With Tongue Firmly Planted In Cheek

My All New – Tongue In Cheek – western trendy novel.

Looking at new trends in what is selling in the world of fiction, I believe a western could be a top seller again. A few things may need to be added to entice readers, a couple of zombies, a sexy female vampire, and someone famous from the era, like Billy the Kid or Buffalo Bill, maybe Wild Bill Hickok.

The story line needs to concentrate on romance as western romance sells well in today’s market. To be a top seller it might be best to make it an Amish romance.

Yep, I have it, a sure fire best seller, a steampunk, Amish, romantic western, complete with zombies, vampires and Billy the Kid. This has BEST SELLER, written all over it!

My working title – “The Kid, The Lady and the Bite Marks”

----Opening paragraph----

When Billy woke up he felt something he had never felt before, he was in love, and his neck hurt real bad. Then he saw her, dressed in a long, flour sack, dress and a bonnet, the undead, he had never before believed in zombies, but now he did - and it was love at first site.

Now I have work to do, write the book, open a new bank account, hire a financial consultant, and see who wants the movie rights. Believe I will shoot for around 75,000 words and, as you can see from above, I already have 57. Not that much left.

 My mind may be wandering a bit today, think I will head out to the garden and see if I can find something to water.

Gratuitous Photo from last evening, for no real reason, but it is a pretty cool sunset.

 

Left Handed Poems-Billy The Kid

Philip Michael Ondaatje is a Canadian novelist and poet born in Sri Lanka, whose novel, “The English Patient,” was made into an Academy Award winning movie, may not be well known to readers of westerns. May not be known at all to most of us who spend our time in the old west, but he does have one fun and readable and very different western work.

In 1970 he published his collection of prose and poetry,”The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-handed Poems.” After reading a study diet of westerns and modern mysteries this is a refreshing read.

Short enough, at just over 100 pages, to be read in a few short hours, this book is well worth it. At first look it might seem a bit disjointed, and it does jump around some, from poetry, to prose then photos, but what fun. Ondaatje has a wonderful command of the language, and for this ol’ western boy, it is downright pretty.

The book follows the adventures or misadventures of Billy the Kid and the rather shady characters he hangs out with, friends, lawmen, women, cohorts in crime and others. His has the ability to paint some unbelievable pictures with his words, making me reread several pages.

This one is fun-the guy can really write.