BLUSTER'S LAST STAND The Memoirs of H.H. Lomax, #4 by PRESTON LEWIS, Lone Star Book Blog Tour
BLUSTER'S LAST STAND
The Memoirs of H.H. Lomax, #4
by
PRESTON LEWIS
Genre: Historical Western Fiction / Humor
Date of Publication: November 15, 2017
Publisher: Wild Horse Press
Scroll down for the giveaway!
Events on the Little Bighorn might have turned out better for George Armstrong Custer had
he listened to H.H. Lomax rather than trying to kill him. To save his own skin—and scalp!—
Lomax must outwit Custer and his troopers as well as face hundreds of Sioux and Cheyenne
warriors swarming Last Stand Hill.
At least that is how Lomax in his inimitable style tells the story in this humorous romp across
Old West history. Lomax’s latest misadventures take him from the Battle of Adobe Walls to
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. In between, he’s a bouncer in a Waco whorehouse, a
prospector in the Black Hills, a bartender in a Dakota Territory saloon and a combatant in the
worst defeat in the history of the frontier Army.
Along the way, Lomax crosses paths with Bat Masterson, Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill Hickok, General
Custer, his brother Tom Custer and the troopers of the Seventh Cavalry as well as hordes of
Comanche, Kiowa, Sioux and Cheyenne warriors, not to mention the most dangerous
adversary of all—a newspaper reporter with ambition.
Told with Lomax’s characteristic wit, Bluster’s Last Stand puts a new spin on the Little Bighorn
and its aftermath. Whether you believe him or not, you’ve got to admire Lomax’s luck and pluck
in both surviving one of the darkest days in Old West history and writing about the disaster in
the latest volume of The Memoirs of H.H. Lomax.
=================== ║===================
PRAISE FOR THE H.H. LOMAX SERIES:
“A new series by Preston Lewis features a protagonist, H.H. Lomax,who
isn’t much of a gunfighter, horseman or gambler. Instead, he is a
likeable loser who runs into old western celebrities like Billy the
Kid and the Jesse James gang, and barely escapes.” —Wall Street
Journal
“It takes a special talent to write first-person novels based on the
premise of ‘lost papers,’ but Preston Lewis is an especially fresh
and innovative writer and he knows how to do it.”
—Rocky Mountain News
Fans of the Western as a genre will delight in Lewis’ ongoing spoof
of many traditions which fiction writers from Owen Wister to Elmer
Kelton captured well enough to turn into key parts of our myths and
folklore….Lewis’s wit is at times Puckishly wry, at other times bawdy
in the manner of Chaucer. It is always engaging.
—Texas Books in Review
Several Old West historians have blessed the Lomax books as expertly
crafted fiction. —Dallas Morning News
EXCERPT from Bluster’s Last Stand
By Preston Lewis
On Crossing the Waco Suspension Bridge
Putting on my new coat, I emerged back into the cold world. I pulled my derby tight against the stiff
wind and crossed the Square, aiming toward Bridge Street. I hoped Nathan Quirt was off for the day,
but I had two nickels in my pocket, my revolver in my shoulder harness and, most threatening of all,
my unloaded cane.
Reaching the toll booth, I saw Quirt standing behind the window with a scowl on his face and larceny in
his heart. I spat. “What’s the cheapest way I can get across?” I asked, tapping the head of my cane again
st the toll booth in case Quirt had heard of my run-ins with Steer Bonner.
“You can swim,” Quirt said.
“Last time I crossed, you didn’t give me change on a quarter. Seems like that’s twenty cents or four trips
across the bridge.”
“Don’t remember that,” Quirt said.
He was lying. I knew it, he knew it and God must’ve known as well. “What’s the cheapest way to get
across?
“Read the sign.”
“I can’t read,” I lied.
“I’ll tell you once and that’s it.”
“Shoot.”
“Folks afoot cost a nickel unless you are a proven citizen of McLennan County, then the cost is half price.”
“I’m a citizen.”
“You can’t prove it by me.”
“I’ve been here going on four months.”
“You need to have lived here a year.”
“What are your other prices?”
“Why do you need to know?”
“To see if I want to live here a year.”
Quirt loosed a breath of exasperation. “Animal and rider, ten cents.”
