Here's a little story of three Southwest writers to kick of
Southwest Month a little late. Back in the late 1970s there
was a mystery fanzine called The Mystery FANcier published by
a fellow named Guy Townsend. Somehow, James Reasoner, Joe
Lansdale, and I all became subscribers. (I don't remember now
how I heard about the zine, much less how the other two guys
heard about it.)
I saw Joe's name attached to several letters in the zine, and
when I went to the AggieCon for the first time in 1979, I saw
him sitting on a bench with his wife, Karen. (I knew it was
him because he had on his name tag.) I introduced myself,
told him I'd seen his letters, and we started a conversation
that's lasted for 25 years now, off and on. In fact, we were
at this year's AggieCon just last weekend and probably
sitting on that same couch. We used to stay up with a bunch
of others and talk until 2 or 3 in the morning. Now it's a
struggle to make it until midnight, but we still have a lot
of fun.
James Reasoner (and he can correct me if I'm wrong about
this) saw my name and address in The Mystery FANcier and
noticed that I was living at that time in Brownwood. He had
relatives in Brown County, and it wasn't long before we were
exchanging letters. Before too long we'd met in person, and I
still have a photograph of James, me, and my kids standing at
the grave of Robert E. Howard in Brownwood's Greenleaf
Cemetery. James's father sold TVs and VCRs, and I bought my
first VCR from him. James delivered it and installed it.
James and I, like Joe and I, have been friends ever since
those days.
I paid for the VCR with my half of the advance from THE
COYOTE CONNECTION, a Nick Carter book I wrote with a friend
(Jack Davis). It was my first novel, and it came out in
January 1981, at about the same time Joe's ACT OF LOVE and
James's TEXAS WIND hit the stands. (Note for our younger
readers: in those days a top-of-the-line VCR with a wired
remote ran about $1000.)
Having rambled on for longer than I'd intended, I'll shut
this down and sit back to see what Southwestern books turn up
for discussion this month.
Bill Crider
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