Showing results by author "Elmer Kelton" in All Categories

Sink into the easy Texas drawl of celebrated Western novelist Elmer Kelton, the son of a Texas cowboy and a five-time Spur award winner. In this live workshop recording he'll share insights about writing in a genre that doesn't always receive the respect it's due. Kelton discusses literary prejudice against Westerns, suggests ways to find a fresh slant and create unusual characters, and reviews trail drive novels. Some of his over 2 dozen novels are: The Day the Cowboys Quit, The Time it Never Rained, and Eyes of the Hawk.

Andy Pickard felt ready to settle down, until the violent death of a good friend sends him on the road again, to bring a killer to justice. His trail takes him away from Bethel Brackett, but reunites him with old friends Rusty Shannon and Len Tanner. The bank-robbing fugitive he seeks may not even be the killer, but justice must be served. For many reasons, it's a hard trail to follow.

When former cattle man Dundee wanders into the town of Titusville, he's broke, tired and itching for a fight. Instead, he gets a job offer...from none other than the top man in town, John Titus. Titus recruits Dundee to find out who's rustling his extensive herd of cattle. But for Titus, it isn't enough that Dundee find the missing cattle. He wants to place the blame on a specific person...Blue Roan Hardesty, a one-time friend turned sworn enemy of the powerful Titus clan. All Titus needs is hard proof and Dundee is just the man to get it.

Wagon boss Hugh Hitchcock knows the cowboy life better than most: In 1883, if you’re a cowboy, you can’t own a cow and you are stigmatized as a drunk. Worse, you are exploited by the wealthy cattle owners who fence the range, replace traditions and trust with written rules of employment, refuse to pay a livable wage, and change things “that ought to be left alone”. The cowboys working in the Canadian River country of the Texas Panhandle decide to fight back, to do the unthinkable: Go on strike.

The Nueces Strip in southwest Texas of 1875, harbored Mexican border raiders, Texan vigilantes, a mixed population of cattle ranchers and hard scrabble farmers, all fighting the land, the weather and each other. Into the cauldron descend 40 Texas Rangers, under the leadership of Captain Leander McNelly, with orders to stop the raids, quell the fighting and bring peace to the strip. Based on historical events, the tale takes us into the lives of Rangers, raiders, ranchers and farmers as they endure the hardships of this violent chapter in Texas history.

In 1816, Mordecai Lewis, a veteran of Andrew Jackson's Indian campaigns and battles against the British, moves his family into the Western Tennessee canebrakes. But Mordecai, a born wanderer, is not satisfied with farming, and with his sons Michael and Andrew and some other backwoodsmen, he leads a foray into Spanish-held Texas to hunt wild horses and bring the mustang herd to sell in Tennessee. Crossing the Sabine River, Mordecai's party encounters a Spanish patrol determined to repel all American invaders.

Gray Horse. The magnificent young Comanche warrior made strong by the medicine of the wolf, skilled at stealing horses and counting coup in the war raids of his people. Through his bravery and his wisdom, he would rally his beleaguered tribe against the tide of white settlers that swept over their land.

Recorded for the first time ever in the history of this 90-year-old organization, here are 10 of the funny, inspirational papers that were spoken at the annual meeting of the Texas Folklore Society. Hear members of this legendary organization "talk fancy" about Texas peddlers, funeral homes, possums, babies, grandparents, cow chips, crazy women in the rafters, dogwood hoops, windmills that "steal air," early radio DJs, and...talking fancy!

Mordecai Lewis and his son Michael lead men from Tennessee into Spanish-ruled Texas, to hunt wild horses. The trip is fatal for Mordecai, leaving Michael and his family in danger, both from the soldiers of Spain and the evil Blackwood family back home in the Tennessee hills.

Here are four of this famous author's speeches, recorded live. Known for his award-winning fiction, Elmer Kelton is highly sought after as a keynote speaker. His vast knowledge of, and passion for, the subjects he uses as backdrops for his novels is evident in these finely-crafted, humorous talks.

This begins the saga of The Lewis family, Mordecai and his sons Michael and Andrew. The leave Tennessee and head for Spanish-ruled Texas in search of wild horses. What they find will change their lives forever.

Mexico won its freedom from Spain, and now the American settlers in Texas want their independence from the government of Mexico. Revolution is in the air, and the Lewis family is caught up in the struggle which will lead to the doomed battle of the Alamo.

The story of Michael and Andrew Lewis continues. Five years after the death of their father Mordecai at the hands of Spanish soldiers in Texas, Michael seeks revenge. He, in turn, is being hunted by the Blackwood family from Tennessee, who have declared a feud with the Lewises.

In Bitter Trail, Kelton tells the story of a tough teamster named Frio Wheeler whose wagons haul cotton from Texas to Mexico.Sounds like a peaceable enterprise? The problem is that the Civil War is raging throughout the South and Wheeler's cotton is to be sold for gold--gold used to buy guns and ammunition for the Confederate army.

Gray Horse. The magnificent young Comanche warrior made strong by the medicine of the wolf, skilled at stealing horses and counting coup in the war raids of his people. Through his bravery and his wisdom, he would rally his beleaguered tribe against the tide of white settlers that swept over their land.

In the Texas backlands in 1885, 12-year-old Joey Shipman's father dies under mysterious circumstances, and the boy is forced to live with his stepmother and Blair Meacham, a hanger-on at the farm. After the death of a black farmhand and friend, and another "accident" that almost takes Joey's life, the boy runs away and joins forces with his only kin - Beau Shipman, a drunk and a jailbird. Beau, along with an outlaw, a San Antonio prostitute, and a sheepman, become Joey's unlikely partners as he is trailed by a murderous villain in a scheme to inherit the Shipman farm.

Aging cowboy and bronco-buster Wes Hendricks just wants to be left alone on his poor ranch, even when town developers offer him big money to sell it. Wes's grandson reluctantly tries to convince him to give up his home, but that was before he, too, succumbs to the ranch's - and a young cowgirl's - wild beauty.

Caprock, Texas is a sleepy cow town until oil is discovered in the 1920s. Suddenly thousands of people stream in to find their fortune. Some are honest folk like Elise and Victor Underwood, who pray for a little luck with their daily bread. But too many are two-bit swindlers. And then there’s frontier mobster Big Boy Daugherty. Sheriff Dave Buckalew faces a whole different set of circumstances as his town springs to life — in good and not-so-good ways.

Mexico won its freedom from Spain, and now the American settlers in Texas want their independence from the government of Mexico. Revolution is in the air, and the Lewis family is caught up in the struggle which will lead to the doomed battle of the Alamo.

The story of Michael and Andrew Lewis continues. Five years after the death of their father Mordecai at the hands of Spanish soldiers in Texas, Michael seeks revenge. He, in turn, is being hunted by the Blackwood family from Tennessee, who have declared a feud with the Lewises.