“What if you’re riding an elephant? Is it still ten cents?”
“What the hell kind of question is that?”
“I need to know in case I decide to join the circus.”
“Loose horses, mules or jackasses, as in your case, are a nickel each. I’ll give you the jackass price.”
“What about loose elephants?”
“Loose cattle, sheep, hogs or goats are three pennies each.”
“What about camels?”
He ignored my questions and kept reciting the fare chart. “Wagons, carts, carriages and other vehicles
drawn by three or more animals are twenty cents per wheel and five cents per animal. Wagons, carts,
carriages or other vehicles drawn by two or fewer animals are ten cents per wheel and five cents per
animal.”
“Would a zebra go at the horse rate or the cattle rate since he’s not a horse?”
Quirt ignored me again. He was either stupid or had never been to a circus.
“Wood wagons are two-fifty per round trip while public carriages and ice wagons are a quarter per round
trip. Finally, editors, carriers, reporters, pastors, marshals and policemen cross at no charge when they
are on duty and Waco pastors are never charged anytime.”
“Good, day,” I said. “I’ll be passing for free as I’m a Waco pastor.”
“Got to have lived here for a year and work at an established church. If you’re a pastor, maybe you can
walk on water, save us both a lot of trouble. In fact, I think I’ll ask the board of directors if we can create
a new rate for folks like you, the son-of-a-bitch rate at a dollar a crossing.”
I stuck my hand in my pocket, pulled out a nickel and plopped down my toll in front of Nathan Quirt.
“Get moving,” he ordered.
So, I departed, wondering if there was any place around that might rent me an elephant.
Preston Lewis is the Spur Award-winning author of 30 western, juvenile and historical novels, including
Bluster’s Last Stand published by Wild Horse Press.
Bluster’s Last Stand published by Wild Horse Press.
Bluster’s Last Stand, a novel about Custer and the Battle of Little Bighorn, is the latest volume in Lewis’s
well-received Memoirs of H.H. Lomax series of comic westerns that began with The Demise of Billy the Kid.
Subsequent books in the series—The Redemption of Jesse James and Mix-Up at the O.K. Corral—were both
Spur Finalists from Western Writers of America (WWA).
well-received Memoirs of H.H. Lomax series of comic westerns that began with The Demise of Billy the Kid.
Subsequent books in the series—The Redemption of Jesse James and Mix-Up at the O.K. Corral—were both
Spur Finalists from Western Writers of America (WWA).
Lewis’s historical novel Blood of Texas on the Texas Revolution received WWA’s Spur Award for Best Western
Novel. His western caper The Fleecing of Fort Griffin in 2017 earned him his third Elmer Kelton Award from
the West Texas Historical Association (WTHA) for best creative work on West Texas.
His True West article on the Battle of Yellowhouse Canyon won a Spur Award for Best Nonfiction Article. In
addition to True West, his short works have appeared in publications as varied as Louis L’Amour Western
Magazine, Persimmon Hill, Dallas Morning News, The Roundup, Journal of the Wild West History Association
and San Angelo Standard-Times.
A native West Texan and current San Angelo resident, Lewis holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from
Baylor University and master’s degrees from Ohio State in journalism and Angelo State in history. He is a past
president of WWA and WTHA. Lewis is a longstanding member of the Authors Guild and an associate member
of the Dramatists Guild of America.
-------------------------------------
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
1st Prize: Full 4 Book Set in the Lomax Series
2nd Prize: Bluster's Last Stand + The Fleecing of Fort Griffin
3rd Prize: Bluster's Last Stand
*all copies signed*
December 13-December 22, 2017
(U.S. Only)
Lone Star Book Blog Tours
General Links Tour Schedule
Bluster’s Last Stand
By Preston Lewis
December 13-December 22, 2017
(updated 12/11/17)
12/13/17
|
Excerpt 1
| |
12/14/17
|
Author Interview
| |
12/15/17
|
Review
| |
12/16/17
|
Character Spotlight
| |
12/17/17
|
Review
| |
12/18/17
|
Scrapbook Page
| |
12/19/17
|
Review
| |
12/20/17
|
Excerpt 2
| |
12/21/17
|
Author Interview
| |
12/22/17
|
Review
|
blog tour services provided by
Comments