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  Artwork by Cedar Sanderson from interior of Space Cowboys 6: Fission Chips . It may even go with my story, "Love under a Purple Sky." There's something about the idea of the cowboy that persists in the imagination of humanity. It's a romantic notion nurtured not only in the fertile imagination but in the heart. I've often said that the western is a uniquely American genre set on the vast canvas of the the plains, prairies, deserts, canyons, and mountains of America. However, the vision of the cowhand, sheriff, drifter, and outlaw transcends the geography and lifestyle that birthed it. The dream can't be restrained and has taken to the stars. Climb aboard and touch your spurs to ride that lofty ambition. Sic itur ad astra. Space Cowboys 6: Fission Chips is out and topping the list in new sci-fi anthologies. ______________ I went on a quest this week. I didn't expect to go on a quest. I expected to make a quick trip to a gas station so that I could...

    I watched this 1952 black and white movie staring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford during my workout sessions on the M5 over a few days or a week. It was directed by Vincent Sherman and features Alexander Scourby as Max Fabian, Howard Wendell as Anderson, Steve Geray as Wittol, Torin Thatcher as Marplon the inspector, Juanita Moore as Dominique, and Valerie Bettis as Veronica. Rita plays a nightclub dancer/singer who's married to Steve Emory's (Ford) brother. Except she isn't married anymore as brother Emory has turned up with pennies on his eyes. Meanwhile, Ford is on his way from the States in response to a letter his brother wrote him on the say day he allegedly committed suicide. Ford begins his own investigation. He learns things weren't great between Rita and his brother. at one point, the gentleman in the picture above tells him something like, "When a man is married to a goddess, he must expect other men to worship her." Although he isn't getting t...

 It's a tragic tale of youthful exuberance and avarice tainted by overconfidence unburdened with the requisite competence. It was the beginning of the quest for the Mysterious Cauldron within the Cursed Ruins. Our two young heroes were to find the cauldron and fill a flask from its contents. A substantial reward awaited them at the completion of the task. They won't be collecting that reward any time soon. Les Freres Corses may have learned something from the adventure. We'll see what happens next time. Charo Lefevre or Le Favor, or something similar to that--I never got to see the spelling--teamed up with Gratell the budding wizard. Outfitted with swords, a shield, rope, and other supplies, along with 3 magic spells, the adventures passed from the village through the dark forest to the cursed ruins without incident. In order to avoid being swallowed by the treacherous mud and quicksand-like dangers of the pale green marsh, they used their rope to lasso and draw down the la...

  Steve A. Douglas  His Omnibus Bill defeated, Henry Clay left Washington, but the "steam engine in britches" Stephen A. Douglas would attempt to collect the pieces of the failed bill. He concluded that combining the various provisions into one bill had united the opponents of the various measures instead of securing friends on the specific issues. He declared he would get California statehood passed as well as the bill for New Mexico. He would depend on constant off-record negotiations and, something which Clay had lacked, presidential support. Douglas introduced the California bill on August 1, but soon realized he would have to deal with the Texas issue first. August 5, he and James Pierce (who's incompetence had pierced the heart of the Omnibus bill) presented a bill giving Texas the shape it has today. Texas received more land that it would've under the Omnibus, but it it would receive $10 million from the Federal Government in 5% stock -- which was more than eno...

    Interview with Raphael Sohnn Author of The Captains of Legend Please tell me a little about your current work in progress.   The Captains of Legend, my debut novel. A story set in a fictional kingdom around five to seven hundred years ago in what eventually became India. It’s a tale of love, war and intrigue that revolves around two lifelong friends who eventually fall in love. The Princess Meena, heiress to her father’s kingdom and Holasiyan, the young warrior destined to be the protector of the Monarch and leader of his fighting men.     Where did you get the idea for this book or series?   It was something I’d been contemplating writing for about two decades, having started the original draft in my early/mid-twenties. The book as it is now in no way resembles those very first few scribblings. Yet the similarities are clearly in the setting, both regionally and historically. I had wanted, from very early on, to tell a tale of the warriors...

  Before we get to our adventure in Sauron's old 'hood: Cursed Canyon is here - click on the picture to check it out. This is the second Wyrd Western anthology from Raconteur Press and I'm pleased to say I have stories in both - in addition to stories in the Road Trippin' and the Pin Up Noir 2 anthologies. Go here to check out these anthologies and my other books . Note that the Road Trippin' anthology features a story about my dad's motorcycle trip back in the 50s. He read it last night and called to let me know he liked it. Now I have a question about Russian motorcycles sold in the U.S. during the 50s.  If you're thinking the landscape above looks like Mordor, you're not far off. We took a little trip to Craters of the Moon because we had a hankerin' for hiking among wreck and ruin of Mordor after Sauron's fall. It was October, after all.  The Two Watchers at the gate would not take cash but insisted on seizing the credit card temporarily...