Wednesday, June 29, 2011


Here's the final cover for my new western novel (coming in July). Artwork by Mike Ray of Ink Tycoon!
Thinking of having him re-do all my covers. What do you think?

Friday, June 24, 2011

Now on Twitter

As a writer, I know I'm nothing without you readers. I appreciate your buying and reading and word-of-mouthing. Just wanted to let you know I am now on Twitter. Look for "GarisonFitch" and followed my latest musings ... 140 characters at a time.

And don't forget to read my latest novel: the Return of the Nice Guy. Bat Garrett has been hired by a woman to find out why her husband was murdered. His investigation takes him through an amateur archeological society in Dallas and onto the mesas of the ancient puebloans in SW Colorado! Just 99 cents!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Western Vista

Here's what the town of Como, Colorado (the setting for my new novel "Overstreet") looked like in the early 1900s.
Imagine it twenty years before when the tents occupied by miners swelled the population to almost ten thousand. If you were to see it today, you'd notice that it's not much more populated than in this picture. In fact, the amazing thing may be that it's still there at all, with it's lack of commerce and industry.
There was a time, though, when it was teeming with people and was even one of the three finalists for the capitol of Colorado. "Overstreet" is about John Overstreet, but you'll learn a bit about Como as you read. It's an exciting story of boom and, sadly, bust.
Would I move there? In a heartbeat.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Louis L'Amour

Ornithologists tell us that the reason flamingos are pink is because they eat so much shrimp. Likewise, if any of my writing seems similar to Louis L'Amour's, it's not so much out of a conscious effort but just because I have ingested so much of his work (having read every one of his works many times over). I don't feel guilty about this because even so great a luminary as CS Lewis said he had probably never written anything where he didn't quote--directly or indirectly--from George MacDonald.

My forthcoming novel "Overstreet" may seem to be my most obvious paean to L'Amour just because it's a western, but--honestly--I didn't sit there and write chapter after chapter asking myself "What would Louis write?" The connection I see between my novel and L'Amour is that, at the end of so many of his books, I'm thinking, "What next? I want to know what happened next!!"

One of the main threads of this story is that John Overstreet has killed the son of a prominent west Texas rancher in self-defense. But what happens next when that is (mostly) resolved? I take the opportunity to follow a life into the adventures that follow the one where the book usually stops. I believe I finish with a story that becomes more compelling (and fulfilling) as it reaches its denouement.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Como

I was stringing some fence near Como, Colorado, a couple decades ago when, way back in the forest, I tripped. I started looking for what I had tripped over and, when I had cleared away the brush, found the outline of a small cabin.

Emphasis on small.

Back in it's day, it must have only been about eight foot by eight foot in size. When I found it, all that was left was an outline, two logs high. It was located about equidistant from the (still existing) town of Como and the (long gone and mostly forgotten) town of Hamilton. Both were mining towns, and both sported some pretty impressive populations and accomplishments during their day.

So it made me wonder: who had built that cabin? Was it someone who worked in one town or the other, but liked a little bit of privacy? Could it have just been a tool shed and, if so, had there been another, larger building nearby that I never found?

Usually, when I see an old house--big or small--I wonder about who might have once lived there. I picture the owners moving in proudly, excited about the life they were building and the dreams they had. That little cabin, though, I always had it in my mind that it was just built by some miner. Someone who was just trying to make his living before heading to another strike. Maybe he only occupied it one winter, or maybe not even that long. Maybe he just threw it up long enough to last out another month or two before heading to better climes for the winter.

I've thought a lot about that cabin, and who might have been there, and it played no small part in inspiring my novel "Overstreet".

Saturday, June 18, 2011

A Western Cover

This cover was created by Mike Ray, a graphic designer from South Carolina who acquaintance I made back when we were both drawing comic strips for the same newspaper in central Texas. The final version for the novel will be slightly different, but this ought to give you a feel for it.

I've spent a lot of days (and nights) walking the streets of Como, Colorado, where the story is set and sleeping on the ground where the protagonist--John Overstreet--finds his fortune, and his life. As I read back through the story now, I'm back on those pine-needle-covered grounds. I hope the reader will be, too.

Western Fiction

After many years of work, my epic western novel "Overstreet", is coming to Kindle and Nook in July of '11!

It's the story of a young man who flees a vengeful family in west Texas and comes to work for a horse ranch in Como, Colorado. Over the years, he sees the west change and tries to change himself. To read more about it and my other novels, go to www.garisonfitch.com