The Westerns of Robert. B. Parker

I was browsing through the shelves of my local library the other day, searching for a book that I haven't read yet when I stumbled across Appaloosa by Robert B. Parker. I read the first few pages and was hooked. I'd heard of Parker before and knew he wrote detective fiction but I'd never read any of his work. And I was totally unaware that he wrote Westerns.

Appaloosa was made into a movie a few years ago starring Ed Harris and Viggo Mortenson, but I never got the chance to see it. It's just as well though because it would have spoiled the novel for me. Needless to say, when I finished Appaloosa, I quickly read the following books in the series, Resolution and Brimstone. The fourth book is Blue Eyed Devil. I plan on reading it as soon as I can get my hands on it.

He also wrote a Western featuring Wyatt Earp titled Gunman's Rhapsody. Generally, I don't like fictionalized accounts of the lives of real historical figures, but Parker does it very well.


His writing is sharp and to the point with no wasted words. Most of his chapters are rarely more than a scene long, but each scene advances the plot and deepens characterization. If you like Westerns, you can't go wrong with Parker. I highly recommend picking up his work.

A New Story and Article at The Western Online

Today we published a new story story by Richard Prosch, "Regina's War." It's a sequel to Prosch's short, "Last Day at Red Horizon," a story that we published back in March, featuring the Peregrin, John Coburn.

We also published a new non-fiction article about a key historical figure in Western history, Charles Goodnight: Legendary Cattleman.

We try to update the site once a week, so stop by often.

New Artwork at The Western Online

We published some new Western artwork by Michael T. Pizzolato.

New Content at The Western Online

Horror writer Eric S. Brown granted an interview to The Western Online. His recently released book, How the West Went to Hell is available on amazon.com.

You can find his interview with The Western Online here: An Interview with Eric S. Brown.

Due to the sheer volume of artwork our Associate Editor Michael T. Pizzolato has contributed to the site, we've divided his art into five categories:

Action / Adventure | Animals | Portraits | Landscapes | Western Online Art

Three New Short Stories at The Western Online

We have a fresh line up of new stories for your reading pleasure. Three very good stories that I am sure you will enjoy. We also have recently published some new Western artwork, so stop by the site and check out all of our updates.

• Two for Jessup by Glenn D. Hayes
• Visiting by Rachel Lim
• A Poker Game in Wheeler's Pool Hall by Oscar Case
• Western Artwork by Michael T. Pizzolato

My Short Story Published

My short story, Vengeance is Mine, was published today at Frontier Tales Magazine. Here is the link:

Vengeance is Mine - By Matthew Pizzolato

New Story at The Western Online

We published an excellent story today, The Indecent Alcove by C. R. Joolsberg.

We also have some new Western Artwork that was published recently, as well as a new edition of The Roundup written by our Associate Editor Michael T. Pizzolato, titled "To The Banner Born," where he details that art making process behind the design of our new website banner.