The Magnificent Mendozas - review

My thanks to western aficionado and fellow scribe Ray Foster for reviewing my novel The Magnificent Mendozas (2014).

Here's an excerpt:
'... Armed with a strong cast of characters the story flows with lightning speed that takes it into "unputdownable" territory.

'Ross Morton is a writer who entertains and knows his craft (check out Nik Morton's book "Write A Western In 30 Days"). There will be those who will think of a certain movie and there is a tip of the hat to it but this is not the major element as events encompass more "heroes" than the title suggests.'

Please check out the full review at Ray's blog, 'Broken Trails' here

I enjoyed writing this one as for some years I'd wanted to pay homage to that classic western movie. When I read that at the time the Mexican authorities were a little irate that their countrymen were all seemingly depicted as helpless peons, I thought about switching it around, and make the Mexicans the heroes - male and female - who help out a gringo township. Then the fun started, inventing suitable heroes. Then it seemed obvious - use seven circus performers!  Inevitably, there are changes of viewpoint when scenes shift; I was striving for a cinematic effect. And as Ray hints in his review, a number of the townspeople do heroic things too.

I must admit to being surprised that in the new movie of The Magnificent Seven, while they played with the ethnic mix, they didn't dabble with gender.


The Mendoza troupe comprises Mateo, the leader, and his wife Josefa, both expert knife-throwers; Antonio Rivera, sharpshooter; Juan Suaréz, gymnast and trapeze artist with his companion Arcadia Mendoza, who is also good with bow and arrow; José, younger brother of Mateo, a trick rider who lusts after Josefa; and Ramon Mendoza, escapologist. In order to penetrate the cordon of desperado sentries and free the townsfolk, the troupe employs many skills – tightrope walking, knife-throwing, archery, horsemanship, sharpshooting and escapology.

Spain and the Old West

For over fifty years Spain has been associated with the American Wild West. It all has to do with Almeria – a province of Andalusia – which is a place of many contrasts and definitely worth visiting. Whether you tour the capital city Almeria or the Alpujarra and Valle del Andarax, the Cabo de Gata and Nijar national parks, you’ll discover fantastic sights and views.

Reminiscent of the hanging houses of Cuenca, there are the dwellings hanging over the very lip of the barranco at Sorbas, which is a fascinating little town with steep narrow streets vying for prominence against the larger Castilian style buildings. Close by are the gypsum karst caves, a unique and unforgettable experience when visited. And Sorbas itself boasts a most informative and worthwhile visitors’ centre that resembles these caves.

Almeria

 

 

Jen in Sorbas                                          Sorbas - hanging houses

Sorbas is situated on a plateau between the valleys of Vera and Almanzora and the sub-desert strip of Tabernas.

The pueblo of Tabernas dates from Roman times, when they set up a number of inns and taverns to supply their troops. The town attained its prominence under the Moors and the castle is considered to be the most important after the Alcazaba in Almeria city.

In 1989 the desert of Tabernas was declared a Nature Reserve. It’s the only real desert in Europe, with eroded hills and a sub-arid climate. Not surprisingly, nearby is Europe’s biggest solar energy centre.

This desert landscape was home to the film industry for many years, especially in the 1960s. The arid scenery and constant sunlight made it a perfect spot. Among the many films made here are: Lawrence of Arabia, A Fistful of Dollars, Cleopatra, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Apache, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Bounty Hunter and Shalako.

 

 

 

You can still visit the actual scene props at poblado del oeste. The Tabernas desert theme parks offer different shows, of six-gun duels and shoot-outs, representing scenes from the famous Wild West films. There are three film sets to visit – and all of them have websites. They are Mini-Hollywood (www.viva-almeria.com/mini_hollywood_p95.php), Fort Bravo, Texas Hollywood (www.texashollywood.com) and Western Leone (www.westernleone.com).

The last spaghetti western was made in Spain in 1975. This coincided with the downturn in popularity of TV westerns too.

The story of western novels is similar to that in films and television. At one time many paperback publishers ran popular and prolific Wild West series, many of them actually written by Brits such as George G. Gilman and J.T. Edson. Other writers of westerns include Louis L’Amour (author of Shalako), Oliver Strange (the Sudden series), Zane Grey and Max Brand (creator of Dr. Kildare). By the 1980s their numbers declined and the likes of Corgi and Pan no longer printed western novels.

