When Bantam approached me in the 1990s about starting a comic Western series that became The Memoirs of H.H. Lomax, they had pretty much decided what they wanted the first three books on: Billy the Kid (right down my trail), the famous Tombstone gunfight (who can resist writing about Doc Holliday?) and Jesse James (gag me).
Jesse’s just not my favorite Western legend, and I resisted, then begged them to change their minds. They didn’t, so Jesse it was, and The Redemption of Jesse James became the second book in the series. Though I resisted the assignment by making Jesse a peripheral but pivotal character in the book, I turned out a novel that satisfied Bantam and the readers, becoming a Spur Finalist. Beyond that, if I had to pick a single novel as my favorite from the 60 or so I have written, it would be The Redemption of Jesse James.
It’s a coming-of-age story for my young protagonist set during the Civil War in Washington County, Arkansas. What touches me still about the book is the range of emotions the words created from belly laughs at the humor to tearful eyes at the poignancy of those trying times in Northwest Arkansas. The Redemption of Jesse James and three other of the Lomax novels are now available in a new Kindle edition of Bluster’s Last Stand from Wolfpack Publishing for only $2.99.
I set the novel and Lomax’s home in Washington County because that is where my Lewis relatives lived before moving to Texas, so I knew plenty about the area from my genealogical research. Northwest Arkansas was a troubled region during the Civil War because of the guerillas on both sides tormenting civilians. It was so bad that sometimes Union- and Confederate-sympathizing families lived together so they wouldn’t be burned out by the guerillas from either side. Add those worries to the loss of life by the insurrection, and you have a poignant time and setting for a novel.
It’s a story of a young boy growing up fast during hard times and becoming a local legend by accident, yet because of that notoriety having to leave the girl he loved for her own safety.
Here’s how I started the novel: “I never much cared for Jesse James. He was about as likable as a rabid mongrel, but sorry though he may have been, he was downright lovable compared to his momma. Now there was a cur of a woman. She was rough as a cob and twice as ugly, which is a bad thing to say about a man’s momma, even if it’s true.
“I never took to her, and she never took to me, though she did take out after me a couple times, once with a shotgun and once with a frying pan. Some said Jesse James finally ran me out of the Ozarks, but that just wasn’t true. My conscience and his momma are what sent me packing west.”
Check out the Amazon link for a Civil War tale with a smattering of ol’ Jesse, his momma and an abundance of poignancy and unrequited love during those difficult days at https://www.amazon.com/Blusters-Last-Stand-Complete-Tales-ebook/dp/B082T117PP/
