GREATER NEWS! The good news just keeps on coming. THE CURSE OF MATILIJA WINS GOLD! The news came yesterday (September 1) that my novel, THE CURSE OF MATILIJA (#9 in my Zack Tolliver, FBI series) won gold in the category Fiction-Mystery-Murder in the READERSFAVORITE International Book Contest. On this same day last year, I learned that LOST OASIS had won silver in the same contest and category, and in 2019 on this date I learned CANAAN’S SECRET had won bronze. Clearly I am improving. I am particularly pleased because READERS FAVORITE, unlike most contests where one or two judges are recruited from some literary mountain top to choose according to their own prejudices, this organization utilizes avid readers like you and me in a tiered advancement within each genre. It is blind tasting, in effect, because each judge assigns a number score to the book and passes it along. The highest numbers advance to the prize. If there is a tie, there are two awards. Now that’s democratic! There will be a big to-do in Miami at the Hilton Miami Airport Blue Lagoon for prize winners but I will not attend due to Florida state virus protocols (or should I say lack of same). But my medal is on its way and I will display it next to the other two, with pleasure.
GREAT NEWS! Highly anticipated Zack Tolliver, FBI #10, TULARE, is now on presale at Amazon.com. Its publication date is September 28, 2022. TULARE is the longest Zack Tolliver novel yet at 74,957 words, 437 pages, and 53 chapters including preface and epilogue. The drama unfolds on the Santa Rosa Rancheria of the Tachi Yokut in California. You can pre-purchase your copy now at its lower presale price of $2.99. We anticipate the print version sometime in mid-October.
The Western Authors Party & Signing was great fun. Bud’s voice was in great form, we saw old friends and made new ones, and there was plenty of ‘book’ talk. Stephan contributed some tasty treats and his wine (Old Man Red) was very tasty. Next up, a signing at The Book Store in Lompoc, day TBA.
Our last FREE offering, JOHNNY ALIAS SADDLEBAG, resulted in over one thousand free books! Currently Saddlebag boasts 17 ratings averaging 4.8 stars! We hope this showing will kick off good sales for the infant series. Check the Bulletin Board for our next FREE selection.
JOHNNY AND THE COMANCHE, our newest Johnny Alias novel, has earned its first several ratings on Amazon, all five stars! You can purchase your copy here. A little history, a lot of excitement when Johnny ends up between the Buffalo Soldiers and the Comanche on the Llano Estacado. A deeply entertaining story for all ages.
We have given away more than 1400 copies of “The Curse Of Matilija“!
LOST OASIS WINS SILVER! Another book from our Zack Tolliver, FBI, series was selected for a prize in the annual Readers Favorite International Book Contest 2021. LOST OASIS took second place in the category Fiction-Mystery-Murder. Check out the results here.
The Curse Of Matilija is now available in paperback. It’s time to add Zack Tolliver, FBI #9 to your shelf collection. It’s one of the best covers from Krystalynn Designs, in my humble opinion.
Announcing a new blog and a blog guest appearance! The new blog is called “Old Men Talkin’ History” and is comprised of the historic ramblings of this author and my colleague Merle Blasjo from our research into North Santa Barbara County for a distant book (which seems to get more distant every year!). To learn more, go to https://oldmentalkinhistory.com.
THE CURSE OF MATILIJA continues to sell in the top 100 in Native American Literature on Amazon right now! The price is a reasonable $3.99.
We are excited to announce that the first book in the Zack Tolliver, FBI series, THE OTHER, (El Otro)has been translated into Spanish by Vanesa Gómez Paniza. The work is available at many stores and on many distributing platforms, including Apple, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble, among others.
WE HAVE GIVEN AWAY NEARLY8000 BOOKS in the past two months! We love that readers love Zack and Eagle Feather! We’ll keep giving ’em away if you keep reading ’em!
On our FREECATSATURDAY we gave away 1850 CAT ebooks and counting, carrying it to #57 overall of free books offered on Amazon that day. It is now back to its normal price of $4.99 right here on Amazon. On our MEMORIAL WEEKEND FREE MESTACLOCAN AND FREE UNDER DESERT SAND days we gave away 1750 books!
