My dear friend J. T. Edson (John) once invited me to participate with him in the production of a regular Western periodical. But neither of us were in the best of health at the time and the idea did not progress beyond a meeting in John’s favorite White Lion on the middle of Melton Mowbray where we did nothing more than enjoy a pub lunch together, talk western shop, and fix on a provisional title for the projected “epic”–– Head West. Alas, John’s health did not improve and he was called to the big ranchero in the sky well before his time. i
From the earliest days when I knew him he had repeated his wish that a film be made from his books, specifically with his lead character Dusty Fog to be played by Audie Murphy whom he had envisaged in the role from the beginning. Sadly the star passed away long ago so that that particular combination was doomed not to be. But I was glad to see that John did live to see his dream come partially true with not one but two movies being made from his Floating Outfit novels. I thought that the fact that they featured established stars of the caliber of Martin Sheen and Jurgen Prochnow would more than compensate for the absence of Universal’s blonde, baby-faced hero. But it didn’t appear to redress the balance as he did a fair bit of grumbling about both films. He was especially galled by Mr. Sheen’s refusal to sit in the wheelchair which was such an integral part of Old Devil Hardin’s situation and character which anyone familiar with the series will know. So, on the surface John didn’t seem at all happy about the matter––but I believe he was secretly very proud to see his fictional characters finally come alive on a Technicolor screen. Anyway I was thrilled that he should have his moment in the sun and to some extent I see myself as picking up the flag he waved first when he became an inspiration for me from the moment I saw him on BBCTV’s Tonight programmed in the 1960s.
So, I don’t think he’d mind that I have taken the liberty of using the title of our mooted magazine for this humble book of my short stories which I dedicate to his memory.
Authors are often asked about their experience with the realities of their subject matter and I readily confess to lack of experience in two areas crucial to western writing: guns and horses. Regretfully in hindsight, I managed to wangle an early discharge from national service (“regretfully” because it is a decision which I have constantly regretted to this day) and didn’t get as far as basic training so I never had a serious gun in my hands.
Years later I was tagged as THE WESTERN AUTHOR WHO DOESN’T LIKE GUNS. The way this came about is as follows. I had been invited to a publicity shindig at a western theme park called Frontier City near London. On arrival we authors were “kidnapped” for the cameras and subjected to a shootout “rescue”. I had never experienced such a deafening thing in my life even though the shots they fired were blanks. Later George G. Gilman (Terry Harknett of A Fistful of Dollars and Edge fame) and I were resting our feet on a corral fence having a chat when a staged shoot-out broke out in front of us. This time it was Terry who was unhappy with the explosive volume and suggested we excuse ourselves in the light of the ear-shattering cacophony. (I happened to mention this aversion to the sound of guns to a reporter and got stuck with the above-mentioned label for some time afterwards.) And that is as much as I have experienced “hardware” being fired.
With regard to horses I had written about riding them for years in many books yet I’d never been astride one (elephants yes, but that’s another story). To rectify this deficiency many years ago I enrolled with a local riding school for a series of lessons just to get the feel and smell if nothing else. I’d got as far as acquiring riding hat and crop when I was struck down by illness and had to postpone my attendance. Then, when the illness took on what looked like permanency, I had to cancel altogether. So I have no experience of the two main ingredients of my chosen subject area! I also have no stomach for blood which might explain why I don’t overly describe scenes of gore! None of these shortcomings seem to put off my readers, even in the U.S.
Like most fiction writers, I am asked about research and experience of things that I write about. Punters seem to think research or experience is necessary. The fact is, although real-life experience and research into an area can be helpful, far more important is imagination and if you can write about an area you don’t know about but in a believable way, you don’t need research or experience! Witness: H G Wells never had to go the moon to write about a voyage there; and would Hamlet have been a better play if Shakespeare had left his writing desk to dutifully do research in Denmark?
With regard to the material offered here an astute western fan might find some of them ringing obscure bells. If this is so, it could be because some of them have already appeared in print e.g. Western Magazine and for a spell on the one-time Head West web site; plus they embody themes and scenes that have eventually been incorporated into my novels over the years. I make no apology for the latter habit because, as I have discovered, it is a long-used practice by authors to use the short story form as a test run for ideas i.e. to see if it has enough substance in it to generate something more extensive. It was the standard working method of the great Raymond Chandler for instance and The Big Sleep (novel and subsequent film noir with Humphrey Bogart) is actually a pushing together of three quite separate short stories.
When one collects stories together “under one roof”, stories that were written separately over a span of 40 years, one can spot dreadful similarities in theme, plot and plot devices––all of which were unintended. That can’t be helped. As director Billy Wilder said, “Hindsight is always 20:20”!
On particular stories, 3.10 From Hondo pays homage two classic stories (and subsequent films) in the title. This was deliberate but similarities do not exist beyond the “hybrid” title! Autumn Gun was the trigger for a novel but the publisher didn’t like the title so it became the enigmatic Gunfall. Neither did he like the American Civil War as a background but somehow I managed to slip The Blue, the Grey and the Red in as the foundation for a novel.
Needless to say, the stories that make up this volume and first written as shorts in their own right, can be read independently of their origins and their varied eventual homes.
Finally my thanks go to fellow writers Mike Linaker and Dave Whitehead who helped me see this project to fruition.
So all there is left to say is: good luck and happy trails! Or as Dave would say: “Keep your powder dry!”
BJH