Patrick Dearen's Blog - Posts Tagged "tcu-press"
Elmer Kelton Award for "To Hell or the Pecos"
I was fortunate enough April 5, 2014 to receive the inaugural Elmer Kelton Award for my western novel To Hell or the Pecos. Sponsored by West Texas Historical Association, the award recognizes the best work of fiction set in West Texas and published in 2012-2013. The award previously was known as the R.C. Crane Award.
On the way home from Elmer Kelton's funeral in August 2009, I asked myself how I could best honor this special man who was voted the all-time best western novelist by Western Writers of America. I decided to write a novel set in the region he and I both loved and to dedicate it to him.
To Hell or the Pecos is that novel, so I was particularly honored that it was chosen for the first Kelton Award.
Published by TCU Press, To Hell or the Pecos was also a 2013 finalist for the Will Rogers Medallion Award for best western novel.
Patrick Dearen
On the way home from Elmer Kelton's funeral in August 2009, I asked myself how I could best honor this special man who was voted the all-time best western novelist by Western Writers of America. I decided to write a novel set in the region he and I both loved and to dedicate it to him.
To Hell or the Pecos is that novel, so I was particularly honored that it was chosen for the first Kelton Award.
Published by TCU Press, To Hell or the Pecos was also a 2013 finalist for the Will Rogers Medallion Award for best western novel.
Patrick Dearen
"Amazing Stories" interview
"Amazing Stories," the venerable pulp magazine in which stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs and Leigh Brackett first saw print, has resumed as an online publication. I'm pleased to report that a recent issue featured an interview with me about my writing.
I discuss not only my new sci-fi Starflight Series, but "The Big Drift," my historical novel that is forthcoming from Texas Christian University Press. I also delve into my writing methods.
The full interview is available at http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2014/02/...
I discuss not only my new sci-fi Starflight Series, but "The Big Drift," my historical novel that is forthcoming from Texas Christian University Press. I also delve into my writing methods.
The full interview is available at http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2014/02/...
To Hell or the Pecos, large print reissue
I'm pleased to announce that my historical novel "To Hell or the Pecos" has just been reissued in large print.
The publisher, Center Point Large Print of Maine, did a superb job with this hardcover edition, which has already made its way into domestic and foreign libraries. For a writer, there's nothing like expanding your readership to other continents.
"To Hell or the Pecos" won the 2014 Elmer Kelton Award from West Texas Historical Association, and was a 2013 finalist for the Will Rogers Medallion Award. Here's the video trailer: http://patrickdearen.com/ToHellortheP...
My thanks to TCU Press for negotiating this deal. The new large print edition is available at:
Center Point (use "title search"): http://www.centerpointlargeprint.com/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-he...
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hell-Pecos-Patr...
The publisher, Center Point Large Print of Maine, did a superb job with this hardcover edition, which has already made its way into domestic and foreign libraries. For a writer, there's nothing like expanding your readership to other continents.
"To Hell or the Pecos" won the 2014 Elmer Kelton Award from West Texas Historical Association, and was a 2013 finalist for the Will Rogers Medallion Award. Here's the video trailer: http://patrickdearen.com/ToHellortheP...
My thanks to TCU Press for negotiating this deal. The new large print edition is available at:
Center Point (use "title search"): http://www.centerpointlargeprint.com/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-he...
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hell-Pecos-Patr...
New in Ebook
My novel "When Cowboys Die," the story of a cowhand born 100 years too late, has just been reissued by TCU Press as an ebook.
A Spur Award finalist for Best Western Novel of 1994, presented by Western Writers of America (WWA), "When Cowboys Die" had been out of print for 20 years. It's now available in all major ebook formats.
The novel received stellar reviews, with WWA's Roundup Magazine calling it "an instant classic that deserves a place on anyone's lists of Best Western Novels."
Inspired by a West Texas manhunt in 1976, "When Cowboys Die" is the story of present-day ranch hand Charlie Lyles, who longs for an era when horses, not pickups, ruled the range. Seeking the lost Old West, he steals a horse and disappears into rugged canyon lands.
An ensuing manhunt pits the cowboy against the helicopters, radios, and assault weapons of law officers. But the lawmen are headed into territory that hasn't changed in a century--and they are chasing a 19th-century cowboy who is at home in the wilderness.
A Spur Award finalist for Best Western Novel of 1994, presented by Western Writers of America (WWA), "When Cowboys Die" had been out of print for 20 years. It's now available in all major ebook formats.
The novel received stellar reviews, with WWA's Roundup Magazine calling it "an instant classic that deserves a place on anyone's lists of Best Western Novels."
Inspired by a West Texas manhunt in 1976, "When Cowboys Die" is the story of present-day ranch hand Charlie Lyles, who longs for an era when horses, not pickups, ruled the range. Seeking the lost Old West, he steals a horse and disappears into rugged canyon lands.
An ensuing manhunt pits the cowboy against the helicopters, radios, and assault weapons of law officers. But the lawmen are headed into territory that hasn't changed in a century--and they are chasing a 19th-century cowboy who is at home in the wilderness.
Honored
It was my privilege to receive the 2017 author appreciation award from Friends of Duncanville Public Library at a November 2 banquet in Duncanville, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.
For the past 21 years, the Friends have honored a Texas author. I'm humbled to be among a group that includes the late Elmer Kelton, whom I referenced in my acceptance speech.
My thanks to the Friends for this outstanding recognition. I'm also grateful to my publisher, Dan Williams of TCU Press, who gave me a most gracious introduction that threatened to increase my hat size tenfold.
In my remarks, I discussed the importance of perseverance in life and in writing. In particular, I told of my personal odyssey in crafting my Great Depression-era novel, "Perseverance," to which I devoted 17 drafts across 32 years.
For the past 21 years, the Friends have honored a Texas author. I'm humbled to be among a group that includes the late Elmer Kelton, whom I referenced in my acceptance speech.
My thanks to the Friends for this outstanding recognition. I'm also grateful to my publisher, Dan Williams of TCU Press, who gave me a most gracious introduction that threatened to increase my hat size tenfold.
In my remarks, I discussed the importance of perseverance in life and in writing. In particular, I told of my personal odyssey in crafting my Great Depression-era novel, "Perseverance," to which I devoted 17 drafts across 32 years.
