DILLY
Pub. Date: December 16, 2020
2021 Spur Award, Western Writers of America, Best Juvenile Fiction.
2021 High Plains Book Award Finalist, Young Adult Fiction.
Abused orphan boy, Orville “Dilly” Dillard Jr., travels west from Ohio to Wyoming and ends up at the Hatterson Cattle Ranch. He makes friends—as well as a few enemies—and dares to wonder if he’s found a home after all. He also finds himself smack in the middle of the infamous and all-too-real Sheep Wars, in which dozens of sheepherders are murdered and few of the attacking cattlemen are ever held accountable. Whichever side Dilly chooses will set the course for the rest of his days. Either way, he has a brutal fight on his hands.
Five Star Publishing, 213 pages, December 2020
Available from: Amazon
Critical Acclaim for Matthew P. Mayo’s DILLY
“There is enough action and accuracy of history to engage reluctant middle and high school readers.”
“Matthew Mayo brings heart and soul to a painful, little known chapter in American West history.”
“Mayo, an old hand at writing, has penned a gripping story about conflict fought over grazing rights, namely the historical sheep and cattle wars…. What unfolds will keep you reading.”
“… both an exciting western and an inspiring young-adult novel, as Dilly learns some hard lessons about friendship, loyalty and the character traits that separate good men from bad.”