The streets of Laredo

 An old folk song, based on an even older ballad from Ireland, inspired my Laredo series. The song is The Streets of Laredo.  It's long been in the public domain although many artists have recorded their version of the song including Marty Robbins, Hank Jr, and Johnny Cash.

Here are the traditional lyrics:

As I walked out in the streets of Laredo
As I walked out in Laredo one day
I saw a young cowboy, wrapped all in white linen
Wrapped in white linen, as cold as the clay

Oh, beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly
Sing the Death March as you carry me along
Take me to the valley, there lay the sod o'er me
I'm a young cowboy, I know I've done wrong

I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy
These words he did say as I boldly walked by
Come sit down beside me and hear my sad story
Got shot in the breast and I know I must die

Go fetch me some water, a cool cup of water
To cool my parched lips, then the poor cowboy said
Before I returned, his spirit had left him
Had gone to his Maker, the cowboy was dead

Oh, beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly
Sing the Death March as you carry me along
Take me to the valley, there lay the sod o'er me
I'm a young cowboy, I know I've done wrong.

 

One day, while listening to classic country, this song gave me a notion.

 

This was in the early days of the pandemic. I still was the editor of two small newspapers in southwest Missouri

 The image of a dying cowboy waiting to die conjured up the image. Around the same time I saw a Civil War era photograph of an unidentified man and he haunted me. So I made him a character and named him Boone Wilson.

 

When I wrote The Legacy of Boone Wilson, I didn't think it would become a series but a stand alone title but my muse had other ideas. After Boone's story, I found myself writing about his brother, Moses. That story became book two in my Laredo series and debuts in hardback, paperback, eBook and audio on Monday July 29.  It's now available for pre-order

 

Here's the cover:

 

Here are the links:

 

The Endurance of Moses Wilson pre order link

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4KJ9FV6

Google play audio:

https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details?id=AQAAAEDSV2YXpM

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/215121256-the-endurance-of-moses-wilson

Barnes and Noble pre order

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-endurance-of-moses-wilson-lee-ann-sontheimer-murphy/1145868667

smashwords

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1581041

 

For those who haven't yet read Boone's story, you can find the book at the same outlets.

 

Book Three,  The Birthright of Ezekiel Wilson is already under contract.

Additional titles in the series will include: 

The Heart of Jacob Wilson

The Nature of Garrett Wilson

The Hope of Jemima Wilson

The Courage of Faith Wilson

The Resilience of Hope Wilson

 

Jacob and Garrett are Boone's other brothers who also come to Texas. Jemima is their mother. Faith and Hope are Jacob's daughters, each with a compelling story.

Down the road, I want to write a novel for Mima (pronounced MY-MA), Boone's oldest child and daughter, named for her grandmother, and other titles are planned.

 

 Readers who like the Old West, family sagas, and sweet romance will find a family to cherish in the Wilsons!

 Here's a tiny taste of Moses' story:

“Being lovesick's got you distracted, and that's dangerous. Ezekiel said you near stepped on a rattler the other day 'cause you didn't notice it. Ol' Jim told me that you rode off without your saddle on tight and got tossed, too."

            Moses took a long drag from his smoke. Both were true.

            "You ain't gonna do that gal any good if you get yourself hurt or killed," Boone told him. "You'll get down sick or something, all the frettin' you been doing. And for love of the Lord Jesus, mind your temper and tongue. Zeke's got his drawers in a knot 'cause you want to disagree with every word that comes out of his mouth and spar with him. Half the other hands are either mad at you or afraid you're gonna fight them. Besides that, you're off your feed, and it's making you skinny as a slat cat. I figure you ain't sleepin' much neither."

            He hadn't been very aware, but when Boone pointed it all out in his quiet drawl, Moses saw his behavior had been pitiful.  "I ain't."

            "What do you think Mathilde would have to say about the way you're acting?"

            Moses would rather not imagine what his pretty lady would think. "She'd scold me, most likely."