-jlX3sWpprri6aROE3xXfKrj7favR460NLtagZwcofoau2PpkII6gWt78XS0mr0mjTHrCIAHul1HbmHjg9a38QiSKx4h3zwx3mYOTc/s1600/headshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4GGqXiv_SmHuH7LQ7fhKDxeCsmwsj9rhaYtiy-jlX3sWpprri6aROE3xXfKrj7favR460NLtagZwcofoau2PpkII6gWt78XS0mr0mjTHrCIAHul1HbmHjg9a38QiSKx4h3zwx3mYOTc/s200/headshot.jpg" width="154" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shotgun Bo Rivers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Although
no written rules ever existed, the pioneers and settlers who went west found one common ground, how they lived their lives from day to day. With
little or no laws in the west for a man to follow, they were forced to make their
own set of guidelines, a code of the west, as it was first called in Zane
Grey’s 1934 novel <i>The Code of the West</i>.<br />
<br />
The code I choose to follow was written by James P. Owen in 2003. When Mr. Owen
found he was in dismay in the corporate scandals, he left a 35 year career as a
business man to write <i>Cowboy Ethics –
What Wall Street Can Learn from the Code of the West, </i>which brings us back
to a simple set of guidelines on how to live. <br />
<br />
Throughout my life as a child, my grandpa had always taught me these core
values, even before I ever seen them written. In life I have broken a few of
them, but there is always a lesson to be learned. If you dust yourself off and
climb back on that is all anyone can ever ask for.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />
If I were to make my own code of values, they would include several that other
authors have at one time written. Why? Because they work. Don’t fix what ain’t
broke. If it seems to be working keep it the way it is and for me it works
just fine.<br />
<br />
You mostly see me quote J.P Owens code because it is short and simple, but
there are fifteen values I choose to live with, and they are:<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Live each day with courage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Take pride in your work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Always finish what you start.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do what has to be done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Be tough, but fair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When you make a promise, keep
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ride for the brand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Talk less and say more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Remember that some things
aren’t for sale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Know where to draw the line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Be there for a friend when he
needs you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Honesty is absolute - your
word is your bond, a handshake is more binding than a contract.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Look out for your own. Blood
is thicker than water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Defend yourself whenever
necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And always live by the Golden
Rule, <br />
Do unto others, what you want done unto you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My
granddad had a few more, like no wearing hats at the table, and I find I
still remove cover when I sit and eat out of respect for the cook. And finally no singing and dancing at the dinner table either. You were there to enjoy a
meal, not fuss about. If you wanted to rut, you could do it with the pigs, he
would always say. <br />
<br />
Not only do I try to live by this code, I also incorporate it frequently in my
writing, distilling certain values into each character as they are created. <i>Laramie’s Code</i> and <i>Rodeo Dayz</i> are
perfect examples of those very same values I live by.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGINnLNx7GIqFaX9A0191rLlDkeRlnfPUzJmozMo9tUEwZMdKIbCRHvjtJ0mLII0-vQFwLr1aYJhLiEefy5AOLBFkuUMKrQ8h9eO8KUfzT0Nr2h6qYmBJTRostrhLE1IvqPtMAEHmE93U/s1600/Laramie's+Code+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGINnLNx7GIqFaX9A0191rLlDkeRlnfPUzJmozMo9tUEwZMdKIbCRHvjtJ0mLII0-vQFwLr1aYJhLiEefy5AOLBFkuUMKrQ8h9eO8KUfzT0Nr2h6qYmBJTRostrhLE1IvqPtMAEHmE93U/s200/Laramie's+Code+sm.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Laramie’s Code</span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> tells Laramie Taylor’s story prior to my upcoming
novella series <i>Laramie’s Thunder</i>. It begins with Laramie just twelve years old, who was taught the Cowboy's Code, ethics his father raised him with. But when he
begins school in the fall of 1856, he is faced with a challenge. His new friend, Bartholomew, is being taunted by three boys because he is the only black boy in
school. Charles Younger's father, Henry Younger, joins his son, the other two
boys and attack Bartholomew. However, Laramie, who is just twelve years old
courageously defends his new friend and teaches forty-year-old Henry Younger a
lesson. That lesson being to have respect for others, regardless of color or
race.<br />
<br />
I also find the code of the west in my short story book <i>Rodeo Dayz</i>, the courage, optimism and plain hard work it takes to
be a rodeo cowboy is just as it was 100 years ago. We are the heroes not just
