R. Lawson Gamble's Blog: R Lawson Gamble Books, page 4

Lost Oasis is Free Friday – But why Free Books?

A news reporter called it “the best book in the Tolliver Series”, and judging from its 91 reviews with a 4.5 Amazon rating since its publication in June, 2020, many readers agree. But why give it away?

When I look for a new book to read, my quandary is “what author do I trust?” The risk in selecting a book is not so much about the price as it is about the time investment I am about to make. If I select the wrong book for me, I risk ruining my evening. That is why I tend to return to the same author time and again.

There are many great authors out there, writing the kinds of books I love to read, but how do I find them? Obviously, my pool of loved authors will run out and I will once again be left in the wilderness of unknowns. Who do you trust? A friend? A columnist? A reading group? A book cover? It seems there is no good answer.

That is why I make my books free from time to time. It lessens the risk. If you don’t like what you are reading, if I don’t draw you in within a few pages, put it aside and try again. It is easier to let it go if cost you nothing.

While every author tries to describe their work for you as best they can, short synopsizes and one word categories don’t go far to assist. There’s nothing for it but to dive in. And to my mind, a free book gives me a life jacket.

So give LOST OASIS a try on Friday, March 5, and if you aren’t drawn in by the writing, the mystery, the characters, the ambiance – drop it like a hot poker. Why not? It’s free!

FREE SADDLEBAG

No, not the leather version for your horse – we mean the JOHNNY ALIAS SADDLEBAG, containing the first two Johnny ebook stories. The book set will be free from Friday, February 26 through Sunday, February 28 at amazon.com/author/rlawsongamble. This is the first time free for this book set, in anticipation of a third volume, JOHNNY AND THE COMANCHE, due later this year.

Johnny is a young gunfighter. He did not choose this path. As happened with many nonfiction gunfighters like Billy The Kid, Johnny fell into circumstances that forced him down this road. The eventual outcome for most gunfighters is death. Johnny is very fast, very accurate, very good. But there is always someone faster and better. Isn’t there?

Johnny’s friends say he is a good person. He has a mother who loves him. He wants to help people, he is attracted to pretty girls, he like dances and social events like all other young men. But he also kills. There are those who will not let him settle down, who pursue him to add tho their own reputations, who give him no choice. What can he do?

Be sure to take advantage of this FREE offer for a twosome of pure entertainment and a little TEXAS history. You won’t be disappointed.

NEW LOST OASIS AUDIO BOOK

ACX has just released LOST OASIS by R Lawson Gamble in audio format narrated by Louis B. Jack. The trial lawyer, actor, voice-over artist, singer, and audio book narrator has his own following from his previous narrations, including Willa Cather’s “One Of Ours”. His narration has added something special to LOST OASIS, already a popular Zack Tolliver, FBI mystery in its own right, with 83 reviews and 4.5 stars on Amazon since its release in June, 2020.

LOST OASIS is a complex mystery involving multiple sub plots, true life political machinations, gigantic corporations, leading edge technologies, and primitive cultural legends and mysticism, all challenging our heroes Zack Tolliver and Eagle Feather, all contained between the covers of this “can’t put it down” novel.

Mr. Jack brings the mystery to the mystery with his clipped, tension-building sentences, timely pauses, and quiet intensity. His inflection and muted understatement is just right for the dry humor exchanged between Eagle Feather and Zack along the way. His reading of the final scene, particularly difficult for a narrator due to its complexity (don’t worry, no reveal here), is especially well done.

The author has a number of free audible book promo copies of LOST OASIS to offer. You may acquire one by emailing rlawsongamble@gmail.com, so long as they last.

Another Look At Salomon Pico

It seems like ages since I last spent time on my research of the Zorro-like bandit, Salomon Pico. Back then, I wrote blogs, delivered lectures, and even took part in a documentary film on the subject for European TV. But over time, my writing consumed more hours of every day, and research and marketing for the Zack Tolliver, FBI series took the rest.

