Patrick Dearen's Blog - Posts Tagged "john-c-watson"
Peacemaker Finalist
When I was 22 in 1973, I turned in a short story titled "The Assassin" to Dr. John C. Watson, the instructor in my conference course in creative writing at The University of Texas at Austin.
When we met a few days later to discuss the story, he told me, "I think you might be able to do something with this one" (i.e., be able to sell it.)
He forgot to tell me it would take 46 years.
After languishing unread in my files for almost half a century, "The Assassin" was finally published in 2019 in the Five Star anthology, "Hobnail and Other Frontier Stories."
But the 'story behind the story' doesn't end there. A few days ago, I learned that "The Assassin" is a finalist for best western short fiction in the Peacemaker Awards, a prestigious national competition sponsored by Western Fictioneers.
Dr. Watson taught at UT-Austin from 1947-1974 and was a noted short story writer and novelist. I studied under him for five semesters, ending with the fall of 1973. Fifteen years later, after I sent him copies of my novel "The Illegal Man" and my nonfiction book "Castle Gap and the Pecos Frontier, Revisited," He was kind enough to write back.
"I have the greatest admiration for you for producing such a wonderful book!" he wrote. "I always knew you had talent and would do fine things if you stayed with it."
Dr. Watson died many years ago and will never know the long road that "The Assassin" and my writing career have traveled. But every time I sit down to write, I continue to pay homage to his thoughtful guidance in those formative years as his student.
When we met a few days later to discuss the story, he told me, "I think you might be able to do something with this one" (i.e., be able to sell it.)
He forgot to tell me it would take 46 years.
After languishing unread in my files for almost half a century, "The Assassin" was finally published in 2019 in the Five Star anthology, "Hobnail and Other Frontier Stories."
But the 'story behind the story' doesn't end there. A few days ago, I learned that "The Assassin" is a finalist for best western short fiction in the Peacemaker Awards, a prestigious national competition sponsored by Western Fictioneers.
Dr. Watson taught at UT-Austin from 1947-1974 and was a noted short story writer and novelist. I studied under him for five semesters, ending with the fall of 1973. Fifteen years later, after I sent him copies of my novel "The Illegal Man" and my nonfiction book "Castle Gap and the Pecos Frontier, Revisited," He was kind enough to write back.
"I have the greatest admiration for you for producing such a wonderful book!" he wrote. "I always knew you had talent and would do fine things if you stayed with it."
Dr. Watson died many years ago and will never know the long road that "The Assassin" and my writing career have traveled. But every time I sit down to write, I continue to pay homage to his thoughtful guidance in those formative years as his student.
