Great Western novella

I bought this book on a recommendation from a friend and enjoyed it, mainly because it’s brief, it’s concise, it’s thrilling and believable and doesn’t talk down to the reader; everything that fiction should be.

Missouri Green is a Western, revolving around the eponymous protagonist, a New Orleans prostitute who tires of her job and decides to make the perilous journey west to California. To help her survive the journey and mine for gold, she buys herself a slave named Jim, a highly-skilled outdoorsman. I can’t help but see this as a blatant reference to Huckleberry Finn, not only because Missouri constantly calls him “N***** Jim,” but because a big part of the plot concerns her learning to respect Jim and view him as a smart, loyal human being.

Jim himself is depicted with more complexity and depth than you typically get from characters like him. He begins the novel openly resentful of Missouri and even comes close to murdering her a couple of times. None of this feels forced, though, thanks to Fonvielle’s crisp, unpretentious style and economical use of words (the book can be read in less than an hour).

I subtracted one star from the book because of the ending, where the book starts to come apart, but otherwise, Missouri Green is worth a look even if you aren’t normally into this kind of genre fiction.

You can buy the book here for only $1.99 — Missouri Green.  Kindle owners who subscribe to Amazon Prime can borrow it for free.

If you own a Kindle and subscribe to Amazon Prime you can borrow my Western tale Missouri Green for free.  If not, you can download it for just $1.99 and read it on almost any computer or portable device with Amazon’s free Kindle Reading Apps, available here.

The year is 1849. A feisty young whore in New Orleans decides to light out for the goldfields of California and gets the bright idea of buying a slave, a sullen man seething with rage but infinitely resourceful and a crack shot, to help her make the overland journey. Neither of them can imagine the epic adventure that lies before them, the dangers, the magnificence, the heroism and the unlikely bond, stronger that any slaver’s chains, that will come to unite them. This is a Western tale, an American tale — a voyage into the wild and troubled heart of the American dream.

. . . of Missouri Green:

Terrific Tale!

Another sublime Western from Lloyd Fonvielle. I really love this story. Quintessentially American, profoundly American. Beautiful, funny, sad, and always engaging. Peopled with characters who will stay with you for a long, long while. Strong, full female protagonist. Strong, full male protagonist. Has the feel and landscape of a traditional Western, but will surprise you too!

Click here for the review and book details.

On Amazon:

An excellent, satisfying yarn

Why are most novels so long? It’s a function of the economics of the publishing industry more than art. Fonvielle shows how in 82 pages one can tell a complete and even epic tale. Set during the California Gold Rush, the action moves from lush New Orleans to the dangerous open plains of the midwest to the hallucinatory heat of the Nevada desert as the two main characters, Missouri and Jim, learn to trust and love one another. I read it in one sitting. It’s filled with action, emotion, humor, and heartache.

You a fan of Westerns? Adventure stories? Great storytelling? If the answer is yes to any of those, you’ll want to add this to your collection.

Missouri Green — check it out!

. . . of my new Western novella Missouri Green:

RAN MY KINDLE BATTERY DOWN

Set before the American Civil War, during the California gold rush, Missouri Green has a different feel than some other western stories in that the impact of the war doesn’t play into the narrative as it does in so many other westerns set later in the 19th century. Slavery and it’s divisiveness still loom large as do the dangers not realized by those crossing the country during those early years of western expansion. Vivid in imagery and detail, I got lost in the narrative and found myself imagining the heat of the desert sun followed by the frigid temperatures later in the night of the same day. I caught sight of the trail that split northward or continued west to California. I wanted to move faster as the snow started falling in the mountain passes.

The characters are well written into the times without the whitewashing we see in some westerns. Flawed, frayed, scared, strong, violent, cunning, and temperamental … sometimes all in the same day. There’s chivalry and compassion, sweat and blood, sickness & death. No glorified rootin’ tootin’ cowboys here, just people trying to get by and get ahead any way they can.

I read Missouri Green in two sessions. It would have been a single session but my Kindle lost charge. Yeah, Missouri Green was so good I didn’t notice the charge till the screen went black. That’s how good this story was.

Click here for the review and book details — it costs only $1.99.