For those not in the know, Paul Bishop [among many
other fascinating things--another day] the author of fifteen novels and has
written numerous scripts for episodic television and feature films. A regular
speaker at writing conferences, Paul has mentored a monthly writing group for
the past five years. His latest book, Lie
Catchers, is the first in a new series featuring top LAPD interrogators Ray
Pagan and Calamity Jane Randall. The sequel, Admit Nothing, is due in 2018. 52
Weeks • 52 Western Novels will shortly be followed by 52 Weeks • 52 Western Movies and 52 Weeks • 52 Western TV Shows.
Mr.
Bishop, first things first, I want to thank you for taking the time to have
this conversation. Now, on to your most recent work, which is mighty damn
interesting, 52 Weeks 52 Western Novels:
Six-Gun Favorites and New Discoveries. Western fans such as myself are
always slobbering for good reads and here you have packaged some mighty
interesting gems. Might I ask, how many novels do you think you had to read to
winnow down to the gold?
Because there is a very subjective nature to 52 Weeks • 52 Western Novels, the
winnowing down process was not about attempting to identify or list ‘the 52
Best Westerns.’ Each of the 52 included novels had to resonate in some personal
fashion with the individual writing the entry, which led to some interesting
choices.
For my co-author/editor Scott Harris and myself it
meant limiting ourselves to sixteen novels out of a whole genre we
love—obviously the hard part. We chose our favorite books by our favorite
authors without regard to any academic or reference worthiness. These were
books we were passionate about sharing with others. The reason we chose to
include eighteen guest contributors is Scott and I were excited to learn about
what books they were enthusiastic about sharing.
This process lead to something we proudly consider
purposely special and eclectic. Readers new to the genre will get a unique
overview of the genre where the contributors are indelibly linked to their
entries—something readers will find nowhere else. Conversely, hard-core Western
fans will find new facts about their favorite books from fans just like them.
Hopefully, both greenhorn fans and weathered page wranglers will be intrigued
to branch out and try authors new to them or those they may have overlooked.
I
always like things spoiler-free and I don’t want to give away what you’ve
worked hard to do by listing titles included in the book, but I will say, there
are a few you would expect as they are rightfully called classics, but there
are more than enough thoughtful or little-known surprises to warrant an
immediate purchase in my eyes. Now, I don’t wanna to give anything away, but
can you name at least three titles that you think readers might be surprised to
find on the list?
The
Cowboy and the Cossack by Claire Huffaker is possibly the best
Western we could recommend without hesitation. I’ve never know a Western fan
well-read in the genre who doesn’t consider it one of the best, if not best,
Western they have ever read. It’s a terrific story worthy of much wider
attention.
Another praiseworthy gem would be H. A. DeRosso’s .44, a Western noir as dark and
desperate as any you will find. Also, Henry
Goes Arizona by W. C. Tuttle is a great illustration of the humorous
Western—a hard trick to pull off in any genre while still providing a solid
story.
Allow
me to say the design of the book is gorgeous, not only is the information pure
gold it is a pleasure to browse. Also, the reviews of the novels themselves are
exceptional. Often one reads lists of novels simply to have the list, but here,
you write as if you are presenting a case for why you must read this book. With
all that said, this is clearly a labor of love. Were there other Western lists
or list-makers that inspired you?
Scott was actually the inspiration. He believes doing
something positive toward your personal goals every week for a year will have
astounding results. Followed this philosophy, Scott set off on a quest to read
a novel a week for a year and write down his thoughts about each of them. When
he showed me the end product, I immediately thought of doing a series of 52 Weeks • 52 (Whatever) books. Since we
are both huge fans of the Western genre, we decided to create a 52 project featuring Western novels.
All
right, I heartily recommend all Western fiction fans to pick up this useful
book. What makes the cut is always interesting, but now, let’s get into some
that didn’t make it. Can you off-the-top of your head think of a few handfuls
of novels that just missed making the top 52? And perhaps let us know why they
just missed the mark.
There were novels that didn’t miss the mark as much as
they couldn’t scramble on to the crowded bus (so to speak). Once we had
compiled 52 essays, we quickly realize it would be easy to compile another 52
novels equally worthy of inclusion. Immediately beginning work on 52 Weeks • 52 More Western Novels
was a no brainer.
Did
you have a few authors that you wanted to include more titles from but you
thought “Hell, I can’t list everything by this guy”?
There were so many: Louis L’Amour, Lewis B. Patten,
Frank O’Rourke, Ben Hass (aka John Benteen), and Luke Short, to name a few.
Here’s
one I’m mighty curious about, is there a book or books that are commonly regard
as classics that you didn’t include as they just leave you cold? Leave you
scratching your head asking “What’s the deal? I just don’t get the regard.”
Because of its acknowledged presence in the beginning
of the genre, we actually included one I ‘don’t get’—Riders of the Purple Sage. Zane Grey is a revered as a Western
author, but I’ve never been able to slog through Purple Sage, which has kept me from trying anything else he wrote.
However, contributor Greg Goode was of a different opinion and wrote a great
essay on the book and Grey’s role in romanticizing the west. Since our
collection was about personal connections to the books, it was included.
Switching
gears, you just landed a contract to resurrect John Benteen’s/Ben Haas’s Fargo
series. First, congratulations to you, and to me as well as I love the
character and am looking forward to seeing his return. Beyond Fargo, are there
other Benteen creations that you love?
If the new Fargo books find an audience, I’d love to
get a crack at his Sundance character. I’m also partial to his Rancho Bravo
series, which he wrote under the name Thorne Douglas.
The
success of 52 Western Novels has
spawned an upcoming series of books from you, including 52 Western Movies, 52 Western
TV Shows, and 52 Spaghetti Westerns.
This is great news to Western fans everywhere. Might I ask for a teensy preview
of each? That is do you have one or two examples of Western movies, TV shows,
and Spaghetti Westerns you are fairly certain will make your cut, but readers
might be surprised to hear mentioned?
From my own entries in 52 Western Movies there are some expected choices, such as The Magnificent Seven and The Professionals. Unexpected choices
might include two films starring Audie Murphy, 40 Guns To Apache Pass and Posse
From Hell. As to 52 Western TV Shows,
I’ll be covering such expected entries as Wanted:
Dead Or Alive and Have Gun Will
Travel, but will also bring in little know series such as Bearcats, The Outcasts, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (a steampunk western
to rival The Wild Wild West), and Legend (a little known series featuring
Richard Dean Anderson of MacGyver and
Stargate fame).
Beyond
what’s been mentioned, anything else in the pipeline from the mind of Paul
Bishop?
There always seems to be something percolating at Chez
Bishop. Admit Nothing (the sequel to Lie Catchers) is in progress, as is my
first Fargo novel (tentatively titled Viva,
Fargo!). The essays for the upcoming 52
books are piling up, and I’m continuing to edit manuscripts from my backlist,
which are currently being reprinted.
I
want to thank you again for your time and consideration.
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