Author: Patrick Dearen
Genre: Western
Publisher: TCU Press
Date of Publication: August 2014
Synopsis:
Will Brite is a Slash Five cowboy working in the Middle Concho region of Texas in the winter of 1884 when a blizzard descends upon him—the likes of which he has never seen. Trapped under his horse and entangled in a barbed wire fence, Will finds an unexpected (and unwelcome) savior in the form of Zeke Boles, a former slave on the run from a bloody, guilt-filled past.
In Zeke’s dark features Will sees a reflection of the haunting memories he has been trying to escape for so long, but he reluctantly offers him shelter for the night at the Slash Five camp. Little does he know that their lives will be inexorably linked in the spring of ’85 through what will be one of the most brutal roundups of the nineteenth century.
Follow Will, Zeke, and the rest of the Slash Fives as they ride through West Texas in search of stray cattle in an unforgettable tale of love, redemption, and true grit.
Excerpt:
Will swung down off the bay and started to mount the iceglazed rocks that served as steps. It would have been so easy to push open the door and forget about this black stranger, so easy to run from the memories and pretend that none of it had ever happened.
But he couldn’t.
He pointed to the shed. “Over yonder by Wampus,” he shouted. “Unsaddle him, turn him in the trap.”
“I holes up in the shed if it’s all right,” said Zeke.
“Yeah.”
Will turned to the door, the guilt building. Whirling, he caught the black man’s arm just as he started to ride away. “You come . . .” Will hesitated, and then forced out the words. “You get done, come on in.”
Not waiting for a response, he reached for the door knob. He had made the offer, and that was all it took to assuage his conscience. Still, Will hoped he never saw him again.
Review:
Patrick Dearen's novels sweep the reader away on adventures as gritty and haunting as the West Texas wind. His newest work, The Big Drift, is no exception. With characters as unyielding as granite and as flawed as a busted four-wire fence, Dearen paints a word picture so compelling as to draw his readers into a maelstrom of dire situations and emotions that linger long after the book has been put away. Bravo!
Buy Links:
Print: TCU Press / Amazon / Barnes & Noble
ebooks: Kindle / Nook
The author of twenty-one books, Patrick Dearen was born in 1951 and grew up in West Texas. He earned a bachelor of journalism from The University of Texas at Austin and received nine national and state awards as a reporter for two West Texas daily newspapers. His twelve novels include To Hell or the Pecos, inspired by actual events on the Butterfield and Goodnight-Loving trails, and Perseverance, set along the rails in Depression-era Texas. He has been honored by Western Writers of America, San Antonio Conservation Society, Will Rogers Medallion Awards, West Texas Historical Association, and Permian Historical Society. A backpacking enthusiast and ragtime pianist, Dearen makes his home in Midland, Texas.
Find Patrick:
Website / Facebook / Video Trailer
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