ARE YOU A ‘WRITER’? OR AN  ‘AUTHOR’?

OR IS IT REALLY JUST A QUESTION OF SEMANTICS?

(By Jill McDonald-Constable.)

When people ask what it is you ‘do’, how do you reply? Do you say ‘I’m a writer’, or do you tell them you are an author? And what’s the difference anyway? When do you become either?

We are all (well almost all) ‘writers’, from the day we first pick up a pencil and copy letters onto paper, so, aged about three maybe? In that case, we can honestly call ourselves ‘writers’, because that’s what we do, without consciously having to think about it.

But what is this strange beast called ‘author’? Is it a person who sits in an ivory tower, dictating frothy pink novels to a secretary, or is it someone who starves in a cold garret? The very word ‘Author’, seems to convey a certain feeling of authority, knowledge, maybe even (dare I say it) superiority. It has a serious sense of ‘real writing’, of the production of high literary works.

On the other hand, if you simply say you are a ‘writer’, does that mean you only (only!) write the sort of work which could be classed as similar to pulp fiction. As a mere ‘writer’, will people tend to take you a lot less seriously when you try to talk to them about your latest WIP? How often have you seen their eyes glaze over if you tried to discuss it?

Okay, I know these comments are simply wild generalizations, yet, think about it, before you began on your own writing path, what did you want to be? Writer, or author?

I wanted to be a vet., but I was always writing, scribbling away in many notebooks, writing poetry, stories, articles, etc. for years, without any real thought of taking it further than a box under the bed. In my very early teens, the Vietnam War was in the news all over the world, and it moved me to write a long poem. My parents suggested I send it to our local paper. The following week it was printed, alongside a double page spread about that war.

That was it! I had tasted the writing drug for the first time, and I loved it! Especially when, some weeks after the poem had been printed, a small parcel arrived for me, quite an event in itself! It was a tube, and rolled neatly inside was a sheet of parchment paper, on it was my poem, written in the most beautiful calligraphic handwriting. It had obviously taken a lot of time to complete. There was no letter or label with it, nothing to say who had done such a wonderful thing for a kid like me.

The newspaper tried to find out who had done it, with no luck. I put an open letter of thanks to that person in the paper. Still nothing. To this moment, I don’t know the identity of that person, but I do know that, on that day, looking at that beautiful paper with my words on it, I decided I wanted to be a ‘writer’. I still treasure that small piece of paper.

I began to write in earnest then, and to send my work to magazines, papers etc. Over the years I did have a fair bit of work published, mostly letters and poems, with one or two short articles in the mix for good measure. I worked at a variety of jobs to pay the bills, from shop work, to factory work, and window dresser to mink skinner! But still I wanted to be a real ‘writer’.

This is my favorite ‘writing author’. 

My mother found him covered in dust at the back of a shelf in a junk shop. 

 Just a few weeks before Mum found this, my first book had been published! Spooky stuff eh? 

In 2012, my first real hardback book was published by Robert Hale of London. I was ecstatic! I was a ‘real’ writer at last! My book was going to be on the shelves of the Libraries! And, as always happens in such cases, our local paper wanted to interview me. Their heading was ‘Local lady author writes the Wild West’. So at that moment, I became an ‘author,’ simply because someone else had said I was one! Confused was what I was actually!

Maybe, the way those two words are used, can tell us something about the person using them? Perhaps, those who say they are ‘writers’, are more introvert, not really happy about pushing themselves into the spotlight, they will do it, of course, but only because they have to, in order to sell their books.

Those who state they are ‘authors’, may be more extrovert, and enjoy talking about their work to anyone who will listen, and even to those who don’t really want to listen! I fall firmly between the two camps, my confidence comes and goes, depending on my situation at that moment, so maybe I should call myself a ‘writhor’ or perhaps an ‘aurter’! See, I’m still confused!

Regardless of what we call ourselves, why is it that writing is often seen by others as not being of any importance? Why do family and ‘friends’ think we can just put aside our writing whenever they want us to do something, or go somewhere with them? They expect us to drop everything when they phone, so they can tell us about themselves, and they never let us get a word in about our own work.

