James D. Best

I write westerns partly because I want to preserve our frontier heritage. (I also write them for fun and profit.) Recently, I encou...

Book covers are a big deal. People really do judge a book by its cover. The Steve Dancy Tales always use black and white photos with o...

Rod Pennington writes that "Sunday's Oscars ceremony takes place during one of the gloomiest times for the film industry in rec...

I like westerns and I like Quentin Tarantino films, so I had high expectation when I rented The Hateful Eight . Bummer. It's not ...

My wife's photo of Machu Picchu I like traveling to places my wife and I both enjoy. She loves history and art, while I prefer to s...

I watched the final episode of Justified last night. A little tardy you might think. Not to my way of thinking. I never watch any TV ...

I write novels. Seven and counting. (Plus six nonfiction books, if I include my ghost writing assignments.) I’ve previously written only on...

The Shopkeeper has been selected by Shelfbuzz  as a featured book based on the cover design.

A book is always a great gift … especially if you take the time to match the recipient’s taste in fiction or nonfiction. Suddenly, ...

I bounce around the internet each morning after checking email. I scan a lot of articles, but rarely get by the first few paragraphs. M...

The western fast draw setup is as well known as the title sequence for Gunsmoke. Two men face off in the street, settle their stance, flex t...

Hollywood is remaking The Magnificent Seven , one of my favorite westerns. (Darn, I wished they had asked. I could have sold them mat...

Mark Bonner edits great tributes to western films. Previously, I posted his video, Westerns Forever . As an amateur film maker, I know these...

Will Rogers died at fifty-five in an airplane crash 80 years ago (August 15, 1935). A real Oklahoma cowboy who parlayed dead pan humor i...

I like  Quentin Tarantino films, especially the Kill Bill  duple. I wasn't over-enthusiastic for Django Unchained (I prefer my  ...

Henry Miller, circa 1930 As someone who admires storytelling skills, I’m not a fan of Henry Miller . He wrote stop-and-read-again sente...

Pioneer Courage Park, Omaha Nebraska Amy Athey McDonald has published an article in Yale News titled: On gunfights, U.S. colonialism, ...

Hemingway never published advice for aspiring writers, but he spoke or wrote enough about writing that Larry W. Phillips was able to ...

Scripts guidelines help storytelling. First Loony Tunes , now Pixar. The animated world has rules. Perhaps it's related to Walt Dis...

Kurt Vonnegut I'm collecting writing tips from famous author's. You can read them here . In this post, I'm adding Kurt Vo...