Showdown at Juniper Pass

My good friend Kent Conwell has a new western hitting the stands. It's his fifth book published by Leisure Books and the third Jake Slade novel.

Here's the blurb:

When halfbreed Jake Slade and his Apache brother, Nana, ride into the High Lonesome to bury their brother, Paleto, they are sidetracked in the Sangre d' Cristo Mountains when a band of scavengers hurrah the town of Juniper Pass while waiting for a hundred thousand dollar gold shipment.
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This fast paced story is filled with action that takes an unexpected twist at the end. Showdown at Juniper Pass is available at major book stores, online and will come out on Kindle.

Kent also has another Tony Boudreaux mystery coming out with Avalon called Murder Among Friends, and just signed on the dotted line for another Avalon western, Retribution at Dead Apache Springs.

When does this guy have time to play with the grandkids? :)
Kent and I used to be in a critique group together along with novelist/travel writer Rogayle Franklin, our now-deceased friend Lela Davis and a couple other writers. We met weekly. Meeting every Thursday kept us writing. To our amazement and sometimes our frustration, Kent never quit writing. We'd critique one or two chapters for him and before we knew it, his book would be finished and on it's way to the publisher. I've never figured out his secret to writing fast but whatever it is, it works for him. I asked him once how he plotted his books. Here's what he said:

Along with a premise, I like to know where I am at the beginning and at the end. I try to follow the precept of H. Bedford-Jones, king of the pulps back in the 20’s and 30’s. “Get your hero in danger and keep him in danger.” I usually have an outline, but it is more of a device to make me think in the beginning rather than a rigid guide.

A former educator, Kent told us that even when he had cafeteria duty, he'd be writing--with one eye on his laptop and the other on the students. He may have been kidding, but I believe it! Just look at his titles:

Western titles from Avalon Books:

SHOOTOUT ON THE SABINE
LLANO RIVER VALLEY
GRAVE FOR A DEAD GUNFIGHTER
ATASCOCITA GOLD
JUNCTION FLATS DRIFTER
PROMISE TO A DEAD MAN
BOWIE'S SILVER
ANGELINA SHOWDOWN
GUNFIGHT AT FRIO CANYON
AN EYE FOR AN EYE
A HANGING IN HIDETOWN
THE GAMBLING MAN
RED RIVER CROSSING
A WAGON TRAIN FOR BRIDES
FRIDAY'S STATION
SIDETRIP TO SAND SPRINGS
THE ALAMO TRAIL
VALLEY OF GOLD
PAINTED COMANCHE TREE
THE GHOST OF THE BLUE BONE MESA
BUMPO, BILL, AND THE GIRLS
LAUGHING GIRL CREEK
JIM WELLS
GLITTER OF GOLD
TEXAS ORPHAN TRAIN
BLOOD BROTHERS
THE GOLD OF BLACK MOUNTAIN

Here are the titles in his Tony Boudreaux mystery series:

AN UNMARKED GRAVE
THE PUZZLE OF PIRI REIS
THE CRYSTAL SKULL MURDERS
DEATH IN THE FRENCH QUARTER
EXTRACURRICULAR MURDER
THE YING ON TRIAD
VICKSBURG
DEATH IN THE DISTILLERY
GALVESTON
SKELETONS OF THE ATCHAFALAYA
THE RIDDLE OF MYSTERY INN

Take a look at Avalon Books HERE. Read Kent's blog HERE.