Recently, a friend phoned and asked if I was doing anything important, or did I want to go shopping. I was in the middle of editing my latest novel, and told her I needed to finish that. Her reply made me wonder if I still wanted her as a friend! “Yes, well, that’s not important is it, you can come shopping with me instead”! Murder was not actually committed that day, but boy, was it close!

I sometimes wonder about hiring an office somewhere and going to it during office hours, in order that people might realize I am actually ‘at work’, not just sitting around the house all day, doing nothing. Well okay, I am sitting around the house all day, sure, but even when not actually writing, I’m still working. You all know that thinking is a huge part of the writer/author’s work. Try telling that to non-writing folk! You’ve seen that 'look' they give us, right?

I hope this post doesn’t cause too many fights between those who call themselves ‘writers’ and those who say they are ‘authors’. After all, isn’t it all really the same thing in the end? We write words we hope people will want to read. We write, because we are totally hooked on stringing words together. We write, because we can’t help it, we’re all hooked on the written word, and we will keep on doing it until they nail the lid on our coffins. So there!

Okay, which are you? Writer, or Author? I’d love to hear your opinion.

DREAMS AND FLASHBACKS--TO USE OR NOT TO USE? BY CHERYL PIERSON

Have you ever tried to write a dream sequence or a flashback in your novels? What did you think of it when you were finished? Were you happy with the end result, or did it leave you feeling a little flat when you read back over it?

The school of thought on dreams and flashbacks is divided. Some believe that the use of these devices exhibit the writer's immature efforts at crafting backstory and plugging it in, resulting in an amateurish debut into the literary world.

If not done well, this could prove true.

But why pick on flashbacks and dreams? Even plain storytelling without the use of these literary devices can sometimes result in what dissolves into, at best, a "freshman effort." It's not necessarily due to using these tools, though some critics may call upon this as their "rule of thumb" to judge by.

Another argument against flashbacks and dreams is that they lead the reader out of the actual moment of the story, and may somehow "confuse the reader."

Oh, come on.

The only bit of confusion that might occur is not the result of the dream or flashback itself; rather, the inability of the writer to make his meaning clear--again, resulting in an immature presentation.

Yes, flashbacks and dreams are sometimes tough to transition to and from, and make that transition "work." But they can be invaluable tools in creating your backstory.

What are the advantages of dream sequences? They can foreshadow events to come, or provide information about events that the dreamer witnessed.

In my book, Fire Eyes, U.S. Marshal Kaed Turner is being tortured by a band of renegades, so he isn't paying attention to some of the details of events and conversation that is taking place around him at the time. But later, when he's safely recovering, he dreams about what happened to him. This dream does two things for the reader:

1.) It lets us know what, exactly, was being done to Kaed through the conversation and actions of the participants. We see and hear what is happening, as if we are there, in the moment, without Kaed having to re-tell it to someone.

2.) It allows Kaed (and the reader) to seize upon a very important piece of information that's pertinent to the plot.

He was not aware of it consciously, but his subconscious thoughts had picked it up, and it was revealed in the dream.


If you are writing a story with psychic or paranormal happenings, dreams could be a shared link between characters. This device is used often in novels that include time travel, as well.

One thing to consider when writing a dream sequence is the way your character sees life, and what his or her culture is. Make your dreams and flashbacks reflect this appropriately. In Native American culture, an owl is a symbol of impending death--not wisdom. It might mean different things to people from other cultures. Yet, a raven will probably hold much the same symbolism for everyone.

Your characters can solve problems in their dreams. This happens in reality--it can happen in fiction.

"You didn't kill Liberty Valance. Think back..."

Remember, like the presentation of a gourmet meal, a seamless story is in the telling, or the writing. Backstory is sometimes essential, as are clues to the story that might not be able to be presented any other way. Make your transitions to the past, or in and out of the dream state, as flawless as possible.

If you do this, your readers won't be confused, and you'll hold them spellbound as they see the story unfold along with your characters.

Do you use dreams and flashbacks in your writing? I'd love to hear your comments and thoughts on this. I personally love both dreams and flashbacks, and use both quite frequently in my writing. Let me hear from you!