But the western wouldn’t simply ride off into the sunset, beaten by spy movies and cop shows. No, the western survived and returned in film time and again, with modern classics of the genre creating mythic and epic visions – such as, Dances With Wolves (1990), Unforgiven (1992), Tombstone (1993), Wyatt Earp (1994) and Open Range (2003), The Missing (2003), Bandidas (2006), 3:10 to Yuma (2007), Appaloosa (2008), True Grit (2010), Cowboys and Aliens (2011), Sweet Vengeance (2012), Django Unchained (2012), and The Homesman (2014). On television we had Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993-1998) and Deadwood (2004-2006), both series starring British actors, and Hell on Wheels (2011-to present).

 
In books, contrary to collective wisdom, the story isn’t so bleak, either. I can recall a strong core of fellow sailors who voraciously read any and every western they could lay their hands on. I’m sure that is the case for the other Armed Services. Where did that market and those readers go? Now, it seems rare to see a new western published in the UK.
 
Actually, that’s the way most readers see it, but in fact the independent publisher Robert Hale, who’s been around since 1936, has been bucking against that trend for twenty years with their imprint Black Horse Westerns. Primarily aimed at libraries, these attractive and colourful hardback editions maintain the action and myth of the Old West yet also recognise modern story ingredients such as psychological drama, domestic violence, betrayal, mystery, horror, romance and of course heroism.

Gone are the days when the man in the white hat shot the bad guy in the black hat. The fascinating details of the Old West are brought to life again by gifted writers such as Gillian F Taylor, Ben Bridges, Chuck Tyrell and IJ Parnham. Yes, there are indeed several women writers in Hale’s stable. Strong women characters are featured too, not least the entertaining Misfit Lil series by Chap O’Keefe. These writers come from around the world, whether that’s Australia, Scotland, the United States - or Spain.

Writing as Ross Morton – using my mother’s maiden name, Ross – my latest, sixth Black Horse Western has now been published by Robert Hale: The Magnificent Mendozas.

Purchased through Amazon UK here

Purchased through Amazon here

Purchased post-free worldwide from the book depository here

If you’re interested in the Old West – whether as a line dancer, film buff, or perhaps as a reader who thought they were not publishing westerns any more – then try a few Black Horse Westerns and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. You can also order them on Robert Hale’s website, many with discounts: www.halebooks.com There are at least 230 from which to choose. Spoilt for choice, in fact. [There have sprung up in recent years a good number of new independent publishers of westerns, mainly in e-book format, in the UK and the US; this is a healthy sign for the genre.]

For a fascinating overview of westerns in the movies, try http://www.filmsite.org/westernfilms6.html

 

 

 

Magic Seven

Of all the numbers, seven is considered the most mystic or sacred.

Pythagorean considered four and three to be lucky numbers, and of course when added together they make seven. Among the Babylonians, Egyptians and other ancient peoples there were believed to be seven sacred planets, and this was espoused by old astrologers and alchemists, each planet having its own ‘heaven’ (and there’s the phrase ‘to be in seventh heaven’).

We don’t need reminding that there are seven days in creation, seven days in the week, seven virtues, (seven deadly sins!), seven divisions of the Lord’s Prayer, seven ages in the life of man.

Ancient teaching propounded that the soul of man, or his ‘inward holy body’ is compounded of seven properties which are under the influence of the seven planets. Fire animates, earth gives the sense of feeling, water gives speech, air gives taste, mist gives sight, flowers give hearing, the south wind gives smelling; so the seven senses were perceived to be animation, feeling, speech, taste, sight, hearing and smelling. [Not sure what the other three winds gave!]

The Seven is used to identify a group of seven people, such as the Seven Champions, the Seven against Thebes, the Seven Sages of Greece, and in modern times, Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven.

 

The option rights of Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 epic film Seven Samurai were bought by producer Lou Morheim for $250 in 1958, with a view to making an Old West version of the story. Morheim took the project to Anthony Quinn, then directing Yul Brynner in The Buccaneer. Quinn agreed to take the part of Chris, the chief gunfighter, and Brynner would debut as the director. However, UA persuaded Brynner to take the lead and Quinn a supporting role, but Quinn backed out acrimoniously. Brynner hired Martin Ritt to direct, but delays with the script meant that Ritt dropped out and in his place came John Sturgess.

The first version of the screenplay presented the Seven as ageing Civil War veterans, but it was then rewritten for younger characters. Several writers worked on the film before it was ready, though it was rushed as an actors’ strike was imminent.

The film was planned to be shot entirely in Mexico. However, the Mexican government still sourly recalled the less than favourable treatment of Mexican characters in Vera Cruz in 1954. They insisted that the script be amended so that the villagers initially attempted to buy guns rather than straight away hire gunmen, so they wouldn’t appear cowardly.