KRISTALYNN DESIGNS has once again done a wonderful job for us with this beautiful and truly representative cover art.
SPECIAL OFFER! Want a FREE audiobook of LOST OASIS narrated by Louis B. Jack? Send proof of purchase for any Zack Tolliver, FBI series novel purchased in April 2021 to rlawsongamble@gmail.com and I will send one to you (as long as supplies last!).
3250 free copies of LOST OASIS were claimed on Amazon in a SINGLE DAY! Book number #2 in the series, MESTACLOCAN, has been reduced in price to $3.99, a bargain for one of our best sellers. We want people to engage in the series, confident all will be glad they did, while saving $$. Look for more savings as the month goes on. And get ready for the next Zack Tolliver adventure, coming later this Spring!
MISSING A BOOK from the Zack Tolliver, FBI series? Find it at Amazon on the series page.
Hope you didn’t miss out on the LOST OASIS FREE DAY at amazon.com/author/rlawsongamble. Don’t worry if you did – we’ll be offering more free books soon!
Book #2 in Johnny Alias, our new Western Series, is now available at Amazon.com.
JOHNNY AND THE PREACHER is a whole new tale with Johnny the young gunfighter attempting to outrun his past but becoming entangled by his sense of justice and fairness – and his quick draw. The book follows JOHNNY AND THE KID, 300 copies of which flew off the shelves on a recent free event on Amazon. Go to R Lawson Gamble’s page on Amazon to order your copy, due November 1.
Number 1 on Amazon’s New & Hot list for many days after publication, LOST OASIS is the 8th novel in the ZACK TOLLIVER, FBI, series. “Lost Oasis is the most intense and dazzling Zack Tolliver book so far, and they’re all thrilling well-researched mysteries!” says an Amazon reviewer.
Modern science and high technology come up against deeply rooted cultures and ancient rituals in this Zack Tolliver, FBI, story where the Eagle Mountains are surrounded by the goblin rocks and barren flats of Joshua Tree National Park. A world-class scientist goes missing while consulting for a design team constructing a huge electric storage battery from the deserted pits of the old Kaiser Iron mines. Did this eccentric world-renown hydrologist simply wander off? Or was his fate more ominous? The project moves ahead, but FBI Supervisory Agent Janice Hooper asks Zack to take a look. When someone plants a bomb in his Jeep the day he arrives, Zack realizes there is something more at stake. Soon he finds himself in a desperate duel with an unknown assassin who may very well be more than his match.
LOST OASIS is now available on Amazon.com. Purchase it HERE.
R Lawson Gamble‘s guest appearance on the “It’s A Mystery Podcast” is now available at alexandramor.com. The author reads selections from THE DARK ROAD, the prequel novel to his Zack Tolliver, FBI, series and talks about himself as a writer with hostess Alexandra Amor.
R Lawson Gamble interviewed by Alexandra Amor
Follow the link below to the May 5 article on the R Lawson Gamble’s new western JOHNNY AND THE KID, by reporter Pamela Dozier.
In our latest ad for JOHNNY AND THE KID on FaceBook, we had 1,192 engagements, 823 likes, 53 shares, and 5 comments (all good!). Why don’t you give it a read?
JOHNNY AND THE KID is now available in paperback as well as Ebook. We know you’ll enjoy it in either format – or both!
JOHNNY AND THE KID, an Old Time Western is selling well. The novel is pure entertainment modeled after the author’s all-time favorite western stories from L’Amour, Flynn, Leonard, McMurtry, et al. Smoking six guns and hard riding cowboys – what’s not to love? PURCHASE YOUR COPY HERE.
Here’s what READERS’ FAVORITE editor Fiona wrote about JOHNY AND THE KID: “This is an excellent story, and I enjoyed it tremendously. The character development is so well done that it’s as if Johnny was sitting in my living room telling the story. The plots and subplots are wonderful. I love the who’s who that kept the suspense heightened. It’s the best book I’ve read this year. Well done!”
