Come Sundown

By Ted Atoka

This book is a contemporary western novella.

So long as people live in places that have dirt roads, cows, dusty trails, creeks, water holes, horses, mine shafts, acre upon acre of farm land, horses, firearms, huge pieces of machinery that do things above and below the surface of the earth, a myriad of crops, gulches, wide open spaces, and canyons, we'll have more than enough material for western genre writing.

Consider what happens when we combine all the above with people who work in some of the most unforgivable weather conditions, animals and equipment do the job well, or break down when least expected. Add to this the dust of flat lands, mountain desolation, torrents of perspiration, insects that bite, plants that sting, and rodents that eat your boots, and you'll come up with a vein of story-telling ore so rich it's more priceless than gold.

The Horse Trough Saloon, in Stopgap, Oklahoma, is almost a national monument. That’s how the locals feel, anyway. Its owner, Clyde Wrigley, is a man who’s worked hard all his life.

Just when the saloon becomes a financial success, Clyde’s wife succumbs to cancer. Now, a lead man representing a shady group of moneyed investors from Las Vegas wants to buy the property and business Clyde has worked so hard to build. Revenues from the Horse Trough Saloon, and its adjoining space called the “opera house,” support Clyde, his grandmother, and more than 25 employees.

See what takes place in the small town of Stopgap when a man called “Junior” from up north buys a place just outside of town and befriends Clyde, his employees, and some special residents of Stopgap.

Prepare for fireworks when the group of disreputable investors ramps up the pressure to try to force Wrigley out and take over his thriving business.

~~ Come Sundown is a “Reader’s Choice” selection from Writers of the West. ~~

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ted Atoka
• Release date: Jul 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311958969

Ted Atoka

Ted Atoka lived the first half of his life in Boston, MA. He made a Christmas visit to friends in Oklahoma in 1981, and fell in love with country life. Five weeks after returning home—to a raging snow storm, he packed up and moved to OK. He and his wife live on a piece of land on the side of a dirt road. They share the fresh air with a peacock named Penelope, two dogs, a small herd of deer, and a feral cat.