FANCY HATCH #4: THE ODDS AGAINST SUNDOWN

And with this, the fourth book in the series, Fancy Hatch herself rode off into the sunset. 

Zachary Hawkes was Alan Riefe. 

BLOOD, SWEAT & GOLD

One of the early books in the Raider and Doc series, published by Playboy Press. 

Don’t remember too much about this one, really, since I initially read it nearly 30 years ago.  I do recall, though, that it’s pretty randy and that it came (ahem) during the heyday of the so-called “Adult Western”.

I believe the late Alan Riefe wrote this one.  He created the series for Playboy and wrote the first several books.

SLOCUM AND THE WIDOW KATE

The Widow Kate in this story is not some old, wrinkly woman as Slocum first suspects when he takes the job of escorting her, sight unseen.  She winds up having to use her wiles to “distract” him to keep secret the real purpose of Slocum’s employment. 

Someone once told me that they thought that Martin Cruz Smith, well-known author of “Gorky Park” had written this one but they couldn’t be 100% certain.

CAVENAUGH'S REVENGE

This must have been a one-shot deal for Brian O’Neill.  Never saw his name again on a book (unless he was using pseudonyms). 

THE GUNSMITH #6: LEADTOWN

Ace Charter really knew how to effectively package these books.  Robert Randisi’s nearly 30 year old series is still out there and going strong today.  Just learned that the early books are finding their way to print again. 

EASY COMPANY AND THE COW COUNTRY QUEEN

Although this lasted longer than I thought it would, this series failed to keep up with the sales of Jove’s other Adult Western offerings, LONGARM and LONE STAR, and was given an eventual “Honorable Discharge” shortly after this one.  Nice packaging on most of these books, though.

ASH TALLMAN #3: THE WAGES OF SIN

“Tom Lord” was actually Matt Braun.  I can reveal this now because this series was later re-printed under Matt’s own name from, I believe, St. Martin’s Press.  Don’t actually remember too much about this book (or the first two, either) except that they were done in the days of the “Adult Western”.

MEXICAN STANDOFF

Going for the Robert Redford look, apparently.

GUNN: DAWN OF REVENGE

This series was popular with the soldiers with whom I served in the 1^st Battalion, 15^th Infantry in Kitzingen, Germany.  I saw this book passed around several times in the barracks, but wanted a copy for my own collection, so I scooted on over to the Stars and Stripes bookstore and bought one for myself.  Good thing, too, because the GUNN books would become a favorite for me. 

Author Jory Sherman lived in my home state of Missouri, in Branson, specifically, as I would later discover.  I contacted him and we became friends.  It was Jory who got me involved in the Western Writers of America and invited me down to Branson for the 1984 convention. 

GUNN lasted 29 books before riding off into the sunset.  The first few books all had Western-type titles to them but somewhere along the line, to play up the “Adult Western” angle, Zebra Books started re-titling Jory’s novels.  SWEET TEXAS TART and TWO EASY PIECES were just some of the play-on-words titles they came up with.  Jory’s storylines and writing were deserving of better treatment, but the book people figured that sexed-up titles would help ‘em sell. 

Grab them if you find them laying around somewhere.  On the rare occasions that I see them while out and about, I snatch them up even though I have all the books already.  Don’t mind having extras.

EASY COMPANY AND THE BIBLE SALESMAN

Have no real idea who wrote these sexed-up versions of "F-Troop".  I do, however, sort of identify with the Preacher on the cover here; I loves me my bible and I loves me some "slap and tickle" as well!

LONE STAR AND THE KANSAS WOLVES

If you ask me, the guy in the water with Jessie appears to be pretty much of a wolf himself. 

FOXX!

The first of a series of books about a railroad detective named Foxx. 

Done in the days when “Adult Westerns” were pretty common, and with veteran writer Mel Marshall at the helm, I figured that this series had a better than even chance to make it.  I was wrong, though; it only lasted for 5 books. 

LONGARM IN THE SAND HILLS

Another surprising adult western cover because one does not usually see full-blown male nudity like this.  But, then, is he really completely naked if he’s wearing a hat?

This one centers around “The Bloody Benders” – Kate Bender and her family.

DIAMONDBACK

Hmm, ya think they were trying to sell this book to women readers by using a Tom Selleck doppelganger on the cover? 

The other bit of humor here is that the author got his “Pike Bishop” pseudonym from William Holden’s character in “The Wild Bunch”. 

THE GUNSMITH: QUANAH'S REVENGE

I have a special place for this one because it is the first GUNSMITH book I’d ever read. 

By the way, the real Cynthia Parker was not really what you’d call a “raving beauty”, so the cover artist was being nice here if indeed he was trying to depict Cynthia here. 

FACE DOWN IN A COFFIN

Another “Adult Western” series, one which came on the heels of Playboy Press’s “Slocum” series. 

Raider (“just ‘Raider’”) and Doc Weatherbee work for the Pinkerton Detective Agency and are sent on “Wild, Wild West” type of adventures all over the country (and once to England, as well). 

The late Alan Riefe created this series and told me once that he’d intentionally set it up to feature over-the-top, larger-than-life plot scenarios.  It’s true; the first 20 or  books in the series - in addition to having the best cover art – were outrageous comedies of sorts. 

Sometimes the shoot’em up action in the stories are put in “time out” so that either Raider or Doc can enjoy a dalliance or two with some obliging feminine company. 

The J. D. Hardin books lasted for a good, long run until it was decided to have Doc retire to make way for Raider to have his own series.  It was called, oddly enough, “Raider” and went on for 42 books; it concluded with the fitting title, “End of The Trail”. 

And just when you thought you’d seen the last of Raider (and especially Doc), they both show up in a giant LONGARM novel called “The Golden Eagle Shootout”. 

If you can find FACE DOWN IN A COFFIN, or any of the other early ones, you’ll probably enjoy them.  That is, if you don’t mind bawdy entertainment. 

DEVIL'S GAMBIT

"Zeke Masters" was actually New York writer Don Bensen.  The series spotlighted gambler "Faro Blake" and did not run much past this 30th entry.  The cover seems to be missing the words "An Adult Western"; these words were prominently display on most of the earlier books.  I suppose one could tell it was an adult Western by the fact that his hand is starting to close in on her, um, virtue. 

STING OF THE SCORPION

Probably a one-shot Western – in terms of being the only book written, NOT the amount of times a “shot” occurs in the lady’s boudoir. 

HELLTOWN

Once upon a time - in the 1980's, let's say - there was a publishing phenomenon called "The Adult Western".  What it meant, basically, was that one took the sexual act and incorporated it into the story.  2 or 3 sex scenes per book was par for the course. 

HELLTOWN is unusual because one did not normally see out and out nudity on the book covers - most of it was strategically blocked.  But here it is for what it is.

I met Dallas Todd (a pseudonym) at a writer's convention and he was kind enough to sign it (and another he did) for me.  One book is signed "With Shame", the other "With Pride".