Exciting News!CANAAN’S SECRET took Bronze in the READER’S FAVORITE INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARD CONTEST 2019, announced September 1, in the category FICTION/MYSTERY/MURDER. Big award ceremony scheduled in Miami on November 17 during the Miami International Book Fair. We are very proud of Zack!
LAS CRUCES, Zack Tolliver, FBI book #7 is available at Amazon.com. The paperback version is also now available! Get yours now.
LAS CRUCES is a riveting story springing from an actual cruel and ironic incident that ended the lives of two American pioneers whose adventurous careers constitute a book in itself. Perhaps we’ll write it one day.
Old News
☛R Lawson Gamble was a featured author at “An Evening With Authors” TALLEY VINEYARDS SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2019 5:30 – 7:30PM
☛On Sunday, September 22 at 11 AM R Lawson Gamble read excerpts from ZACA at (yes) ZACA MESA WINERY(here). We were in the shade of the tree in front of the barn opened by the special Country & Western sound of Buddy C. Everyone enjoyed the 2015 Zaca Mesa Syrah and listened to the author read from his own book while the breezes stirred our imaginations.
☛On September 27 the author was in Great Falls, Montana for the James Ersfeld Symposium on the art of writing the American West. The panels took place in the C.M. Russell Museum (what better place?).
If you haven’t visited in a while you will notice a new page and new feature, Trail Running. I enjoy learning about the areas I visit by running the trails I often find there. One can gain an intimate sense of the locality this way. I will update the page with additional photos and brief notes from time to time. I’d love your comments/observations on the photos.
Our own local Art-Deco hostelry, the Skyview, has ordered another 40 Los Alamos Valley books from us. I love the way this establishment is integrating with the town of Los Alamos. You can borrow a bicycle to ride down the hill into town and read all about the historic buildings (don’t do both at the same time).
We are also supplying Los Alamos Valley to the Depot Mall. It is prominently displayed at the cashier’s counter.
Author R Lawson Gamble spent his childhood in central New Jersey on 50 acres of land with a book in his hand. Read full interview...
If you are looking for exciting crime mystery with a touch of paranormal, you have come to the right place. See my Zack Tolliver, FBI series page or find it here.
NEW: WESTERN JUSTICE, a collection of three novellas featuring novellas by Felix Giordano, Mark Reps, and a new work by R Lawson Gamble (a prequel to the Zack Tolliver, FBI series) is now FREE on Amazon. Go to the R Lawson Gamble Amazon page.
CANAAN’S SECRET! You will want to read this book! Find it here at Amazon.com. Native American mysticism, Mormon fundamentalism, and murder – a murky soup for Zack and Eagle Feather––an exciting read for you! Now playing! …er, Reading!
NEW!
Producer John McLoughlin narrates CANAAN’S SECRET . As you shall see, he has a most pleasant and expressive voice. I have listened to his work on the first two chapters and am most pleased.
MORE NEWS! A familiar voice to Audible Zack Tolliver, FBI mysteries listeners is back! Thomas Block has agreed to produce our first (and favorite) volume, THE OTHER. Purchase it now.
The Author on Radio!
R Lawson Gamble interview on Hometown Radio on the Dave Congalton Show – 920 KEVC: Listen here
R Lawson Gamble interviewed by Barbara Hodges on No Limits Radio (Red River Radio): Listen here
The Author on Television!
The Invitation au Voyage episode about Salomon Pico shot in Santa Barbara and Los Alamos featuring this author aired on ARTE in France and Germany on May 14 at 14:30! You can watch it! (How’s your French?)
I have enjoyed reading the first three Tolliver novels, and look forward to reading the others. That being said, as a veteran of 30+ years in Santa Barbara County law enforcement it was confusing to me that Barnard changed from Police Chief to a member of the Sheriff’s Department as the story progressed. In addition the ‘State Police’ do not function in a criminal investigation role in California. The DOJ lab could well have been on the scene though. Obviously most readers of fiction would not have noticed this. I myself enjoyed the read and offer my kudos.