The studio wasn’t taken by the film, thinking it was slow and outdated and its release in 1960 didn’t set the world alight in the States. However, when it hit Europe, the box office returns told a different story. The studio revised the poster and re-released the film in a lot more US theatres. By the mid-60s, the film was so profitable, they wanted a sequel; there were three made in total: Return of the Seven (1966), Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969), and Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972). And in the 1990s there was a TV series. Now there are rumblings that MGM will do a remake of The Magnificent Seven.

 
While you’re waiting for that, you might like to read the hardback The Magnificent Mendozas, which puts a different slant on the familiar tale.

From the book depository, post-free worldwide here

 

From Amazon UK here

 

From Amazon COM here

More tomorrow…

The Magnificent Mendozas - the book, not the film

This weekend I've been reading through Robert Hale, my publisher's final pdf for the western The Magnificent Mendozas. Using my penname Ross Morton.

Even after serious self-edit, a publisher's edit, another read-through, niggling style hiccups still wriggle their way in there. [I've pointed out this annoying axiom (p145) in my guide Write a Western in 30 Days!] Too late to correct style imperfections, alas. This final read is merely to identify any glaring errors that have slipped under the wire.

As the story for the book was inspired by the film The Magnificent Seven, it does tend to read like a movie: plenty of visuals, lots of scene shifts, movement, action and character interplay, which is as I intended.

I like the cover Robert Hale have used, too.

I'll blog more about the book when it's published at the end of this coming July.

 

The Magnificent Mendozas

Ross Morton

When the Mexican circus ships out of the gringo town of Conejos Blancos, Hart and his ruthless desperadoes are quick off the mark to take over the town, and the adjacent silver mine.

 

With the sheriff slaughtered, and many of the citizens held hostage, two local boys escape, and recruit seven Mexican circus performers to help penetrate the cordon of sentries and free the townspeople.

 

Only the ‘Magnificent Mendozas’ – a family of weapons experts, escapologists and gymnasts – stand a chance against the Hart gang, but there will be betrayal, bravery and plenty of action, on both sides of the divide before the day is through.

 

 

Other Robert Hale westerns by Ross Morton

 

Death at Bethesda Falls

Last Chance Saloon

The $300 Man

Blind Justice at Wedlock

Old Guns

 

‘I don’t read westerns’

How many times have I heard that? Too many to count. And of course along with that statement is many a publisher’s comment, ‘Westerns don’t sell well these days.’ Thankfully, besides old faithful Robert Hale, a crop of new publishers are embracing tales of the Old West.
 
Today, I’ve viewed my Public Lending Rights statement and it suggests that there are still plenty of readers out there for the western genre.

My oldest western, Death at Bethesda Falls, published in 2007, clocked up 1,400 borrowings last year. Since its publication it has been borrowed 8,709 times, apparently. True, it’s possible that the same reader has taken it out of the library more than once; though he or she has a choice of four other titles from my penname Ross Morton…

Anyway, those figures tend to tell me that the western genre is still popular. So, thank you Robert Hale and all your readers and borrowers!

 

None of the following titles follow any formula western storyline. They're about the human condition, set in the Old West.

Death at Bethesda Falls

 

Jim Thorp had killed plenty of men. They deserved to die. Thorp was a hard man, made so by a bloody Civil War. But he didn’t relish this visit to Bethesda Falls. His old sweetheart Anna worked there as a school-teacher and he was hunting her brother, Clyde, for armed robbery and other more terrible crimes. He didn’t want to hurt Anna but it looked like he would anyway.

Clyde, the foreman of the M-bar-W ranch, is due to wed Ellen, the rancher’s daughter. He’s also poisoning the old man to hasten the inheritance. Thorp’s presence in town starts the downward slide to violence, when not only is Ellen’s life in danger, but also that of Anna and Thorp himself. It is destined to end in violence and death.

Last Chance Saloon

 

The Bethesda Falls stage is robbed and Ruth Monroe, the stage depot owner, is being coerced into selling up by local tycoon, Zachary Smith. Meanwhile, Daniel McAlister returns from gold prospecting to wed Virginia, the saloon’s wheel of fortune operator. Daniel hits a winning streak but is bushwhacked, his winnings stolen.

Virginia sees this romance with Daniel as her last chance of happiness and no matter what, she’s determined to stand by her man, ducking flying bullets if need be. Daniel and Virginia side with Ruth against Smith and his hired gunslingers. Only a deadly showdown will end it, one way or another.