GABRIEL'S LAW BY CHERYL PIERSON--NEW RELEASE THURSDAY!

I have another brand new release here at PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS I want to share with you today! This fantastic cover was created by Karen M. Nutt, with special tweaking by Livia, and it's perfect for the story of Brandon Gabriel and Allison Taylor. Take a look at the blurb:

When Brandon Gabriel is hired by the citizens of Spring Branch to hunt down the notorious Clayton Gang, he doesn't suspect a double-cross. When Allison Taylor rides into town for supplies, she doesn't expect to be sickened by the sight of a man being beaten to death by a mob. When Spring Branch's upstanding citizens gather round to see a murder, nobody expects to hear the click of a gun in the hands of an angel bent on justice. Life is full of surprises.

Brandon and Allie reconnect instantly, though it's been ten years since their last encounter. She's protected him before. As Brandon recovers at Allie's ranch, the memories flood back, and his heart is lost to her. He also knows staying with her will ruin everything. She's made a life for herself and her son. She's respectable. She has plans -- plans that don't include him. But could they?

Trouble is never far away, and someone else wants Allison Taylor and her ranch. Danger looms large when a fire is set and a friend is abducted. Allie and Brandon discover they are battling someone they never suspected; someone who will stop at nothing to destroy anyone who stands in his way. As Brandon faces down the man who threatens to steal everything from him, he realizes he is desperately in love with Allie and this new life they are making for themselves. Has Brandon finally found everything he's ever wanted only to lose it all? Can Brandon and Allie confront the past, face down their demons, and forge their dreams into a future?

An angel with a dream. A devil with a fast gun. Heaven on earth.

I'm giving away a digital copy of GABRIEL'S LAW today one lucky commenter! PLEASE LEAVE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION IN YOUR COMMENT. If you just can't wait to see if you won, here's the Amazon buy link. It's also available at Barnes & Noble and other e-book retailers, AND it's also available in print!

BUY HERE AT AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1oaploz

My Grandfather's Magical Trunk

Sarah J. McNeal

 

 

Grandfather McNeal’s Trunk

 

It’s funny how an everyday, ordinary things we take for granted can set off a whole series of stories. Such is the case with my Grandfather McNeal’s trunk.

 

One day I was just hanging out playing a tune on my harmonica. The harmonica was one given to me by my dad years ago when I was a kid. We used to play tunes together like Shenandoah, a favorite of mine. I had my feet propped up on my Grandfather McNeal’s old trunk where mementos were kept of each generation from way, way back including pictures, old watches, pipes and rodeo posters from Ranch 101. I was struck with an idea of how amazing and wonderful it would be if everything in the family trunk was new. What if I could go back to the time my father talked about, a time when townspeople socialized at church picnics and listened to a radio show at a friend’s house or went to the local amusement park for a night of fun? It seemed so cozy, so comfortable and peaceful.

My mental wheels began to turn. What if my heroine found a trunk like Grandfather McNeal’s, full of history and mystery? What if she tried on some clothes and a wedding band and accidently fell into the trunk? And what if that trunk possessed the magic to take her back to a pivotal point in history and she met the love of her life?

That family trunk inspired me to write Harmonica Joe’s Reluctant Bride. I had no idea that that book would lead me to write the sequel, For Love of Banjo, and then more stories about the generations of Wildings that would follow. Well, such is the magic of my grandfather’s trunk.

I am so happy that, even though I was only 7 when he died, I had a chance to know Grandfather McNeal. He was a post Civil War baby, born in 1866. I think about that sometimes and think how amazing it was that I had the chance to know him. He was an educated man, a teacher who had to earn his “real” living painting barns and houses. Because he never owned a horse or a car, he walked everywhere. I remember him as patient and kind, a very well-read man with old fashioned manners who still wore suspenders until he died. The trunk he thoughtfully put together, has been my inspiration for the Wildings of Wyoming and The Violin, a 1927 time travel story based on the life and death of my dad’s middle brother, John Douglas McNeal.

I think many of us draw our stories from our histories, those stories passed down to us or discovered by accident. What were some of your stories created from your family’s history?

