The truth will always catch up with you…
Skeet Jones is not happy. His friends have just learned that’s he’s never been with a woman in the biblical sense. Eager to put the situation right, they have taken him to Bob’s Place, a saloon that is very popular amongst the local men.
When Skeet arrives, he sees thirteen-year-old Angela, who has just been purchased by the most powerful man in the town of Calhoun. Skeet is desperate to help her but when the man refuses to let her go, Skeet shoots him and makes a run for it with Angela in tow.
Seven years go by, and Angela now goes by the name of Carrie Whiting – a famous singer known as the Songbird of the West. Skeet gets her to sing in his saloon in the small town of Dry Creek, and that’s when things start to get interesting.
Carrie is kidnapped, which brings her to the attention of Detective Rance Dehner, a man broken by loss.
Once he finds the legendary Songbird of the West he is determined to keep her safe. But as the body count rises in Dry Creek, Carrie discovers she’s not the only one who has changed her name. And sometimes even that’s not enough to stay hidden…
Songbird of the West is a fast-paced, action packed western that is perfect for fans of J T Edson and Larry McMurtry.
James Clay I consider myself blessed to have been a kid at a time when, while there was a TV in the house, radio's "golden age" hadn't totally vanished. Hopalong Cassidy and The Lone Ranger came at me through both mediums. I devoured Fran Striker's Lone Ranger novels and wish those fine books were easily available today.
About the time I began reading Ray Hogan and Lewis Patten, I noticed a difference in the radio and TV versions of Gunsmoke. Radio's Dodge City was a much darker place. Both versions gave me some early lessons in story telling.
I toiled for years as a literary agent, but my heart remained in the old West. I began writing western novels to prove I didn't always have to live off the work of other people. Playing cowboy is one of the few skills I have honed well.
I remain blessed. I have a wonderful wife and two cats, all of whom are very patient with me. I now write westerns full time and enjoy reading other western writers, both past and present. And yes, the radio and TV versions of Gunsmoke are still giving me lessons in story telling.