R Lawson Gamble in Arte Documentary

A few years ago, I heard from a direct descendant of Salomon who was just learning about his famous/notorious antecedent. His family had not spoken of their connection to the outlaw and Bill was ready to learn all he could. I helped a bit, but he went on with his own research and we lost touch. I occasionally come across his emails and feel a tug at my conscience for letting the matter drop.

As often happens in such situations, it takes a few generations for the family feelings about a notorious relative to change from reluctance to discuss the connection, to interest and acceptance. When this occurs, when descendants share, new facts sprout up like flowers in spring.

I have long put off writing the book I had planned about Salomon. Recently, I vowed to begin the journey. Returning to my research, I was amazed by the abundance of new details I learned in just a few, short hours. Just as an example, I found two additional spouses/partners with whom Salomon produced offspring and more details about the life and death of his first wife. And so the quest begins anew.

This project will take a long time. There are still many gaps in the life of this complex man. I will need to fit the project in among ongoing projects and promises. But this time, I intend to keep the fires burning. When COVID goes away, I will impart what I have learned in lectures. Meanwhile, I’ll share in the form of blogs such as this one from time to time.

If you have an interest in the man who inspired Johnston McCulley to write “The Curse of Capistrano”, later known as “The Mark of Zorro”, stay tuned (or if your question won’t wait, write me at rlawsongamble@gmail.com).

FREE MESTACLOCAN

Someone or something prowls the dark paths and walkways of San Francisco’s green spaces preying upon unwary innocents. None have seen it, although some have heard its chilling howl in the stillness of the early hours and hurried on to the safety and comfort of their homes. When the body is found the next morning, with its throat ripped out as from a slavering beast, no clues are to be found; no footprints, no disturbances, nothing to lead to the culprit. The police have nothing helpful to tell Zack Tolliver, FBI when he is assigned to the case. Except that it kills every nine days––and the next killing is just days away!

This thrilling story from R Lawson Gamble will be FREE on Amazon this Wednesday and Thursday, January 6th and 7th. This tense tale is guaranteed to absorb you (and perhaps steal your mind away from other matters). Enjoy!

Begin Again! The Dark Road

With a light at the end of a long tunnel for most of us, there is still a long path of darkness ahead. What, then, is more appropriate than to give away the first book in the Zack Tolliver, FBI series, THE DARK ROAD? And, with that thought, why not give away the entire series bit by bit to help us through the next few months?

So we begin with THE DARK ROAD this very weekend, free on Sunday 12/20 and Monday 12/21 for your tablet, phone, or Kindle from Amazon.com. This novelette is the prequel to the series, thus an appropriate place to start when meeting Zack, Eagle Feather, Jimmy, and the gang. Not to mention a whopping whodunnit murder mystery in Navajo Nation.

Next on our free list will be Mestoclocan. Some dark predator prowls the streets of San Francisco, as if the city doesn’t have enough problems! it kills every nine days, but leaves no clues. The city is in a panic. Can Zack and Eagle Feather find the killer before he strikes again? Free dates TBA.

The Making of a Gunfighter

Have you ever wondered how a young man became a gunfighter in the Old West? Did he set his sights on becoming a lawman, for instance, as young people today might aspire to become a policeman? Did he desire to model himself after someone he admired, a local legend, perhaps, or even a relative? Or was it a set of circumstances, fate, if you will, that set his feet upon this path?

Johnny Whittaker, the subject of my series of novels Johnny Alias, fell into the third category. When his family was threatened, his friend and mentor encouraged him to learn the gun, and he defied even his mother to practice his skills, believing it to be the only avenue to oppose the evil that threatened him. And no doubt the allure of the gun played a part.

