A Book Review of A MAN CALLED OUTLAW

Unfortunately, I just finished the book, A Man Called Outlaw. I say that because it was an excellent read. I feel a sense of loss when I turn the last page of a compelling book. I met the author, K.M. Weiland, on my blog. At the back of her novel, I found this paragraph about her.

-

"K.M. Weiland grew up chasing Billy the Kid and Jesse James on horseback through the sand hills of western Nebraska, where she and her family still live. A lifelong fan of the Old West and the power of the written word, she enjoys sharing both through her many fictional stories and her first novel, A Man Called Outlaw."

-
After reading a comment that K.M. submitted on my blog, I went to her website. I learned that she is a published author and that her first novel is available for purchase. I didn't hesitate to place an order and within a few days, I was holding her book in my sweaty little hands. Learning that authors are real people is exciting me. If K.M., a person who had taken time to comment on my newly launched blog, has a published book, maybe, just maybe, someday I will do something with my writing, as well.

-

I don't normally read westerns, in fact, I don't know if I ever have until now. I was willing to move out of my usual reading genre in order to support K.M. and to see what kind of writer she is. Honestly, I didn't expect to have much interest in a western.

-

Once I picked up the book and began to read, I was sucked into her story. From page one to the final page, there was never a good time to close the book. All of the characters were well-developed and realistic. The story galloped along with no time for me to take a breath before it swung around and took off again.

-
Quite early in her book, this descriptive sentence impressed me: "Bent over with rheumatism and plump enough to be considered a little bit more than ample, she wore the decaying remnants of a youthful beauty like a silk party gown gone threadbare." A Man Called Outlaw is loaded with writing of this quality, chapter after chapter.
-

The book is actually two parallel stories, one centered around fictional events in 1858 and the other relating happenings in 1887. The story goes back and forth between the lives of often overlapping characters in the two decades.

-

I highly recommend K.M. Weiland's book. You will be entertained throughout, interested in the characters throughout, on the edge of your seat throughout, and you will come away with a renewed conviction that doing what is right is always right.

-

This is my first attempt at a book review. I'm not sure how well I related the value of K.M.'s book, so please go to http://www.wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com/ , K.M.'s blog. If you follow the right side of her blog down, you will come to a link to her book. When you go there, you will read more about The Man Called Outlaw. The first chapter and reader's comments are also available.

-

I encourage you to put The Man Called Outlaw on your must-read book list.

-

(K.M. has two other books in the works. Behold the Dawn, a historical novel, is in the pre-publication stage and has a release date of October 1st, 2009. Dreamers Come, a fantasy novel, is in the editing stage.)