 

Harmonica Joe’s Reluctant Bride

Blurb:

A haunted plantation… A trunk… And a date with destiny.

When Lola Barton inherits a rundown plantation, she believes her life has finally taken a positive turn. But, when she finds a mysterious trunk in the attic, it takes her into the past and to a man with dark secrets—and she’s married to him.

BUY Links:

AMAZON

SMASHWORDS

 

FLY AWAY HEART

The Great Depression…Rum Runners and Old Fears…Love Against the Odds

Blurb:

Lilith Wilding can’t remember a time when she didn’t love the English born Robin Pierpont, but she knows he loves another so she hides her feelings beneath a hard veneer of self-protection.

Robin Pierpont dreams of flying airplanes and winning the heart of the one he loves, but when he gets involved in illegal rum running to help a friend, those dreams seem to turn into just a fantasy. When he is called upon to face his worst fear to save Lilith’s life, his fate may be sealed in death.

Buy Links:

SMASHWORDS

AMAZON

 The revised re-release of FOR LOVE OF BANJO will be coming soon.

The anthologies for Christmas and Valentine from Prairie Rose Publictions, WISHING FOR A COWBOY and HEARTS AND SPURS also contain stories of my Wilding family.

Sarah McNeal is a multi-published author of several genres including time travel, paranormal, western and historical fiction. She is a retired ER nurse who lives in North Carolina with her four-legged children, Lily, the Golden Retriever and Liberty, the cat. Besides her devotion to writing, she also has a great love of music and plays several instruments including violin, bagpipes, guitar and harmonica. Her books and short stories may be found at Publishing by Rebecca Vickery, Victory Tales Press, Prairie Rose Publications and Painted Pony Books, an imprint of Prairie Rose Publications. She welcomes you to her website at

Website 

My Amazon Author’s Page

Sweethearts of the West

Prairie Rose Publications Blog

 

The Birth of Kasota Springs

I got the story idea for The Troubled Texan from following a horrific mass murder trial in California. Given my experience in the legal field, I wondered how the plaintiff’s attorney handled months, even years, of being in the head of a murderer. And what if she settles in a small town under an alias without knowing that her long-lost classmate and former professional football player was the sheriff? It doesn’t take her long to recognize the sexy, hard-nosed, hunk when he stops her for a traffic violation. But a small town isn’t big enough for the both of them...or is it just right? They both have secrets and deep seeded ones they’re not ready to share...not yet!

When I decided to bring Maressa to Texas, I had to pick a town for her to live. And after I completed The Tycoon and the Texan, I knew I wasn’t finished with Granny Johnson’s and Lola Ruth Hicks’s stories. (It might have been because I had a Granny Johnson, my mother’s name was Ruth and my mother-in-law’s maiden name was Lola Hicks Pennington, all gone to Heaven.)

Granny Johnson and McCall Johnson, the heroine of The Tycoon and the Texan, are co-owners of Jacks Bluff Ranch. Jacks Bluff is just outside of Kasota Springs, which first appeared in an anthology I was in with Jodi Thomas, Linda Broday, and DeWanna Pace—all Texas gals living in the same town—called Give Me a Cowboy. The four of us returned to Kasota Springs for A Texas Christmas, an anthology of four stories that took place on the same snowy night. So what better place to revisit than Kasota Springs and the family lineage we had created?

Give Me a Cowboy is about a four day rodeo in the Texas Panhandle. One major problem we hit was that the first rodeo in Texas was in Pecos and the panhandle didn’t have one until much later. While driving along I-40, I noticed a railroad water-crossing...Kasota. Add Springs and it was the perfect name for a town. So, we wrote two anthologies that took place in Kasota Springs, Texas.

Well, plenty of decisions had to be made to develop this town. Who was the sheriff? Name of the saloon, the weather each day, and many more things that we needed to know to cover four stories taking place over four days!

The thing I had to face was I love the bull riding, but since it was a renegade event and there were only a few regular events, I had to think, so I selected wild cow milking because I thought it’d be easy to write! Wrong! This ended up, with research, a fun event and if you read Give Me a Cowboy you’ll remember it began to rain and my team ended up being my hero and heroine!