The convergence in the frontiers in the mid to late 1800s (and even into the early 1900s––the last western gunfight is thought to have occurred in 1925) of minimal law enforcement, a society of mostly men, the availability of firearms, a surplus of emotionally maimed soldiers from the Civil War, and just plain evil individuals with the means and opportunity, gave rise to an era of gunfighters who used their guns as a tool to advance their purposes, be it law enforcement, greed, or self-respect.

Yet surprisingly few of the legendary gunfighters recounted in books or portrayed on the screen actually fought in classic western duels, face to face, Mano a Mano. Most were opportunistic killers, shooting from ambush or without warning. Some killed without thought or reason. There are stories of killers who shot their victims for snoring or to see if a bullet would bounce off a bald head. Clay Allison became a killer while under the influence of alcohol, Billy the Kid shot from ambush or killed unarmed men, John Wesley Hardin killed most of his forty-four victims seemingly without provocation.

In Johnny Alias, we see the world through Johnny’s eyes and see the rationale for the justice he dispenses with his guns as he views it. We may not agree with his actions––in act, he carries his own guilt and regret in a few cases. But society does not condemn him out of hand, either, which speaks to the general proliferation of violence in those times. Some considered it necessary.

The first two books of the Johnny Alias series, Johnny And The Kid and Johnny And The Preacher, will appear in an ebook box set next month at reduced prices for each book. We call it the Johnny Alias Saddlebag.

The Series Begins!

With the addition of JOHNNY AND THE PREACHER, my new Western series, JOHNNY ALIAS, has officially begun. Conceived to portray the development of an Old West gunfighter from his childhood to manhood and a life lived with death’s shadow always hovering over him, the series resides in Johnny’s mind and heart as he travels from town to town, tracked by those who would test their speed of draw against him.

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JOHNNY ALIAS books are written in the first person and we are part of the action. All Johnny Alias volumes are the same size, 8″ x 10″, branded with
the same cover. You’ll always know it belongs to the herd. The book is sized to fit in your pocket, your purse, or your saddlebag.

Opening the book, you’ll notice the neat rectangular paragraphs. The small but readable Garamond font (Size 10), brief paragraphs, and lack of indent contribute to this corral-like appearance. Besides a pleasant reading experience, this format helps when resuming your place after interruptions (like when the dinner gong sounds). Finally, each chapter is five pages long, so you won’t be caught between chapters when quittin’ time comes around.

This series is for escaping the moment, for venturing into another time and place, for tasting the trail dust in your mouth and hearing the whine of passing bullets. It is a window for you to become a fast draw gunfighter in the historical reality of the Old West.

Things To Come

With a feeling of freshness and newness swirling about the country, we feel a compunction to look forward to new future possibilities. In Lost Oasis, we meet an assassin of power and cunning who challenges Zack and Eagle Feather to the utmost. Now what?

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Could it be the novel is a tipping point for the duo, a path leading to challenges heretofore unexplored? From the unexpected ending of Lost Oasis, the author is unraveling the thread of what comes next, following Zack’s lead into his next adventure.

Will he pursue or resist? Will he adhere to the plodding yet efficient restrictions of his official capacity within the agency or will he, as those progressives within his circle of friends suggest, utilize the autonomy inherent to the unusual responsibilities of his department to carve his own path in the name of justice?

We can only wait and see. But not long.

THE DARK ROAD FREE

Enjoy a dark weekend (in a literary sense – we hope yours is bright, of course!) reading THE DARK ROAD for FREE on your tablet. This prequel volume to the Zack Tolliver, FBI series will be free Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, November 6, 7, and 8.

In this volume, Zack, newly graduated from the Academy, is assigned to work with the Navajo Nation. We meet him standing on the tarmac of the Tuba City Airport in blazing heat surrounded by a landscape he never knew could exist beyond footage from Lawrence of Arabia. The man he is waiting for, who will one day become his best friend and mentor, will appear as intimidating to him as any headhunter from New Guinea.

A hundred and forty pages short, this novella is a fast and exciting introduction to the Zack Tolliver, FBI series and the mystical dark side of an ancient culture.

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