First Herd to Abilene ~ Lone Star Book Blog Tours Bonus Review & Giveaway!

FIRST HERD TO ABILENE

An H. H. Lomax Western, #5
by

PRESTON LEWIS

Genre: Historical Fiction / Western / Humor
Publisher: Wolfpack Publishing
Date of Publication: February 5, 2020

Number of Pages: 449

Scroll down for the giveaway!

HISTORICALLY SOUND AND HILARIOUSLY FUNNY! H.H. Lomax meets Wild Bill Hickok in Springfield, Missouri, and is responsible for Hickok’s legendary gunfight with Davis Tutt. Fearing Hickok will hold a grudge, Lomax escapes Springfield and agrees to promote Joseph G. McCoy’s dream of building Abilene, Kansas, into a cattle town, ultimately leading the first herd to Abilene from Texas.

Along the way, he encounters Indians, rabid skunks, flash floods, a stampede, and the animosities of some fellow cowboys trying to steal profits from the drive. Lomax is saved by the timely arrival of now U.S. Marshal Hickok, but Lomax uses counterfeit wanted posters to convince Hickok his assailants are wanted felons with rewards on their heads.

Lomax and Wild Bill go their separate ways until they run into each other a decade later in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, where Hickok vows to kill Lomax for getting him fired.

First Herd to Abilene is an entertaining mix of historical and hysterical fiction.

CLICK TO PURCHASE
Amazon    Barnes and Noble    Bookshop.org

DADDY BILL’S BONUS BOOK REVIEW: Thanks to my *connection* to Lone Star Literary Life, my dad, who is going to be eighty-six this year, was introduced to the works of Preston Lewis. He started with Bluster’s Last Stand, Lewis’s 4^th book in the H.H. Lomax series, and then gobbled-up the first three books in the series before I had a chance to try and get him signed copies from the author (perks). Lewis has put out two beefy anthologies in the last few months (Western Collection, Volumes 1 & 2), and Pop’s already read those, too.  He has a tough time holding print books anymore, so he is not happy that Rio Ruidoso is only available as a paperback. And I think he is a little jealous, too, because I have read it and he has not. But his revenge is that he read First Herd to Abilene the same week it published, which was well before we featured the book on Lone Star Book Blog Tours. Pop is a certified SUPER-FAN.

Since I have not yet had the pleasure of reading First Herd to Abilene, I thought I would ask Pop for his thoughts on the book, and below is what he said. Please enjoy DADDY BILL’S BONUS BOOK REVIEW.

= = = = 

FIRST HERD TO ABILENE is the saga of a man who was dealt a number of cow patty sandwiches in his life, but he managed to gain sustenance from them —while bringing some true-to-life (many times grim) humor to his life and experiences.

Lewis’s narrative of the cattle drive is one of the best, and probably truest, I have read, as were his depictions of what we have been led to believe were Western heroes, who in true life were far from that.  H.H. Lomax is a great and often humorous character, and his various experiences are so widespread that you wonder how his life was big enough to have them all.  Starting out with $3 and Old Abe, his Army mule (not to be confused with jackass of human or animal kind), who had the habit of kicking out anytime the name Jefferson Davis was spoken, to heading up the first cattle drive to Abilene, Kansas, and on and on (all narrated in the first person), FIRST HERD TO ABILENE is indeed great reading. 

If you enjoyed the Lomax character in the previous books, this is a somewhat stronger man than what we have seen before.  

= = = =

Dad bought his own digital copy of First Herd to Abilene and his opinions are his own (though I might share them from time to time.)

Preston Lewis is the Spur Award-winning author of thirty novels. In addition to his two Western Writers of America Spurs, he received the 2018 Will Rogers Gold Medallion for Western Humor for Bluster’s Last Stand, the fourth volume in his comic western series, The Memoirs of H. H. Lomax. Two other books in that series were Spur finalists. His comic western The Fleecing of Fort Griffin received the Elmer Kelton Award from the West Texas Historical Association for best creative work on the region.

WEBSITE ║ FACEBOOK ║ GOODREADS

║AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE║

-----------------------

GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

1ST PRIZE: 
Signed Copies of First Herd to Abilene and Bluster's Last Stand
2ND PRIZE: 
Signed Copy of First Herd to Abilene

APRIL 28-MAY 8, 2020

(US ONLY)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CLICK TO VISIT THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE

FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY,

OR GO DIRECTLY TO THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:

4/28/20	Excerpt	The Page Unbound
4/29/20	Review	Max Knight
4/30/20	Author Interview	Forgotten Winds
5/1/20	Review	The Clueless Gent
5/2/20	Scrapbook Page	All the Ups and Downs
5/3/20	Excerpt	StoreyBook Reviews
5/4/20	Review	Reading by Moonlight
5/5/20	Author Interview	Texas Book Lover
5/6/20	BONUS Post	Hall Ways Blog
5/7/20	Review	Books and Broomsticks
5/7/20	Series Spotlight	#Bookish
5/8/20	BONUS Review	Bibliotica

   blog tour services provided by

  

Rio Ruidoso ~ Lone Star Book Blog Tours Review & Giveaway!

RIO RUIDOSO

Three Rivers Trilogy, 1

by

PRESTON LEWIS

Genre: Historical Western
Publisher: Five Star Publishing
Date of Publication: February 19, 2020

Number of Pages: 299

2017 Elmer Kelton Award from the West Texas Historical Association:

Best Creative Work on West Texas

Scroll down for the giveaway!