Research is really one of my favorite parts of writing, so I found out that the wild cow milking event was added because the ranches had to haul the mama cows with the calves for the calf roping event, so they decided to do something with the bawling mamas who weren’t all that happy being apart from their babies. So, our heroes and heroines won all of their events and of course the cowboy roped the heroine, but I will say the heroines probably didn’t run too fast. In Linda’s and my stories we had a mother and daughter team...the LeDoux women and they were like boot stoops and hardtack. In The Troubled Texan you’ll briefly meet Mesa LeDoux, fifth generation Kasotan and part owner of the Jacks Bluff Ranch. I am working on the next book in the series and more descendants of the founders of the small town of Kasota Springs will appear along with folks from The Troubled Texan. And, of course, you can expect some new characters moving to Kasota Springs, Texas.

Watch for Book #3 of my Kasota Springs Romance Series from Kensington, "Out of the Texas Night."

To one lucky commenter, I will give away a 

Bath and Body Work Gift Certificate.

HOW TO GROW AND BUILD WHILE WRITING...... By Gail L. Jenner

I've been working with a high school senior this year on a senior project. It's been a growing experience, for both of us. He chose to write a novel and hoped to get it published after being edited, revised, etc, in one year.....an undertaking I warned him would probably NOT happen as easily as he expected it to.

This student is terrifically talented, but his struggle to work through the maze of disappointment and restarts and revisions made me realize once more how naive we are when we first start out to write 'that great American novel!'  In thinking on his finished his project, which is quite a wonderful start - but only a novella still not ready for publication YET, I reflected on a number of simple but important revelations every writer must come to.

Here are five of those random thoughts from the list I've started! I want to continue growing this list so will share other thoughts as I do...
1. We may not finish the first story we set out to write -- or the second or third. Sometimes we start plotting without knowing the interior story - or we recognize that we have so many flaws, it's time to start on page 1 AGAIN.....or go back to the brainstorming process. Many writers don't even brainstorm, but can start at a place and go forward. Recognizing what works best for your style or your story is something that takes time to figure out or refine.

2. Starting over and over again is sometimes part of the process. I used to believe writing a book was a very linear process. You went from point A to point B in one straight line with no pauses or detours. But it’s not: there is no real finish line. Each book requires something different from you – sometimes more than you’re even willing to give at any moment. I suppose that’s why I have several manuscripts going on at one time. I can’t seem to just settle on one idea and nothing else.

3. Continue to meet people and network. With publishers like Prairie Rose this is an easy expectation to meet!  And groups like Women Writing the West or Western Writers of America, or any number of regional and local groups and critique groups will fill this goal. It’s imperative that not only new writers but all writers get out from behind the wall of their writing projects and meet, talk, visit, and share. It’s also imperative to read, read, and read. This challenge has become a harder one for me in the last two or three years; with the obligations I have and the projects I’ve undertaken, it’s hard not to just run away and bury myself in others’ books, but I have to dole it out, like candy after Halloween these days!

4 Learn to take criticism and seek out criticism; do not take it personally. We are all susceptible to wanting only the positive response from readers and our fellow writers and agents or publishers. The truth is there is a huge gap between what we’re looking for and what we sometimes need to hear! No one wants to hear the dreary or disappointing aspects of our writing, but in order to grow we need to seek that critical review or editorial comment eagerly AND graciously. The old “No pain, no gain” is true.

5. Celebrity others’ successes! While it’s not exactly fun to read about the latest celebrity's story that’s just garnered a multi-million dollar advance, it’s still a reminder that other authors and writers are “making it big!” That should always delight us. We need to always “spread” the good news of others’ successes. As my grandma always said, “What goes around comes around,” and although I’m not superstitious, I do believe there is truth in that in all aspects of our lives. We need to celebrate with others.

