Today I have the good fortune to be visited by an author whose understanding of the western genre is much deeper than anything I have read. Please welcome, Mike Torreano:
Mike Torreano has a military background and is a student of history and the American West. He fell in love with Zane Grey’s descriptions of the Painted Desert in the fifth grade, when his teacher made her students read a book and write a report every week.
Mike recently had a short story set during the Yukon gold rush days published in an anthology, and he’s written for magazines and small newspapers. An experienced editor, he’s taught University English and Journalism. He’s a member of Colorado Springs Fiction Writers, Pikes Peak Writers, The Historical Novel Society, and Western Writers of America. He brings his readers back in time with him as he recreates western life in the late 19th century.
A Score to Settle
THE CODE:My latest western, A Score to Settle, was just released by The Wild Rose Press. The story takes place in 1870 on the Goodnight-Loving cattle trail in the New Mexico Territory. I’ve heard some people say the traditional American western is dead, and it’s true the golden age of westerns was some time back. But more recently, several big box office western movies have been released.Are they coming back? I hope so. If they are, perhaps it’s because the Old West embodies timeless values, outcomes where right triumphs over wrong. Not always, but you get the idea. The American West in the nineteenth century was a land of clear-cut rules—there were things you were supposed to do and things you weren’t. And if you did wrong, there were consequences, usually immediate, many times violent.There was a Code of the West¾simple rules for simpler times. Unwritten, but adhered to, nonetheless. The Code drew its strength from the underlying character of western men and women. Life back then was hard, but simple. Things that needed to get done got done. Whining wasn’t tolerated. Complainers were ignored. You weren’t offended, you just played the hand you were dealt. If you’re getting the idea I like that kind of culture, you’re right.The world we live in today sometimes baffles me. Everything seems to be different shades of gray. Honor and fidelity don’t seem to be in fashion. Our culture is filled with victims.While the Code of the West was unwritten, there were certain common elements that everyone—from the hard-working sodbuster, to the law-abiding citizen, and even the hardened criminal—typically abided by. Granted, there were exceptions, but generally that held true. The Code gave westerners a guide to live by that they broke at their own peril. But even today, I’d wager we still have values that are non-negotiable. After all, values don’t really change, only times, circumstances, and people do.I don’t believe the Code’s values have vanished, but sometimes it seems they’ve been driven from our national narrative entirely. Popular culture tends to dismiss old-time values, or should I say timeless values. We’re an instant gratification society focusing on the here and now, dismissive of lessons of the past. Imagine a world where you sat with your family at night talking with each other. Imagine a world where a man or woman’s word was their bond. Where handshakes took the place of long-winded contracts.In his poem, ‘Out Where The West Begins’, Arthur Chapman says,
Where there’s more of singing and less of sighing,
Where there’s more of giving and less of buying,
And folks make friends without half trying—
What inspired this particular story?
A Score to Settle is set on the Goodnight-Loving cattle trail in 1870 New Mexico Territory. I was drawn to this locale by the iconic western series, Lonesome Dove. Author Larry McMurtry used an incident in Lonesome Dove that paralleled something that actually happened on Goodnight-Loving. On an 1866 cattle drive, Oliver Loving was shot by Comanches near Fort Sumner, NMT. After he died, his partner, Charles Goodnight, carried out Loving’s last wish by wagoning him back home to Texas. To me, this is one of the Old West’s most famous legends and I decided to weave a story around it. Hence, A Score to Settle, which also features a strong romantic element throughout.
Mike Torreano’s latest western, A Score to Settle, has just been released by The Wild Rose press. Find it, and his first two western mysteries, The Reckoning, and The Renewal, using the links below.
Social Media
Facebook author page https://www.facebook.com/Mike-Torreano-Author-107581914412283/
Facebook personal https://www.facebook.com/miketorreano/
Goodreads author page https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10187716.Mike_Torreano
Bookbub page https://www.bookbub.com/profile/mike-torreano
LinkedIn page https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-torreano-0a407929/
Twitter https://twitter.com/mtorr4650
Website miketorreano.com
Buy Links
A Score to Settle
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-score-to-settle-mike-torreano/1137660779?ean=9781509232819
The Reckoning
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-reckoning-mike-torreano/1124273029?ean=9781509209293
The Renewal
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-renewal-mike-torreano/1128011214?ean=9781509220014
Email mtorr4650@comcast.net
Website https://www.miketorreano.com
I really enjoyed hearing about the Code of the West. Wishing you all the best with A Score to Settle, Mike.
ReplyDeleteThanks Barb, enjoyed being on your blog as well. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMike
I enjoyed hearing about the Code of the West and how you're love for the time period. Good luck with the book.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennifer, looking forward to being on your blog!
DeleteEspecially in this time of shifting truths and people no one can count on, it's wonderful to think about a different sort of society. Congrats to a fellow Wild Rose author! if you need a reviewer, I'd love to take a read.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice comments, Babs. I can send you an efile if you'd like to read it. Let me know at mtorr4650@comcast.net,thanks.
DeleteI really enjoyed learning a little more about this history. Goodnight-Loving what cool names. Best of luck with sales!
ReplyDeleteThanks Charlotte! By the way, the heroine in my upcoming novel, White Sands Gold, is named Charlotte, goes by Lottie. Set in 1891 New Mexico Territory. Still months away.
ReplyDelete