because we have a dangerous way of life, but because we stand for something —
the simple, basic values that lie at the heart of the cowboy way. Even though our
way of life has changed, as cowboys we still honor and live by a code</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rodeo-Dayz-ebook/dp/B004GB0KDG/ref=la_B003B3EO32_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1343800470&sr=1-3" target="_blank" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR_r_d-5f2gvFH5DoqqXuKUV02sJH_1JONrsxMP3K2V3EcT2KOhKRkVe7aTntjxBXfpqadq2ROEg0Z_RDgLysK5XUhRq63K6r_YF7TwULgN2OckFvH_-w0Mr7vyH69ouofdhn50TsX0cc/s200/rodeo+dayz.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rodeo
Dayz</span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> is</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">a book of short stories that nine friends and I
wrote together. The book isn’t what you would call a perfect book, and we
didn’t want it to be. We wanted the reader to read the stories as if you were
sitting at a coffee shop having a cup of coffee with us, rambling on and telling
our rodeo stories to one another, the way real cowboy’s do. We wanted it this
way because we wanted it raw, truthful, and exact to how we would tell those
stories. The biographies in the book tell you what we go through to get to the
next rodeo. Entry fees aren’t cheap anymore, and we have to find a way to
continue living our dream. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">BIO: <br />
My name is Shotgun Bo Rivers. I am an author, writer, bull rider, bronc rider,
guitar player, poet, and country boy. Besides writing, I also love to hunt and
fish. I grew up in a little town called
Danby, VT. At 22 years old, I became a full time Professional Bull rider and
amateur Bareback Bronc rider. I found very much love and passion in the sport
of rodeo and learned to respect and passionately love the animals of the sport
of rodeo as well.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My
favorite thing in the world is my passion for the Old West. I have always
dreamed of being a gunslinger from the west, riding across the vast open range
with only my horse, saddle and a tag along mutt as my best friend. Growing up, I
watched western films and read western fiction books with my grandfather Ken
Ford. Grandpa taught me the code of the west and told me to always live by
the code. He always told me a good ole country and western song was the only music
to listen too and if I found that special woman in my life to love her strong
and never let go. With his advice, I have lived every day that I can remember
living by that code and applying it to my writing as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tom
Mix, John Wayne, Glen Ford, Clint Eastwood, Elmer Kelton, Louis L'Amour, Zane
Grey, Max Brand and many others carried my romanticism of the Old West for
many years and still do today. The freedom of riding across a great divide or
spending a month on a cattle drive with little to eat and a bedroll and a tin cup
for coffee has always made my mind wander off into the land of fiction, where I
ride in to save the day and gun down an outlaw before they shoot the town
marshal. Currently, I am writing a western fiction novel series The Laramie
Taylor series.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 115%;">To purchase <i>Laramie’s Code</i>, or <i>Rodeo Dayz</i> this
month visit </span><a href="http://shotgunborivers.com/book-tour/" style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 115%;">http://shotgunborivers.com/book-tour/</a><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; line-height: 115%;">
where you can find it in any Ebook Format needed. You can also get an
autographed paperback copy of <i>Rodeo Dayz</i>
there this month as well, limited quantities available.<br />
<br />
You can also find my books on Amazon.com <br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shotgun-Bo-Rivers/e/B008OIRWJM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1">Shotgun
Bo Rivers</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ritchie-White/e/B003B3EO32/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1">Ritchie
White</a><br />
or at <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/whiteritchie">smashwords.com/Borivers</a>.
<br />
<br />
To connect with Ritchie White “Bo Rivers” you can contact him on; <br />
Facebook via <a href="http://www.facebook.com/100cowboy">Ritchie White (Bo
Rivers) </a><br />
Twitter Via <a href="https://twitter.com/ShotgunBoRivers">@shotgunborivers</a><br />
or on his website <a href="http://shotgunborivers.com/">shotgunborivers.com</a><br />
He loves to visit with his readers, and fellow western authors.<br />
<br />
</span></div>Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-5507146400827316852012-07-24T18:05:00.000-05:002012-08-01T01:21:02.959-05:00National Day of the Cowboy Blogathon: Hosted by Shotgun Bo Rivers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This National Day of the Cowboy is Saturday, July 28th. I am taking part in the blogathon hosted by Shotgun Bo Rivers. Be sure to stop by his website all this week for more great posts from authors: Steven Law, Ken Farmer, Larry Payne, J.J. Devine, J.R. Sanders, Phil Dunlap, Tyler Brentmore, as well as the man himself, Shotgun Bo Rivers.
