Cornelius Goes West

by Charlie Steel

SHORT - BUT AN EXCITING YOUNG ADULT WESTERN NOVELETTE---GREAT FOR ALL Cornelius Kogelschitz lives in the slums of New York City. All his young life he has lived and worked in the dirty, smoke-filled part of the city, slaving long hours for meager wages in one of the many factories. His parents die of typhus and Corny moves in with his uncle, aunt, and eleven cousins. One Sunday afternoon, while on the roof capturing birds for the stew pot, he overhears an argument. His aunt complains about the added expense of caring for the boy. Deciding not to take food from his cousins, Corny bundles up his few possessions and leaves the tenement apartment and the only world he knows. Near the train station he jumps onto a moving freight train heading west. Now on his own, fourteen-year old-Cornelius rides the rails and crosses the Mississippi River into an unknown future. It includes adventure, intrigue, and a young romance. SHORT---BUT A GREAT READ! Word Count 14,000

78 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 2, 2013

About the author

Biography

Charlie Steel, Tale-Weaver Extraordinaire, is a novelist and internationally published author of short stories. Steel credits the catalyst for his numerous books and hundreds of short stories to be the result of being a voracious reader, along with having worked at many varied and assorted occupations. Some of his experiences include service in the Army, labor in the oil fields, in construction, in a foundry, and as a salvage diver. Early in his life he was recruited by the US Government and spent five years behind the Iron Curtain. Steel's work has been recognized and reviewed by various publications and organizations including Publisher's Weekly, Western Fictioneers, and Western Writers of America. Steel holds five degrees including a PhD. He continues to read, research, and collect western literature. Steel lives on an isolated ranch at the base of Greenhorn Mountain, in Southern Colorado.

(www.charliesteel.net)

Reviews

[Jan Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary tale weaver indeed! Charlie Steel’s Cornelius Goes West is an enjoyable young adult western coming of age tale of a young boy and his self-discovering journey west. Steel write flawlessly capturing the era of young Cornelius as well as capturing the essence of young Cornelius himself. Steel has an amazing storytelling flair that draws you in making you feel right at home in the tale he is weaving hypnotizing his young readers with every word he writes in is this fresh young adult western tale. From start to finish Steel has you on baited breath to find out what happens next.

Cornelius Goes West is aimed perfectly for 10 - 18 age bracket. I will tell you this, though, this middle age adult was even captured in Steel’s power of storytelling. His writing and storytelling are absolute magic. I gasped at the shocking climax of the story. Sadly though Steel leaves you wanting more. Well sad for the reader ie me I so wanted to read more! This is good for Steel though he lived up to his name once again as an Extraordinary Tale Weaver indeed.