Thank you , Donald, for your comment. I had not realized Barnard was so loose with his job description, nor understood the limitations of the State Troopers. I shall correct these things in the next edition. I am grateful. R Lawson Gamble
Thank you for your inquiry. The paperback is not yet available, we expect it late summer. The audio book is in the works as well, due in September. We’ll keep you posted at the site.
Hi, Chuck. “Canaan’s Secret” will be available in book form September 1 at Amazon.com. Cheers!
I have read all of the Zack Tolliver’s series & enjoyed them immensely. A s a retired teacher, I not only enjoy the plots but also how well-written they are. Kudos to you for that! I find myself so irritated by the many spelling, grammatical errors and left out words in some books that I actually quit reading the book. I taught English as well as other subjects, & I just automatically stop & correct the errors. This prevents me from being able to just read & enjoy the book. Thank you again for your well-written books. I’m so looking , forward to your new book, Las Cruces ; I wish it was coming out sooner. I would have preordered it had it been possible.
I just finished Lost Oasis and it also has a ton of errors. You need to find a new editor.
Thank you for that, Rene. I wonder if you read the first version ($2.99) or the later version (I had a re-edit done).I appreciate your help. RLG
I have read the complete Zach Tolliver/Eagle Feather series and have restarted them. Mestaclocan — even the second reading was really scary; the kind of scary in which I would read, put it down, pick it up again and read some more, I hope there are more ZT/EF novels in your future and mine as well. Please!!!!
R Lawson Gamble 
Great post! Thanks for sharing the reminder, and yeah, Penny is the woman!
Review: Payu’s Journey http://dogpatch.press/2017/04/24/payus-journey/#more-33298
When is the next fibi book ? Really enjoy the series.
Dave
I can’t seem to find your second book, in paperback. Do you know who might sell it.
Most stores can order it; online you can get Mestaclocan at CreateSpace or Amazon.com. Thanks for inquiring.
I have enjoyed reading the first three Tolliver novels, and look forward to reading the others. That being said, as a veteran of 30+ years in Santa Barbara County law enforcement it was confusing to me that Barnard changed from Police Chief to a member of the Sheriff’s Department as the story progressed. In addition the ‘State Police’ do not function in a criminal investigation role in California. The DOJ lab could well have been on the scene though. Obviously most readers of fiction would not have noticed this. I myself enjoyed the read and offer my kudos.
Thank you , Donald, for your comment. I had not realized Barnard was so loose with his job description, nor understood the limitations of the State Troopers. I shall correct these things in the next edition. I am grateful. R Lawson Gamble
Where can I buy “Canaan’s Secret” in book form?
Hi, Dwayne,
Thank you for your inquiry. The paperback is not yet available, we expect it late summer. The audio book is in the works as well, due in September. We’ll keep you posted at the site.
When is ‘Canaan’s Secret’ going to be published in book form? I did not see a reply to Dave’s question. Anybody there to answer the question?
Hi, Chuck. “Canaan’s Secret” will be available in book form September 1 at Amazon.com. Cheers!
I have read all of the Zack Tolliver’s series & enjoyed them immensely. A s a retired teacher, I not only enjoy the plots but also how well-written they are. Kudos to you for that! I find myself so irritated by the many spelling, grammatical errors and left out words in some books that I actually quit reading the book. I taught English as well as other subjects, & I just automatically stop & correct the errors. This prevents me from being able to just read & enjoy the book. Thank you again for your well-written books. I’m so looking , forward to your new book, Las Cruces ; I wish it was coming out sooner. I would have preordered it had it been possible.
Thank you for your thoughts. I try hard to keep the reader’s journey pleasurable. I am working hard on LAS CRUCES. Soon!
I just finished Lost Oasis and it also has a ton of errors. You need to find a new editor.
Thank you for that, Rene. I wonder if you read the first version ($2.99) or the later version (I had a re-edit done).I appreciate your help. RLG
I have read the complete Zach Tolliver/Eagle Feather series and have restarted them. Mestaclocan — even the second reading was really scary; the kind of scary in which I would read, put it down, pick it up again and read some more, I hope there are more ZT/EF novels in your future and mine as well. Please!!!!