The Thrilling Ivan G. Shreve, Jr.

Among his many favorite films, Ivan G. Shreve, Jr. lists Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein, Duck Soup, High Noon, and Murder My Sweet. Even though he failed to mention Monty Python & the Holy Grail and The Adventures of Robin Hood, this is obviously a man of refined taste. His blog Thrilling Days of Yesteryear (now going on 6) is a constant feast of news and commentary devoted to classic films and television, Old Time Radio, comic strips and related nostalgia—in other words, the coolest stuff on earth. Among other special features, you’ll find a handy guide to Classic TV Online, including Have Gun—Will Travel, The Cisco Kid, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, The Lone Ranger and many others. Thrilling is an understatement. Welcome aboard, Ivan!

Jeff Smith, Spawn of the Spawn of the Spawn of Soapy.

OK, I’ll admit I’d never heard of Old West badman Soapy Smith. My first reaction was, Wasn’t that an old comic strip character? But no, I was thinking of Snuffy Smith. And there was once a strip called Soapy, drawn by Joe Musial, who sometimes ghosted Snuffy. But Jeff Smith’s Soapy was a real guy, a fascinating character, and Jeff’s great- grandfather to boot. Jeff’s book Alias Soapy Smith, The Life and Death of a Scoundrel is due out this month, and Jeff has done a truly incredible job of promoting it. He has an extensive Soapy website and a cool blog loaded with photos and factoids from Soapy’s life and times. All writers could learn from this. His efforts certainly worked on me. I look forward to the book. Thanks for joining us, Jeff!

Nik Morton, one-time World Authority on Webb Patent Gas Sewer Lamps, and more.

Here’s Nik wearing his game face as he edits the upcoming Express Westerns anthology, which may or may not be called Where Legends Ride 2. Nik has multiple personalities. His first books were published under the name Robert W. Nicholson. He now writes westerns as Ross Morton (most recently The $300 Man), is half of an author named Faulkner Nicholson (Wings of the Overlord coming soon), and writes mysteries (the latest is The Prague Manuscript, with The Tehran Transmission due this year) under his own name. Assuming, of course, that Nik Morton is his real name. Heck, it could be Ernest Hemingway. He’s also a screenwriter, and has illustrated some of his own book covers. Much more at his website, and at his blog, WRITEALOT. Welcome to the Almanack, Nik!

A tip of the jug to Joanne Walpole.

Davy encourages you all to knock back a dram of good Tennessee corn licker in honor of Follower Joanne Walpole. Joanne rides the Black Horse trail as Terry James. Her first BH book, Long Shadows, was published in May, and her next, Echoes of a Gunman, is coming in February. She's also the instigator of Wild Bunch Wednesday, which looks destined to become an Internet tradition. Limber up your trigger finger and click here to peruse her fine blog.

Jumpin' catfish! It's James Reasoner!

See that little cowpoke in the Wyatt Earp vest on the Followers roster? Yep, that's James Reasoner. Davy is in awe of this guy. And why not? James is one of the true Fictioneers of the modern age. He’s written so many books, under so many names, that if I started listing them now I’d still be typing next week. In any given year, he writes more books than most humans even read. There's a list on his web site to prove it. I’m particularly fond of his 10-volume Civil War saga. Start with Manassas and you’ll see why. Somehow he also finds time to blog, at Rough Edges. His latest books under his own name, as far as I know, are Dust Devils (a mystery) and Death Head Crossing (a western). His latest under other names, are (I think) Longarm and the Valley of Skulls and The Trailsman 325: Seminole Showdown. Of course, he probably has a couple more coming out next week. Plus, as this unretouched photo illustrates, he’s a snappy dresser. I'm with Davy. I’m in awe of this guy, too.

Davy welcomes Laurie Powers.

Davy loves pulp magazines. The rough feel and sharp scent of the paper reminds him of life in the backwoods, and the no-holds-barred storytelling follows the tradition of his own tall tales. So he gets a special kick out of Laurie’s Wild West, a blog just packed with pulpy wonder. And when he learned that Laurie Powers had joined his merry band of Followers he let out a whoop that startled the neighbors for miles around. I’d planned to review the book she co-wrote/edited with/about her grandfather sooner or later, so I might as well do it right now.

Welcome Renaissance Cowpoke Gary Dobbs

Davy's newest Follower is an actor, mystery writer, western novelist and author of one of the best (and busiest) blogs on the 'net. How he finds time to do all this is beyond me. Maybe, like the amazing Bill Crider, he just never sleeps. Do yourself a favor and check out his blog, The Tainted Archive. You won't be sorry. Gary's Black Horse Western novel, The Tarnished Star by Jack Martin, is now available through Amazon.