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<h2>
The Cowboy: An Iconic Symbol of American History<br />
By Matthew Pizzolato</h2>
There are few things in this world that are unique to this country. The Western genre as a whole and the cowboy in particular go hand in hand as symbols that represent everything that is American.<br />
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The cowboy that rode across the American West helped to settle this country. He braved Indian attack, wild horses, stampedes, drowning and every other form of horrible death imaginable. The cowboy’s time came and went, but it was glorious while it lasted. While it was a period of danger and death, it was also one of loyalty and honor.<br />
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The cowboy often rode from can-see till can’t-see and faced death every second he was in the saddle. In fact, many of them lost their lives or suffered debilitating injuries. It was said one could tell a cowboy by his missing fingers or a gimp leg.<br />
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While he faced death every day, the cowboy was a man of honor, integrity and loyalty. He rode for the brand and was loyal until death. When he gave his word, he kept it no matter the consequences. Most of all, the cowboy was self reliant. He depended on no one but himself to get the job done.<br />
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The cowboy is a stereotype that transcended gender and ethnicity and encompassed all political affiliation. All cowboys and cowgirls adhered to a strict personal code that has quietly slipped away from popular American consciousness.<br />
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As a Western writer, I strive to keep the spirit of the cowboy and the American West alive in my work. It is my way of honoring those brave and hardy souls who made this country great. My characters, whether they are cowboys, lawmen or outlaws, exemplify the cowboy’s spirit of honor, integrity and loyalty.<br />
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Perhaps former president George W. Bush best described the meaning of the National Day of the Cowboy. “We celebrate the Cowboy as a symbol of the grand history of the American West. The Cowboy’s love of the land and love of the country are examples for all Americans.”<br />
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Modern American society has fallen away from the virtues that the cowboy held dear and would benefit from being made aware of the cowboy’s lifestyle, of his values and of his personal code. That is why the National Day of the Cowboy is so important.<br />
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It honors an icon that lives on in the hearts and minds of those who read and write Westerns and is exemplified everyday by those modern day cowboys and cowgirls who live and work on ranches in all 50 states, not to mention those who participate in rodeos all around the world.<br />
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The National Day of the Cowboy brings to the forefront the values that shaped this country and it honors a true American legend – the cowboy, who gave his blood, sweat and tears and many of them their lives, to those of us alive today and it’s something we shouldn’t forget.</div>Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-12173518307983412362012-06-13T14:46:00.000-05:002014-09-24T12:58:53.810-05:00Westerns Make The World A Better Place<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">One of the problems
with American culture is quite simple.</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">Not enough people read Westerns.</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">As a genre, it represents a set of virtues for people to emulate.</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">Over the last century, ideals and principles in
society have declined markedly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">The Western influenced
a generation of Americans when it was popular on television and in </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Courier New';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hollywood</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">. Children grew up with heroes like Hopalong
Cassidy, the Lone Ranger, and Marshal Matt Dillon. While these may have been fictionalized
characters, they still portrayed ideals for growing minds to emulate.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">"Westerns... created a model for men who
came of age in the twentieth century." – Jane Tompkins, West of Everything<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">Even in the Revisionist
Westerns when the anti-hero became popular, the protagonist still emulated
honor and loyalty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">In <i>Unforgiven</i>, Eastwood's character Will
Munny is a man who "has killed everything that has walked or crawled at
one time or another," yet he is on a quest to bring to justice men who
have harmed a woman. Later in the movie,
he seeks vengeance against those who killed his friend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">The protagonist in
any Western stood up for his beliefs, no matter what the cost and offered no
compromise. Pick up any Western story and you will find virtues that have all
but vanished from society. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';"> by Forrest Carter offers some insight into
what many consider to be the Code of the West, although it's improbable that
such a code actually existed during the Old West time period.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">As a man had no coin, his coin was his word.
His loyalty, his bond. To injure one to whom he was obliged was personal; more,
it was blasphemy. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">How many people
nowadays are actually concerned about keeping their word? How many people actually stand up for their
beliefs? Today,
instead of standing up to evil, people look the other way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">There's no such
thing as honor, integrity or loyalty in American society. There is no line that hasn't been crossed. Honor has become a word that people look up in
the dictionary and not a value to be lived by.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">Without the Western,
there are no heroes for today's culture.
