Book Title: Trials and Trails by Jim Halverson
Category: Adult Fiction, 276 pages
Genre: Western, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Gail Force Publishing
Release date: January 2019

Synopsis

With a past of slavery and compliance, LeRoy has learned to pick his battles carefully. Johnny B, a quick-tempered Sioux, is still learning to control his anger. When dangerous circumstances bond them together, the pair learn to navigate Reconstruction Era America and all its prejudices. They save an innocent man from hanging, reunite two old friends, assist in an honorable death for an elder Indian, and discover their worth as they steadily assimilate self-respect into their lives.

From Jim Halverson’s debut novel comes a tale of adventure, purpose, and the pursuit of self-actualization. Cowboys and psychology ride hand in hand, traveling a journey from living life on the edge to finding a place of belonging, joy, vulnerability, and distinction. Through trials along their trails, LeRoy and Johnny B transform people they meet, brand the world a better place, and reap the benefits.

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Guest Post

Why I Ignored A Reviewer’s Complaint

One recent review was critical of a lack of ‘language that sings.’ How do you feel about that?

I think it was a fair review. The book may have been improved with more prose that sings to the reader. I intentionally wrote the book using ‘kitchen table talk.’ I tried to be true to the times and the characters. John and Lee, although educated better than most cowboys, were still cowboys, worked around cowboys, and lived practical lives in unsettled territories. I wanted the reader to join the characters in their journey. I feared that if I described John, Lee, and Alice helping deliver a calf in the mud, or any other similar scene, in practical language followed by poetic singing language the reader would be taken out of the reality of present time.

In another scene, for example, I wrote: After breakfast, Leroy and Johnny B went to the livery to trim their horses’ feet. The work freed their minds while they gave their horses the attention they deserved. When they had the hooves trimmed the blacksmith walked in. … The blacksmith looked out onto the street and announced that it looked like they were going to have a trial soon.

Rather than that straight forward language, the reader could have been been jarred into the next world if I had written: Johnny B thought about some of his favorite things as he ran his rough fingers down the smooth silken leg of his most prized possession. His horse stood patiently expecting the caress he knew was coming. The horse valued every interaction with John and would hold his foot up for John as long as necessary for the loving attention. … My concern: The reader would disappear into oblivion thinking about the natural beauty of horses, or the last Kentucky Derby race, or wishing he had a horse. During the time the reader would lose away from the story, the fact that the judge just rode into town would be lost.

About the Author

Jim Halverson grew up in the rural, gold-mining town of Mokelumne Hill, CA and received his MBA from Golden Gate University. He spent part of his life on a ranch and is an avid student of psychology. He recognizes the struggles of all men and women seeking equality and respect. Jim and his wife, Gail, spend their time traveling from their small farm in Forestville, CA.

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Giveaway

Prizes: Win a copy of Trials and Trails by Jim Halverson. One winner will also get a $25 Amazon GC (7 winners total / open to USA and Canada)

(ends April 5, 2019)

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