I am excited in announcing, after 50 years, that my first Post-Civil War and Western novel will be released on November 15th, 2025. It is now available for pre-release sales. Go to burttyson.com/books for more information and to place an order.
Now, with that announcement out of the way, let’s proceed to my acknowledging the many people I am indebted to for their support and the many influences that shaped me as a Western novelist.
I could always count on my father to watch the evening cowboy shows with me as well. Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Lawman, Maverick, The Big Valley, Have Gun Will Travel, The Rifleman and many more. That shared love of Westerns was the foundation for a life- long love of the West and its “Cowboy Code.”
Of course, there were the movies, too. High Noon, Shane, The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Outlaw Josey Wales and John Wayne’s The Alamo were fundamental building blocks of my love of the West and of becoming a man.
I would be remiss if I didn’t remember my mother’s best friend Avis Steele and the cowboy hats she gave me on each of my birthdays until I was about twelve. She was a sweet lady and always made me feel like a cowboy. I also want to thank my sister and my niece for their long and continuing encouragement and help in my pursuit of writing.
I also want to thank and commend the excellent team at
BookBaby for all of their efforts to bring this novel to publication, especially my BookBaby Senior Publication Specialist Cassidy Helikson and my Editorial Coordinator Colleen Kelley. Cassidy and Colleen have been my guiding lights through this process. I can’t praise them highly enough for all of their help.
Finally, I need to thank my small coterie of special friends, Kendra and Dennis Coleman, Debbie and Cheney Anderson, Payton Hawkins, Jake Ballew, Megan Dunn and Carri Bass. I also need to acknowledge numerous bartenders, strangers at the bars, waitstaff and casual acquaintances who have become the basis for characters and provided hints at motivation.
Lastly, I need to thank my friend David Ayers without whose knowledge and help I would have been unable to manage. Besides, without David, I’d have no one to drink beer with and share lies.
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