Rio Ruidoso offers a gripping blend of history and story as two-time Spur Award-winner Preston Lewis explores the violent years before the famed Lincoln County War in New Mexico Territory. Seamlessly weaving fact with fiction, the author details the county’s corruption, racism, and violence through the eyes of protagonist Wes Bracken, newly arrived in the region to start a horse ranch with his alcoholic brother.

Bracken’s dreams for the Mirror B Ranch are threatened by his brother’s drunkenness, the corruption of economic kingpin Lawrence G. Murphy, and the murderous rampages of the racist Horrell Brothers. To bring tranquility to Lincoln County, Bracken must defeat those threats and stand his ground against the ever-changing alliances that complicate life and prosperity in multi-racial Lincoln County.

CLICK TO PURCHASE
Amazon    Barnes and Noble    Indiebound

HALL WAYS REVIEW: Rio Ruidoso is the first pure western I have ever read, and it’s my dad’s fault I hadn't read one until now. (Sorry, Dad.) He loves a good western and had shelves of them when I was growing up (now virtual shelves of them), but HIS westerns didn’t appeal to me. The graphic shoot ‘em up, hang ‘em up, and “he-ing & she-ing” Dad gushes about always solicit an eye-roll. The cowboys seem like cardboard cutouts: loners who are introspective and smarter and more cunning than the average Joe; and the women are doe-eyed, dumb, and good for only one thing. Why bother?

Then, about two years ago, I read Preston Lewis’s The Fleecing of Fort Griffin, which is a western but it’s a caper, reminiscent of The Sting, clever and laugh-out-loud funny at times, and I loved it. For Preston Lewis, I was willing to take a dive into pure western, and I will admit – I hated when the book ended, and I had to crawl out of Rio Ruidoso. Reading it was a totally immersive experience.

“The country was open and honest, not holding secrets from anyone.”

From the very start, Lewis masterfully describes the sweeping views and terrain of Lincoln County, all through the eyes of Wes Bracken. Coming from Arkansas, Wes talks of his relief at getting out of country “where the woods held the secrets and animosities of enemies,” and into country where growth more bush-like than tree “pimpled the slopes.”  Lewis’s rich descriptions coupled with his gift for penning a sentence make reading Rio Ruidoso a real pleasure.

“Thirsty weeds sprouted around it like beggars by a bank.”

By using figurative language and robust descriptions of people and place, readers are drawn into the setting and mind-set of the communities within Lincoln County. The visuals summoned by the words on the page show not only the beauty and bounty of the land, but those words also show the neglect and differences between those who have and those who have-not and the tensions between them.

“Feelings ran high, and emotions didn’t die, just kinfolks.”

Rio Ruidoso combines historical fact and fiction to remind readers of many ugly truths to the period leading up to the Lincoln County War in New Mexico Territory. The characters include John Chisum, Jesse Evans, and Lawrence Murphy – all real men involved in the war – and themes of greed, pride, racism, and revenge, which are all real motives that fueled the feuds. Lewis doesn’t shy away from any of it, and it’s uncomfortable in its honesty. The blatant racism and disregard for lives-other-than-white is embarrassing and hurts my heart and boggles my brain. I wish it were fiction, and I wish it were fully a thing that was only found in history books.

“By hard work a man could earn his dollars back, but he could never regain lost hours.”

An element that is mind boggling in a different way is the work ethic of the people. Regardless of skin color, gender, or purity of heart, everyone had to work to live. Feuds were put aside during planting season or harvest or in preparation for winter. For most, this wasn’t pansy work; the work was backbreaking and physical from dawn to dusk and later. I simply cannot fathom living that way, but thanks to Preston Lewis’s writing, I certainly can envision it. (Side note: this ARC is one of the cleanest I have ever read – another nod to the level of writing readers will enjoy. Top notch.)

While the ending resolves little, it gives readers a much-needed breather and reason to smile after the tension, intensity, and action of the story. And there is a little cameo that’s dropped in that makes me more excited than ever for the next book in the Three Rivers Trilogy. More good stuff’s coming, y’all. (But I am STILL not going to read any of my dad’s westerns.)

Thank you to Lone Star Book Blog Tours and the author for a print ARC in exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give.

Preston Lewis is the Spur Award-winning author of thirty novels. In addition to his two Western Writers of America Spurs, he received the 2018 Will Rogers Gold Medallion for Western Humor for Bluster’s Last Stand, the fourth volume in his comic western series The Memoirs of H. H. Lomax. Two other books in that series were Spur finalists. His comic western The Fleecing of Fort Griffin received the Elmer Kelton Award from the West Texas Historical Association for best creative work on the region.

WEBSITE ║ FACEBOOK ║ GOODREADS

║AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE║

-----------------------

GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

1ST PRIZE: Signed Copies of Rio Ruidoso & Bluster's Last Stand
2ND PRIZE: Signed Copies of Rio Ruidoso

FEBRUARY 18-28, 2020

(US ONLY)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:

2/18/20	Scrapbook	The Clueless Gent
2/18/20	BONUS Post	Chapter Break Book Blog
2/19/20	Review	Reading by Moonlight
2/20/20	Excerpt	Max Knight
2/21/20	Review	Hall Ways Blog
2/22/20	Author Interview	All the Ups and Downs
2/23/20	Excerpt	StoreyBook Reviews
2/24/20	Review	Texas Book-aholic
2/25/20	Author Interview	Book Fidelity
2/26/20	Review	Forgotten Winds
2/27/20	Review	Jennifer Silverwood

   blog tour services provided by