While some celebrities and athletes are fine people, the majority of
them are not the best of role models. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">As Louis L'Amour
said in his novel <i>Sackett's Land, </i>people
need someone to admire. "A man
needs heroes. He needs to believe in strength, nobility, and courage. Otherwise
we become sheep to be herded to the slaughterhouse..."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirW8sAEU2NxEhA0Bjp1ZsH56TIvr_lNhSO0lHRXDYfjNTAi3FzFhQHMm4hZcesEm7kz6ECdguWCAbvlW3mMANdQmse51Ic7FTXOKUTO8_ovzEpGnWDJuHv9Dl-uTMwESzd43qtHDSmp_Y/s1600/John_Wayne_poster_American_Flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirW8sAEU2NxEhA0Bjp1ZsH56TIvr_lNhSO0lHRXDYfjNTAi3FzFhQHMm4hZcesEm7kz6ECdguWCAbvlW3mMANdQmse51Ic7FTXOKUTO8_ovzEpGnWDJuHv9Dl-uTMwESzd43qtHDSmp_Y/s1600/John_Wayne_poster_American_Flag.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">Strength, nobility,
and courage are virtues that are exemplified in one only persona, that of the
American soldier, and popular media downplays the contributions and sacrifices of
the only true hero left to us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">The problem with
today's society can be summarized by a quote from John Wayne. "A man's got to have a code, a creed to
live by, no matter his job." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">With no heroes to
emulate and no creed to live by, how long before we become sheep to be herded
to the slaughterhouse?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-35603588499996023452011-12-16T22:42:00.015-06:002011-12-21T10:04:35.449-06:00God's Gunslinger - Tim TebowTim Tebow is not a gunslinger of Western lore, but he shares three qualities that just about any man from that time period possessed.<br /><br />Honor. During the Old West, men lived by a code, whether they were upstanding citizens or outlaws. Tebow lives by a certain moral code. He stands for something and is not afraid to display his beliefs. <br /><br />Whenever he scores a touchdown or leads his team to victory, he takes a knee and points a finger toward the sky, giving thanks to God. Thanking God for success is nothing new. Athletes have been doing it on the field and musicians who win awards have done it behind the podium. Yet Tebow has been criticized and mocked when he gives thanks to the Lord. Whenever he kneels and prays on the field, it's called "Tebowing." <br /><br />Loyalty. Any Western hero in inherently loyal to either friends or family or to whatever cause he was pursuing. Cowboys of the time period "rode for the brand." <br /><br />Tebow is a natural leader who credits his teammates for his success and accepts responsibility when he fails. He doesn't blame his mistakes on others and he gives everything he has to help his team win.<br /><br />Integrity. In an age when many athletes regularly fail drug tests or are convicted of crimes and are sent to prison, Tebow invests his time off the field in more rewarding pursuits. During his senior year at the University of Florida, he started a powder-puff football tournament and raised $340,000 for charity.<br /><br />Tim Tebow is an anomaly in the sports world today. He's an athlete that people can admire, not only for his unique skills on the field, but for his ability to never give up.<br /><br />Football is not a game about X's and O's. It’s a game of heart and soul coupled with the desire to win. That's why teams with great players are often beaten by lesser talented ones. That's why the so-called experts who criticize his throwing motion and say that Tebow won't be a success in the NFL are wrong. <br /><br />The keys to being a success in any endeavor are the will to win and the perseverance to never quit. People said when Tebow entered the draft that he wouldn't make it in the NFL, yet here he is playing as the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos.<br /><br />Although he strives to win every time he's on the field, he often says that football is just a game and that God doesn't care who wins or loses. Whether or not you share his beliefs, Tim Tebow is a man that anyone can aspire to be. He's a hero reminiscent of the Old West.<br /><br /><table><tr><td><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006JEQM8U" target="_blank"><IMG SRC="http://www.matthew-pizzolato.com/images/thewantedman.jpg" width="100" height="166"></a><br /></td><td> </td><td><br />If you're looking for some Old West heroes, read my new short story collection, THE WANTED MAN. It's available for the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006JEQM8U" target="_blank">Amazon Kindle</a> and as a Barnes and Noble <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-wanted-man-matthew-pizzolato/1107910133?ean=2940013802100" target="_blank">NOOK BOOK</a> for just $0.99.<br /></td></tr></table>Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8672378238661466079.post-14640314352627137872011-12-08T09:42:00.011-06:002011-12-20T12:57:41.201-06:00Why I Admire Louis L'Amour<div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><font class="apple-style-span"><font style="font-size:9.5pt; font-family:Georgia">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. <o:p></o:p></font></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; ">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.</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Georgia;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></font><font class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; ">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. </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Georgia;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></font><font class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; ">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." </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Georgia;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></font><font class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; ">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. </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Georgia;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></font><font class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; ">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. </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Georgia;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></font><font class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; ">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. </font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Georgia;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></font><font class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; ">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."</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Georgia;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></font><font class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; ">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.</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Georgia;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></font><font class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; ">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<font class="apple-converted-space"> </font><i>like<font class="apple-converted-space"> </font></i>Louis L'Amour. I write<font class="apple-converted-space"> </font><i>because of</i> Louis L'Amour.</font></p><table><tr><td><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006JEQM8U" target="_blank"><IMG SRC="http://www.matthew-pizzolato.com/images/thewantedman.jpg"></a><BR><br /></td><td> </td><td><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><font style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Georgia;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></font><font class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; ">"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006JEQM8U" target="_blank">The Wanted Man</a>" 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.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Georgia;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></font><font class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; ">If you have a Kindle or a device with a Kindle app, download <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006JEQM8U" target="_blank">The Wanted Man.</a> It's available for just $0.99.</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Georgia;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></font><font class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; ">Update: It's now available as a Nook Book at Barnes and Noble: <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1107910133?ean=2940013802100" target="_blank">The Wanted Man for Nook</a>.</p></font><br /></td></tr></table><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Matthew Pizzolatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11205069881890739031noreply@blogger.com21