The $300 Man

 

What’s a life worth? $300, maybe. Half-Mexican Corbin Molina lost a hand during the Civil War but he has adapted. Now he’s on a mission to Walkerville. On the way, he prevents a train robbery and finds an old friend. Corbin always carries $300, which is significant, since that’s what he was a paid as substitute soldier for the Union.

When Corbin starts asking questions about Walkerville’s law and administration, he discovers that the Walker family, who seem to have bought and paid for loyalty and position, dominates the townspeople. Inevitably, Corbin’s questions attract plenty of trouble. And his past emerges to confront him during a tense showdown that threatens not only him but also his newfound love.

Blind Justice at Wedlock

 

Clint Brennan interrupts two men kidnapping his wife Belle and he’s shot and left for dead. When he recovers his senses, his wife has gone and he discovers he is blind. Most men would give up there and then, but not Clint. Astride his donkey, he sets out with his faithful dog Mutt on the trail of his wife’s abductors.

Belle believes her husband is dead. She’s rescued, but not by Clint. Her saviour is protective and takes her to his grand home in Wedlock where she meets the charming housekeeper, Mrs Kilbride. Maybe here, they say, she can forget her husband and start a new life…

On the trail, Clint is waylaid by robbers but soon learns to combat enemies at night, when darkness is his ally. Distracted and delayed, he’s still determined to locate his missing wife. A tale of betrayal and lies, it will all end at Wedlock, amidst flames and bullets.

Old Guns

July, 1892. Sam Ransom, 62, learns of the death of Abner, his old partner. Abner left a warning note – the Meak twins were out to get Ransom and the rest ‘because of what happened at Bur Oak Springs’. Ransom sets out to alert his old friends, Jubal, Rory and Derby.

Bur Oak Springs happened over two decades ago. The place was a ghost town even then. Ransom’s family is put in jeopardy and they can only be saved by Ransom and his friends returning to the ghost town, to confront the Meak brothers and their gang. There’s a sense of déjà vu about this; yet, there are fresh revelations too. It’s a showdown: young guns against old guns. [Cover by Tony Masero]

The Magnificent Mendozas (due in July 2014)

Southern Colorado, 1879. The gringo town of Conejos Blancos has just hosted the Mexican circus; no sooner do they move on to their next venue when Hart and over thirty desperadoes take over the town – and the adjacent silver mine! The sheriff is slaughtered and many of the citizens are held hostage.
 
In desperation, two boys escape from the locked-down town. They recruit seven Mexican circus performers, the Magnificent Mendozas: the troupe comprises Mateo, the leader, and his wife Josefa, both expert knife-throwers; José, younger brother of Mateo, a trick rider who lusts after Josefa; Antonio Rivera, sharpshooter; Juan Suaréz, gymnast and trapeze artist with his companion Arcadia Mendoza, who is also expert with bow and arrow; and Ramon Mendoza, escapologist. In order to penetrate the cordon of sentries and free the hostages, the troupe employs their many skills.
 
Not everything runs smoothly, however. Soon, it’s a battle of wits between the Mendozas, Hart and his men and the townspeople. There’s betrayal, bravery and plenty of quick-fire action… and death on both sides. [This might make a better film than a remake of The Magnificent Seven…? I can dream.]

Write a Western in 30 Days by Nik Morton

 

Bullets for a Ballot by Nik Morton (e-book from BTAP)

 

 

The Magnificent Mendozas - blurb

Due out some time next year, my sixth Black Horse Western novel, The Magnificent Mendozas. This isn't the official blurb, but it'll do for the time being:

THE MAGNIFICENT MENDOZAS

Ross Morton

Southern Colorado, 1879. The gringo town of Conejos Blancos has just hosted the Mexican circus; no sooner do they move on to their next venue than Conejos is visited by Hart and over thirty desperadoes intent on taking over the place – and the adjacent silver mine! The sheriff is slaughtered and many of the townspeople are held as hostages.
            In desperation, two boys escape from the locked-down town. They recruit seven Mexican circus performers, the Magnificent Mendozas: the troupe comprises Mateo, the leader, and his wife Josefa, both expert knife-throwers; Antonio Rivera, sharpshooter; Juan Suaréz, gymnast and trapeze artist with his companion Arcadia Mendoza, who is also good with bow and arrow; José, younger brother of Mateo, a trick rider who lusts after Josefa; and Ramon Mendoza, escapologist. In order to penetrate the cordon of sentries and free the hostages, the troupe employs their many skills.
            Not everything runs smoothly, however. Soon, it’s a battle of wits between the Mendozas, Hart and his men and the townspeople. There’s betrayal, bravery and plenty of quick-fire action… and death on both sides.