GAIL L. JENNER IS THE AUTHOR OF ACROSS THE SWEET GRASS HILLS, A WINNER of the WILLA Literary Award from Women Writing the West, recently re-released by PRP. For more on her stories, visit www.gailjenner.com OR http://prairierosepublications.yolasite.com/gail-l-jenner.php

Dallas Stoudenmire: 'A Criminal with a Badge'

By Kathleen Rice Adams

In the Wild West, it wasn't always easy to tell the outlaws from the lawdogs. Men often served in both capacities, depending on what proved most advantageous at the time. They'd run with outlaws for a while, then become lawmen for a while, then outlaws again, then lawmen, going back and forth across the line until they finally picked a side and stuck with it.

A few intrepid souls figured all that line nonsense was just so much hogwash, and so they combined both career paths into one. Take the case of El Paso City Marshal Dallas Stoudenmire, for example.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and in April 1881, El Paso, Texas, was about as desperate as a town could get. Four railroad lines had converged in the city, bringing with them gamblers, gunmen, and “ladies of questionable virtue.” Within spitting distance of Old Mexico and the lawless New Mexico Territory, El Paso became a haven for vagabonds, thieves, murderers, and other criminals.

El Paso City Marshal Dallas Stoudenmire, 1881
(courtesy El Paso County Historical Society)

The city was not entirely without a law-and-order presence. The county sheriff’s office was only fifteen miles away—a half-day’s ride on horseback. Fort Bliss was closer, but the Army had its hands full defending settlers from Indians and cross-border marauders. Nearest of all was an entire company of the Texas Rangers Frontier Battalion, headquartered right there in town. Even a force of forty fearsome men who a few years later would adopt the motto “one riot, one Ranger” couldn’t be everywhere at once, though, especially when they had a 1,250-mile unruly international border to police.

El Paso needed a tough city marshal, and it couldn’t seem to find one. During the eight months starting in July 1880, the town employed four different men in the position. One resigned after two months in office. Another was relieved for “neglect and dereliction of duty.” A third was allowed to resign after a dispute over his pay left El Paso riddled with bullets. By April 1881, the town drunk wore the badge because he was the only man who would take the job.

City fathers thought they were in luck when, on April 11, they enticed a six-foot-four shootist with experience as a soldier, Texas Ranger, and city lawman to claim the marshal’s star. Dallas Stoudenmire, 36, was described by newspapers of the day as a temperamental, physically imposing man with an even more imposing reputation for gunplay.

Born in Alabama, Stoudenmire enlisted in the Confederate army at 15. After the war, he migrated to Texas and joined a company of Rangers tasked with subduing renegade Indians in the southern part of the state. Only 20, Stoudenmire reportedly “killed a few men,” ostensibly in the line of duty, during his year with the Rangers.

After that, he drifted through Texas, working as a carpenter, wheelwright, and sheep rancher before turning to the profession that eventually led him to the job in El Paso: hired gun. Stoudenmire was said to be quick and accurate on the draw, but a hot temper and a fondness for drink frequently caused him trouble. When a saloon brawl in 1877 left bullet holes in several people—including Stoudenmire—he was arrested. He escaped in short order, only to find himself wanted again less than a year later, after he and a couple of compadres left several men dead in a shootout over a herd of cattle.

Stoudenmire lit out for New Mexico, soon coming to rest as marshal of Socorro in the northern part of the territory. By early 1881, he was back in Llano County, Texas. That’s where the El Paso city fathers found him.

It would take them only a few short days to realize they’d made a mistake, but a total of thirteen violent, frightening months would pass before they removed him from office. Ultimately, only Stoudenmire’s untimely demise freed the city of his presence. Some called the man a criminal with a badge; others credited him with doing more than any other single individual to tame El Paso’s lawless element.

In May 2001, Dallas Stoudenmire’s Smith & Wesson American,
serial number 7056, sold at auction for $143,000. His El Paso city
marshal’s badge sold for $44,000 in a separate lot.
(source: Little John Auction Service catalog, May 2001)

The trouble started three days after Stoudenmire pinned on the marshal’s star. In an incident that came to be known as the Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight, Stoudenmire’s twin .44 Colts dispatched three people—one an innocent bystander attempting to take cover. The other two were an accused cattle rustler and one of El Paso’s former city marshals. The fourth casualty, whose death at the hands of the alleged cattle rustler started the ruckus, was a county constable. Stoudenmire, unscathed, received a raise.

