Tag: westerns

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New, Exciting And Heading To Market This Week From Charles Ray!

May 7, 2024|Authors

A few days ago, DSP launched a new competition, and one of the first Westerns to result from that competition has already been prepared for market—“Showdown At High Noon” from Charles Ray will be the first of the new competition entries to be released onto the market for readers to enjoy.

This exciting first Western adventure of a series comes from one of the most popular authors in the Western genre, Charles Ray. Charlie is one of the most prolific and popular authors with books ranging from mountain men through to gunfighters, lawmen and every other kind of Western inbetween.

This new adventure is something he has been toying with for some time and readers should enjoy it immensely as they travel with Charlie to the “Showdown At High Noon” in the company of Boone Collins—a new Western hero readers may very well be hearing from again real soon.

What Is This One About?

When Boone Collins’ friend, Hale Orson, marshal of Plata, New Mexico, is murdered, Boone lets the Plata mayor talk him into taking Orson’s job. The new marshal, a loner who came to New Mexico from Texas after the death of his wife, only wants to be left alone and not be responsible for anyone but himself. But his sense of responsibility for a friend compels him not just to take the job, but do it the way Orson would’ve done it in his honor. His first task is to find out who the killer is, but that task is complicated by the web of relationships that exist in a small town that is overshadowed by competing interests. One is the owner of the copper mine that is the town’s economic mainstay, who the mayor thinks might be the killer. The other is a rich ranch owner whose arrogant son acts like the heir to some ancient throne. Boone finds himself caught in the middle of so many intrigues, he doesn’t know which way is up, and without the help of Thelma Battle, owner of the Two Aces Saloon, as an anchor, he fears he might drown in the sea of double dealing and back stabbing.

Boone, though, is not one to give up. He’s determined not to let outside interference or his personal demons get in the way of getting the job done.

Where Can I Get My Copy?

“Showdown At High Noon” will be released this week and will be available as a Kindle e-book and as a paperback from Amazon.

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Help Wanted: Mounting Autograph Requests Call For Expansion

April 17, 2024|Authors, DSP Articles

Autograph requests in the Western genre are becoming more popular, and Charles Ray recently shared a very pleasant request he received from a reader who had recently finished a collaboration Charles had written with Harvey Wood called “Hell’s Fury.”

More of these requests have become commonplace as more and more readers turn to Western authors for their entertainment. This has occurred to the point that DSP has considered hiring a new assistant just to deal with this ever-increasing stack of reader requests.

If there’s an indication of popularity in a genre, then autograph requests and personal correspondence with readers are that indication. Judging by the time that is now spent corresponding with readers, Westerns are working their way back into the public’s heart.

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Fan mail

Writers write to be read, especially those who write in the western genre. The one thing western writers don’t think of, because they don’t get it, is fan mail. I do get the occasional email, one or two a year, from someone who got it off my blog or my Amazon author page–half of them complaining about something–but an actual fan letter . . . well, I’d say never–until now.

A reader in North Carolina, who is reading Hell Fury, a western I co-authored with Harvey Woods, sent me a nice fan letter along with two posters he’d made of characters in the story. One poster he wanted me to autograph and send back and the other was a thank-you gift. Now, that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, and my thanks and heart go out to him.

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Charles Ray Pens New Guidebook to Help Would-Be Western Authors

Charles Ray Pens New Guidebook To Help Would-Be Western Authors

April 11, 2024|Authors, DSP Articles

After years of the asking—Charles Ray has finally done it. He has penned his first writing guide for would-be Western authors with all the hints, tips and tricks a top selling Western author can come up with to help new writers on their writing journey.

With the Western going through something of a rebirth, it seemed to be just the right time for an author to put together a guide to writing Westerns for the modern audience. The guide is certainly not definitive and doesn’t promote itself as such—it is a starting place for those who are interested in riding down a trail that will lead them in front of a growing and vibrant new audience.

With more readers tuning back into the Western genre each and every day, it was inevitable that a guide such as ““How To Write Westerns For The Modern Reader” would be released—and we are proud that the first writing guide of its kind will be released by DSP and was penned by Charles Ray, a mainstay in the top one hundred bestseller list with his popular series, including “Jacob Blade: Vigilante,” “Caleb Johnson: Mountain Man” and “Rusty Rhodes.”

“This is a book we will be giving to all of our new signings,” DSP Chief Publicist Nick Wale explained when asked about the writing guide. “‘How To Write Westerns For The Modern Reader’ should help all authors get off on the right foot and write books that will connect almost immediately with our readership.”

“How To Write Westerns For The Modern Reader” will be released next week and will be available as a Kindle e-Book from Amazon.

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The Phenomenon Of Western Hitmaker Charles Ray

December 14, 2023|Authors, DSP Articles

The year 2023 has been an exceptional one for Western hitmaker Charles Ray. His books have continued to please Western readers around the world, with many of them placing inside the top one hundred bestseller chart and putting smiles on the faces of fans of Old West fiction. His philosophy of using a “rotation” strategy to bring readers three different books each month, continuing his three most successful series, has proven to be a solid strategy and only one that an author of immense concentration, drive and charisma could pull off.

“Texas Ranger J.D. Pettit,” “Jacob Blade: Vigilante,” and “Caleb Johnson: Mountain Man” are all booming brands for Ray, with readers constantly waiting for the next book in the series. The work that Charles puts into these series make them must-read, addictive reading.

Hard work makes for a lot of the Ray success—he’s always working on that next book. Rarely a week goes by without a new Charles Ray adventure, and readers love that consistency. Often we get emails asking about the next Caleb Johnson—his most popular series—and we can always assure the reader that the next adventure is literally just around the corner.

Even with his own busy personal schedule, he manages to keep his readers entertained—and in a business where people’s personal lives often intrude into their writing lives, Charles shines as an example of separating his writing from his business life, never letting either down.

So, what is next for Charles Ray? Well, more of the same, of course. In 2024, he will continue his rotation. As long as the world keeps spinning, we will keep seeing brand new adventures from the very talented Mr. Ray. In fact, there’s one on the way right now—“Rusty Rhodes: Bounty Hunter: The Bone Wars.” You see, as this article was written, he wrote another book!