Updated El Paso!

I recently updated my two-story collection, In the Shadow of El Paso, to include a new La Sombra story, “Long Burdens.”

La Sombra is a fictional small town outside of of El Paso, Texas. The first two stories, the titular one and “Jack’s Town,” follow Carl, a Yankee outsider who joins the police force in La Sombra. Carl loves the culture but when he runs into small town politics, things get ugly.

I wrote and published these stories more than a decade ago. But recently, a long-simmering idea finally bubbled to the surface. Year ago, while editing the first two stories, my friend Jill Maser commented on one of the supporting characters, an older deputy named John Calhoun. Jill, who is a fiction author and an historian, in addition to being a mean editor (in all senses of the word ?) was intrigued by John’s mannerisms and the small mystery surrounding his persona. That reaction stuck with me, and so did her question, “Who is this John Calhoun guy, and what’s with these spotless white dress shirts and pressed jeans?”

I wondered the same thing over the ensuing years, but the answer never came. Or, at least, it never forced its way to the front of the line as I worked on other projects. Then I saw a call for submission from Michael Bracken for an anthology called The Eyes of Texas, and that got me thinking more actively about La Sombra again. I decided to work on a John Calhoun story and submit it. Time got away from me, though, and when I was ready to get rolling on it, the submission period was only days away from closing. Bummer, too, because it ended up being nominated for multiple awards and winning one!

The poor timing didn’t dissuade me, though. I worked on “Long Burdens” (a title I came to only after considerable struggle) without a specific market in mind. Then I was contacted about an anthology series called Murder Ballads, USA, and the story was accepted for that. At the same time, I decided to update the two-story collection of In the Shadow of El Paso to include the newest addition to La Sombra lore.

If you own In the Shadow of El Paso on digital, it should update automatically. If you have a paper copy, I apologize but it won’t update automatically. You’ll have to grab a new copy. Or you can wait until January and pick up my fourth short story collection, Sugar Got Low, which will include “Long Burdens,” among others.

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Earl sadly moved on to the next plane of existence earlier this year, but I’m grateful he took the time back in the day. He was a consumate gentleman and a hell of a writer. His Memory of a Murder is definitely worth a read.

When it came time to culture-check “Long Burdens,” I turned to my friend and co-author, Jim Wilsky. I asked him to pull double duty, giving critique feedback in general as well as helping me make sure I captured the flavor of West Texas. 

Jim suggested a number of small tweaks that made a big difference. Voice and setting are his strong suits, which you’ll see if you dig into his work. I’d recommend starting with his short story collection, Sort ‘Em Out Later. “Leaves of Grass” is one of my personal favorites. 

Of course, once your appetite is whetted, you can always dive into Blood on Blood, the first of our co-authored Ania series.

About eight years ago, In the Shadow of El Paso was produced as a short audio book, narrated by Craig Jessen. I asked Craig to narrate “Long Burdens” and he agreed to do so. In fact it was pretty impressive how quickly he was able to do the recording, how easily he picked up the same voices from almost a decade ago, and how well he captured the essence of John Calhoun through his voice… just based on my description to him.

Artists are amazing.

Right now, I’m in the process of updating the audio book of In the Shadow of El Paso to the new version that includes the third story. Craig’s narration of “Long Burdens” will also be included in the audio book version of Sugar Got Low, which I hope to release around the same time as the ebook and print versions. 

Some fool named me will be narrating most of those stories.

Source: All The Madness In My Soul