Three days later, friends of the dead men hired another former El Paso city marshal to assassinate Stoudenmire. In the course of firing eight or nine shots at his attacker, Stoudenmire obliterated the would-be assassin’s privates.

The notorious gunman continued to collect enemies while he performed some aspects of his job admirably. Even his detractors credited him with a steel-nerved ability to face down miscreants, six of whom he reportedly introduced to Boot Hill. Stoudenmire collected fines and taxes with alacrity, at the same time shooting dogs whose owners neglected to pay the $2 annual license fee. He angered the local religious community by using a prominent church’s bell for target practice, disrupting the peace in the middle of the night. The jail and prisoners were well tended, but the marshal’s records were a mess, and unauthorized expenditures caused friction with the city council.

Stoudenmire also drank heavily, often on duty, leading the editor of the El Paso Times to call into question his fitness as an officer of the law. When the Texas Rangers took an interest in Stoudenmire’s idiosyncratic approach to law enforcement, he called them a pack of cowards and liars and tried to get the entire force banned from El Paso. He failed.

The city decided it had endured enough in February 1882, when Stoudenmire and his new bride returned from their wedding trip to find her brother murdered and the accused killer absolved of charges. Vowing revenge, Stoudenmire went on a violent drinking binge. One writer called him “as irresponsible and dangerous as the town hoodlums.” Right away the city council passed a resolution mandating a stiff fine for any lawman caught drinking in public. Since Stoudenmire collected the fines, the ordinance was woefully ineffective.

Public sentiment against the marshal reached a crescendo…and so did the city council’s fear of the monster they had created. In May the council called a meeting to fire Stoudenmire, but when the marshal showed up drunk and waving his infamous Colts, the meeting quickly adjourned. Two days later, he sobered up and resigned.

Despite the public’s ill will, Stoudenmire and his wife remained in El Paso. The now ex-marshal continued to drink, get into fights, and settle arguments with his guns; nevertheless, in July he was appointed deputy U.S. marshal.

Over the next few months, Stoudenmire’s feud with the man accused of his brother-in-law’s murder escalated. Stoudenmire mocked and insulted the man and his two brothers in public, daring them to fight. When other citizens ventured an opinion about his behavior, Stoudenmire cursed and threatened them. The El Paso Lone Star warned “citizens stand on a volcano,” and the streets might be “deluged with blood at any moment.”

Dallas Stoudenmire had the barrel of this 1860 Colt Army revolver
sawed off so the gun could be concealed. The Colt was retrieved
from the El Paso street where Stoudenmire was killed in a shootout
on September 18, 1882. (source: The Peacemakers: Arms
and Adventure in the American West by R.L. Wilson)

On September 18, the volcano erupted. Stoudenmire and the three brothers met in a saloon and argued. One of the brothers and Stoudenmire drew their guns. Two bullets hit Stoudenmire: The first broke his gun arm, and the second knocked him through the saloon’s batwing doors. Lying in the street, Stoudenmire pulled his second gun and wounded his attacker just before another of the brothers shot Stoudenmire in the head. The wounded brother pistol-whipped the body.

Separate trials acquitted the brothers of murder. They left El Paso and died of natural causes in 1915 and 1925.

Stoudenmire’s widow buried him in Colorado County, near Columbus, Texas, where they had been married a few months earlier. The Freemasons, of which he was a member, paid all funeral expenses for the destitute widow. Although a commemorative marker documenting Stoudenmire's Confederate service exists, no stone marks his gravesite and all records of its location have been lost.

An obituary in the Colorado [County] Citizen called Stoudenmire “a brave and efficient officer, and very peaceable when sober.”


In the short story "The Worst Outlaw in the West," my contribution to the Prairie Rose Publications summer anthology Lassoing a Groom, the hero works both sides of the law. Tracy Garrett, Jacquie Rogers, Kristy McCaffrey, Linda Hubalek, and debut author Kirsten Lynn also contributed tales in which the heroines, like the Texas Rangers, always get their man. Watch for the book later this month.