Category: Writing

Another Western Novel or Another Novel in The Vietnam War Series?

 

In recent weeks I’ve heard from several readers asking “What’s next?” And the questions come from both the readers of my Vietnam War Series and readers of my newest novel, Rawlins, No Longer Young. The problem is I lack the talent to write two novels simultaneously. There are most certainly (God willing) two coming, one in each of the genres, but I beg your patience.

I am currently working on the second Rawlins book, Rawlins, Into Montana. It’s now up to four chapters and Rawlins has arrived in Virginia City, Montana. There’s more I could tell you about the story, but don’t want to ruin it for you, especially if you haven’t read the first one in the series. Optimistically, it may be out by late summer, after which I will begin on Book #5 in The Vietnam War series.
The next Vietnam Series book is already working in the back of my mind and will be a tip of the hat to several readers/friends who are former military officers. That is the most I will say about it right now.
In the meantime, I continue providing logistical assistance as assistant general manager to the madam queen in the form of “honey-dos.” And in an effort to help me remain in some vague semblance of passible physical condition, she’s joined me to the local YMCA. I also continue to do my own yardwork (to help with the physical conditioning) and of course, there are fish that must be caught. After those chores are attended to, I commit a great deal of the remaining time to writing. Therefore you will hopefully understand my inability to produce a book a month like some other authors.
I will be announcing a new cover for Tallahatchie in a few days. Stay tuned.

Rawlins No Longer Young is now available…

Yes, this historical western novel, Rawlins No Longer Young, is now available on Amazon in three formats: the Kindle edition as well as both the paperback and hardcover editions. If you happen to be a wholesaler or bookstore, the Ingram wholesale pipeline is still about seven days from being ready for orders. For those interested in author-signed hardcovers, (yes, by yours truly), contact me via the website at Rick DeStefanis – The Word Hunter.   I will be able to provide those for a short time, on a limited basis at a flat rate of $32 dollars. Just don’t expect them overnight.

Here is the story summary: Virgil Rawlins is left without family or friends as he is swept into the maelstrom that encompasses the last years of the American Civil War. Lost in a world of brutality and inhumanity, the teenaged Rawlins matures—as did many of the Wild West’s first outlaws—with revenge and hatred as his only motivations. He heads westward before the war’s end, making his way to the town of Independence and the Oregon Trail, but along the way, he meets the remarkably beautiful Sarah McCaskey and learns that the rights and wrongs in his life cannot be defined simply as blue and gray.

When Sarah tells Rawlins of her loss to Confederate guerrilla Bloody Bill Anderson, Rawlins begins to question his own assumptions. Joining a wagon train as a hunter/scout, he heads westward into the raging Indian War of 1865. Along the way, he earns a reputation as a well-respected fighter and he must finally decide what kind of man he will be—outlaw, lawman or perhaps, neither.

Yes, as with all my protagonists, Rawlins has a woman who stands behind him, beside him and sometimes in front of him. Sarah McCaskey, like Lacey Coleridge in The Gomorrah Principle and Janie Jorgensen in Valley of The Purple Hearts, is my strong female secondary protagonist. Sorry, dear readers, I am an incurable romantic and a believer in the positive influence women have had on all men in history.

I end this blog post with one respectful request: If you like Rawlins No Longer Young, please post your review of the story on Amazon and Goodreads as soon as you read it. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy review, but the more you say about the story the better. I am posting an advertisement for the book in the November issue of True West Magazine, and it will be helpful if potential new readers see your reviews.

I would also like to receive your comments directly. Send them to me.

Please enjoy these other articles

Rawlins: Historical Fiction and Western Book

Road Trip: Jackson Hole and Rawlins Research

Research for the Next Rawlins Novel

Let me explain: With the first Rawlins novel now only days from being published (I will announce it soon with a special blog post.), it is time to begin research for the next book. I will begin writing “Rawlins, Into Montana” sometime this winter. Heaven only knows when I will finish it, but the next couple of my blog posts will relate primarily to the trip my wife and I took out to Wyoming and Montana the last week of September. Although the research was important, we spent most of our time taking photos and traveling through some of the most beautiful country in the world–the Wyoming and Montana Rocky Mountains. After flying into Jackson Hole, we rented a 4-Runner and began our trip in the Grand Teton National Park.

Besides the grand vistas, wildlife is one of the primary attractions for both the Teton and Yellowstone Parks, and we saw more than our share, including a rare sighting of wolves in the Teton Park. The only downside was I didn’t have my camera ready when the wolves appeared, and they disappeared in a flash. We did get photos of practically everything else we saw and will show some of those pictures here in the next few blog posts.

As you view the photos, especially those of the larger animals you may think me foolhardy because they seem to be taken from very close, but not to worry. I use a telephoto lens. These are wild animals and have no doubt, Teton and Yellowstone are not petting zoos.

As a writer, I try to imagine how this land and its wildlife must have appeared to Rawlins and his little family as they traveled through these mountain valleys over a hundred and fifty years ago. It’s awe-inspiring even in this day and age, especially when you see things with big teeth or long horns. Next time, if I am not announcing the publication of the first Rawlins novel, I will post more photos, including some of a grizzly on the Shoshone River.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please enjoy these other articles

Rawlings: Historical Fiction and Western Book

Bear Sighting in Desoto County