Dead West: West of Pale by J Patrick Allen is our Sixth Book of Christmas!
The countdown is getting close now as we are official 7 days ’til Christmas and we’re back! As we hit one week til Christmas, we are bringing you the first of a set with Dead West: West of Pale by J Patrick Allen!
Welcome back to the 12 Books of Christmas! Every day, we’ll feature a book from our store. Each featured book will have a new article from the author (or curator for the anthologies in the lineup) with some new insights.
Make sure you come back every day to see our featured book.
j patrick allen brings us a tale of the weird west and historical fantasy in dead west: west of pale.
Our sixth book of Christmas is by one of our favorite authors who has managed to combine westerns, historicals, and fantasy into his beloved series. Today, we are taking a look at the first book in the set.
SIX-GUNS, BLAZING HOOVES, AND THE HORRORS THAT STALK THE NIGHT.
Everyone brought something from the old country. Grandfather’s watch, and grandmother’s china; great-grandfather’s folklore, and great-great-grandmother’s fairy tales. What is never discussed, however, are the undying characters of the folklore: nix and fairy, goblin and vampire, dragon and eldritch things who all came to America’s shores in time with the rhyme of their tales.
After Charlie’s father is murdered by something impossible, he discovers a letter that leads him across the wild west. The man who wrote the letter promised to help, if things went wrong.
And things could not go more wrong. His father’s murderer is on his trail, materializing from lakes, rivers, and stray pools of water. He will not rest until Charlie has joined his father…
Dead West: West of Pale is the first book in J. Patrick Allen’s Dead West series. This novel picks up right where his Pulp Ark New Pulp Awards (2016) nominated short story, “Dragonfly Shadow,” left off (featured in 18thWall Productions’ From the Dragon Lord’s Library: Volume One).
we sat down with j patrick allen to chat about the first book in the set.
What inspired this series?
I have a long love of road trip series and the old west. Combine that with my love for Urban Fantasy, and well…
Do you have a favorite part of this book?
I love just about anything to do with Ginny. I feel for her plight, and I tend to root for the witches and wizards in a story. But I loved her climactic fight with Charlie and Samuel, even going so far as to name it after a Federale song I really enjoy. It’s a small reference I put in for nobody but myself, really.
Tell us more about Charlie!
Charles Florian Kirchner was the son of Florian Kirchner, late of Hermann, Missouri. His father had Collegiate aspirations for him, which transferred to the Brothers of the Knights of Charlotte when they sort-of adopted him. He has a mind for solving problems, and minor vanity issues. Charlie at the beginning of West of Pale is the embodiment of the Fool in the Major Arcana. But where the Fool of classic tarot stares in to the sky without a care in the world, Charlie looks over his shoulder in fear of what pursues him. But still, it suits him best. He is number zero–unlimited potential.
