THIS JUST IN . . .

Haunted Old West

Not sure how this one slipped by my kill-crazy pack of mutant webcrawlers, but back in August HAUNTED OLD WEST got a nifty little review in COWBOYS & INDIANS magazine’s blog:

“Who doesn’t love a good ghost story? The Old West has inspired quite a few, and Matthew Mayo has collected a diverse assortment perfect for reading around the campfire after a long day’s ride. Just don’t expect to sleep too well afterward.
Among the legends chronicled in Haunted Old West is that of Big Jack Davis, a respected businessman by day and thief by night. Shot in the back while robbing a stagecoach, Davis still protects his earthly treasures as the Bandit Ghoul of Six Mile Canyon. There’s also the story of Garnet, a Montana ghost town from which, on certain nights, people have reported hearing music in the saloon and the ringing of the blacksmith’s anvil.”

Six-Guns and Slay Bells

Just in time for Halloween, and getting a jump on Christmas, HENRY’S WESTERN ROUND-UP just published a fine piece about the brand-new supernatural Western Christmas Collection, SIX-GUNS AND SLAY BELLS: A Creepy Cowboy Christmas by Western Fictioneers.

Henry Parke interviewed writers Larry D. Sweazy, Courtney Joyner, and myself about writing Westerns and about the freaky new anthology. Check it out here.

Haunted Old West

My latest book, HAUNTED OLD WEST, is scaring young and old alike, just in time for Halloween! In fact, it’s been written up in the Oklahoma Gazette‘s “Chicken-Fried News” section. Now that’s freaky:
http://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/article-16624-haunting-101.html

My most recent book in my “Grittiest Moments” series, SOURDOUGHS, CLAIM JUMPERS & DRY GULCHERS: Fifty of the Grittiest Moments in the History of Frontier Prospecting, is racking up positive reviews, and I couldn’t be happier. I hold a particular fondness for this book, perhaps because I have long held a romantic view of the old-time prospector, seeking fortune where none seems evident–not unlike writing books, come to think of it.

One recent review appears in the newest issue of TRUE WEST magazine.
Here’s a link: http://www.truewestmagazine.com/jcontent/entertainment/entertainment/book-reviews/4789-sourdoughs-claim-jumpers-a-dry-gulchers

And OUTSIDE BOZEMAN magazine just published a thoughtful and much-appreciated review:
http://www.outsidebozeman.com/lifestyle/inside-bozeman/books-music/sourdoughs-claim-jumpers-dry-gulchers

Writer James Reasoner has reviewed my latest release, via Gritty Press, WINTERS’ WAR, and found it to be “… a fine hardboiled revenge Western.”

He also says, “WINTERS’ WAR is a fine traditional Western that’s well worth reading, and I’m glad it’s available again in both e-book and trade paperback editions. If you’re a Western fan, you need to check it out.”

And I’m not about to argue with James Reasoner, a man whose work I’ve long read and admired….

Click here for the full review. And click here for your very own copy of WINTERS’ WAR!

Haunted Old West

It’s my latest book: HAUNTED OLD WEST: Phantom Cowboys, Spirit-Filled Saloons, Mystical Mine Camps, and Spectral Indians. The book is as much a collection of 28 all-too-true tales Old West ghosts, ghouls, and haunted sites—and how they got that way—as it is a travel guide for the modern ghost hunter. Two appendices: “Wanted Posters” (a detailed listing of select source materials); and “Saddle Up, Pard!” (a chapter-by-chapter listing of locations, dates, times).

As I wrote the book, I imagined folks sitting around a campfire, taking turns reading aloud from it as the fire cracks and pops. Night closes in, and too late they notice glowing eyes just beyond the ring of firelight….

All too soon the last log’s been burned, the last s’more eaten and … it’s a long walk to the tent.

From the back cover of HAUNTED OLD WEST (Globe Pequot Press; 240 pages; 28 chapters and 2 appendices: bibliography; where and how to get there):

28 howling hauntings from the raw mountain passes and wind-stripped plains of the Old West!

The Old West is filled with enough phenomenal happenings, curious mysteries, and ghastly ghosts to send chills up and down any spine. Haunted Old West is the petrifyingly perfect collection for campfire gatherings and makes an eerily ideal guide for a ghost-hunting trip to the Old West.

In these pages explore horror-filled mine shafts and outrun herds of stampeding spectral cattle. Stumble upon a supernatural saloon, investigate ghost towns teeming with residents of the afterlife, and feel phantom freight trains pass through your body. Haunted Old West provides the inside story on some of the most actively haunted spots in the great American West, including:

Ghostly Garnet: In summer, visitors frequent this best-preserved ghost town in Montana, but it is winter when Garnet truly comes alive. Raucous music can be heard within the Kelly Saloon, and the blacksmith’s ringing anvil punctuates the sounds of a busy 1880s street scene. Yes indeed, Garnet puts the “ghost” in ghost town.

Bandit Ghoul of Six Mile Canyon: Respected businessman by day, bandit gang leader by night, Big Jack Davis amasses a fortune robbing trains, stagecoaches, and bullion wagons in 1860s Nevada. Shot in the back while robbing a stagecoach, Big Jack is now a shrieking white demon, flapping wings sprouted from his wounds and driving off anyone who gets too close to his buried loot.

Haunted Old West is the petrifyingly perfect collection for any campfire gathering. Grab a copy … if you dare!

My most recent Gritty Press release, WINTERS’ WAR, continues to receive high praise. A reader posted on Amazon that she appreciates that my “women characters aren’t hysterically screaming behind their men, but strong and self reliant.” She goes on to say, “If you like a good Louis L’Amour tale, then I recommend you get ahold of one of Mr. Mayo’s stories. You won’t be disappointed.” High praise, indeed. That made my day.

(She was disappointed that a sequel isn’t yet out. All I can say is … I’m working on it, promise!)

If you haven’t yet snapped up a copy of WINTERS’ WAR, have no fear! It’s available in print and as an ebook for Kindle and Nook devices.

In related news, I’m told that very soon Gritty Press will release my first “Mason the Man Killer” novel, HOT LEAD, COLD HEART. Can’t wait!

Until then … Keep It Gritty™!

This just in!

The newly released Gritty Press edition of WINTERS’ WAR is now available in a handsome paperback version. Clocking in at 220 pages, WINTERS’ WAR is perfect for the beach, the campground, the back deck, the tree house…. Rather have an e-version? No worries! It’s available now on the Kindle and soon on the Nook!

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Wrong Town Now on Nook!

You heard right, the soon-to-be-classic WRONG TOWN (ROAMER Book 1) is taking Barnes & Noble shoppers by storm! They can’t get enough of this manly read. Don’t have a Nook? No worries, WRONG TOWN is available on the Kindle and as a handsome paperback, just right for a bit of brutal reading in between changing tires and fighting fires.