130th Anniversary of the death of Billy "Kid" Bonney

[James Allder]

To commemorate the death of a historical figure who is still very controversial today, I've posted an a brief passage from my book "Western Legend," wherein other historical figures of the American Wild West (Frank James, Virgil and James Earp, and Tom Horn) discuss their own first or second-hand knowledge of Billy "the Kid" Bonney.  And to make the passage come alive, I integrated a few photos and a couple YouTube videos, for general reference and entertainment.

 

Enjoy ! 

 

http://jamesallder.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/the-130th-anniversary-o...

 

[Chuck Sawyer]

 

 On the day of his death, you left a tribute...as I see it.  I think Billy, as a kid, received a raw deal from Wallace and the power group from Sanata Fe although he was knwon killer.  In my younger days, I probably would have done as he did.....a bit reckless but driven for a cause !  Thank you for the information & your book !

[James Allder]

Jeff,

 

I agree.  I don't think a lot of people in the publishing world who are old enough to remember, will ever forget the confusion of Michael Crichton's Andromeda Strain.  It was nominated for several non-fiction awards  -- and if memory serves, won a couple; which Crichton had to either turn down or give back.  He had essentially sold the book as non-fiction, without really understanding the true nature of the consequences.   

 

My story "Western Legend" is a fictional story told in the style of "false document" and there is in fact a disclaimer at the opening of the book stating that.  For accuracy, there was a great amount of research that went into the reminiscences, discussions, and general tales of the wilder days of the west, as related by the historical figures (characters) portrayed in the book.  But if you read the synopsis on my blog, I think you'll see its fairly obviously a fictional Michael Crichton-type tale.  There is no attempt, or even accidental fraud, or hoax, or anything like that.  Last thing I would want to do is confuse anyone.  This is "my" story, "I" made it up, and "I" own it.  You can actually go to amazon.com (I've provided the link below,) download the free kindle reader, and then click the "send sample now" button, which contains the first 2 and a half chapters of the book, for free.

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Legend-ebook/dp/B005AJB0FK/ref=sr_1_1...

 

I hope you enjoy my story, Jeff. 

 

My blog: http://jamesallder.wordpress.com/

[James Allder]

I hear ya.  I can easily understand your own frustration, given that I almost pulled my hair out trying to find legitimate sources for my own bibliography.  Here I was a fiction writer, simply trying to find accurate historical resources, and there was so much conflicting information, it drove me nuts !  

 

I call what I write adventure, or pulp, no matter the genre.  But rest assured, what I write could only be described as fiction -- and I make damn sure that I remind people of that as often as possible.  lol  In order to make a career out of this, you have to remain consistent, and be true to yourself.  And I despise con-artists.

Thanks for your input, I really appreciated the opportunity to address your concern.

 

Jim  

[anthony martin]

 Interesting.As an individual who has an avid interest in good ,solid history I can appreciate concerns about folks who are less than forthcoming in blurring the lines and participating in creative deceit.Many have been left with a bad taste in their mouths over the issues with Glenn Boyer's historical veracity and seemingly cavalier attributions.Historic fiction has an old, honorable pedegree however and a great deal of historic fiction is meticulously researched by people who do want to get a great many details right,so we have fictional characters in a context of the broader historic issues of a period.As a teacher of English literature and creative writing I can attest that both serve a very valuable function and I've found that most thinking folks can distinguish between a carefully researched piece of history and an historic novel that has good research placed in a carefully constructed context.When I was a child I read The Scarlet Pimpernel and it ignited a desire to find out as much as I could about the French Revolution.Jules Verne often employed recent discoveries in technology and social development as part of the matrix of his work.Historic novels just don't simply entertain,they often ignite a thirst for learning so much more about the real thing.There is ample room for both and people who cannot distinguish one from the other most likely take life in general in superficial served up portions.If a writer clearly says that his work is historically oriented fiction that doesn't make it necessarily inferior to the real McCOY;it is just a work that services a different agenda and may also contain nuggets of truly valuable historic context!

[James Allder]

You both make very good points.

 

[anthony martin]

  Jim,

     I re read your excerpt and I now plan to get your book.It reads very well and the device of several well known personages of the old west debating his legend is intriguing.Have you ever read Stephen Crane's THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE?It was written thirty years after the close of the civil war and much of the book's striking imagery obtained from a mountain of research he did and many interviews he conducted with survivors of that conflict.Historic fiction can be fine armchair diversion but sometimes becomes history in the making so to speak because it articulates just how people interpret the romance of a period.The old west rapidly became the stuff of legend and latched firmly on to the imagination even when it was still going on.

[James Allder]

That's great news, I really hope you like it.  Let me know what you think when you finish, whether you liked it or not.  I'm always interested in input from a reader.  You can just leave a note on one of my blog posts.  As for Red Badge of Courage, yes I read it in high school.  It was been a while, though, perhaps I'll go back and take another look.  Thanks for the suggestion.

[James Allder]

*has been a while

 

sorry lol you would think someone who types as much as I do would not make a typo like that.

[Angie O]

I love your explanation of "historic fiction" Anthony.  Ala ... Louis L'Amour.  I loved the fact that he researched so much of his stories and I liked the fantasy of it.  He is the reason I love history, mainly western history, as I read all of his books (several times over) as a kid.  And, yes, I can tell the difference between fact and fiction.  When I want to learn the truth about something I research it.  I am writing just such a book now.  I'm not a historian, and I'm not a professional writer.  I have a ton of short family stories and a bunch of documented facts, and it's hard to get the family to read this stuff because it is just that, a bunch of dry facts - history is not to the liking of them all!  AND it's hard for them to follow all that info and get a good "movie" view of what happened in their family.  My goal in doing it this way is to get them interested in their own history. And, yes, there is a big statement at the beginning telling them that they're reading a big, fat book of fiction.  But, I'm hoping that the documented "facts" will get them interested enough to start researching what/where/why/how/who/when their own family was connected.