Noah's Ride: A Collaborative Western Novel

By Phyllis AllenMary Dittoe KellyJeff Guinn, et al.

Book Overview

Naked Came the Stranger set the format, but not always the tone or subject matter, for a whole string of books that appeared in the 1970s. Called collaborative or serial novels, the multi-author works were set in the suburbs, the Blue Ridge Mountains, Florida, the American West, but never in Texas. Now a dozen Texas authors have gotten together to create a good old-fashioned western novel. Each contributing author will write a chapter that builds on the work that precedes his or her chapter. The plot features Noah, a plantation slave who escapes and makes his way to the Union forces and, finally, Texas, where he establishes a small ranch, runs a few cattle, and, with wife Nelly, begins to raise a family. But Noah, who has taken the name Freeman and named his ranch Free Land, cannot leave his past behind. The slave catcher Quint Carpenter is the local sheriff, and he's out for blood-- specifically Noah's blood--after Noah's sister kills Quint's younger son. And carpetbagger Bear Coltrain, who once wanted to kidnap Noah and sell him back into slavery, now wants Noah's land. And then John Malone comes along--Noah once saved the former cavalry officer's life, and he wants to repay his debt. Can he help when someone kidnaps Noah's baby girl? Can he help save the ranch--and, finally, save Noah's life? At press time for this catalog, half the chapters remain yet to be written, so the plot may change some--but that's the magic of a project such as this one. In cooperation with TCU Press, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram announced a contest in which the winner became one of the contributing authors. Entries were posted on the Star-Telegram web page, where the best three entries were chosen by popular vote. The staff of TCU Press chose the winner from among those entries. She is Mary Dittoe Kelly, and this will be her first published writing. A celebration at Fort Worth's Bass Hall will bring all the authors together onstage to talk about the work, and the joys and problems of working in collaboration. Former Star-Telegram book editor Jeff Guinn will moderate.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0875653340
• ISBN13: 9780875653341
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Texas Christian University Press
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Collaborative Novel is a Showcase for Writers' Talents

Most everyone knows what a collaboration is: two or more people working together toward a common end. Lennon & McCartney, Penn & Teller, Roosevelt & Churchill. But a serialized collaborative novel, like Noah's Ride, is a different kettle of fish altogether. In an Editor's Note at the end of the book, TCU Press editors Judy Alter and Jeff Guinn explain how the idea for Noah's Ride was formulated. A group of writers in the Fort Worth area met to brainstorm a collaboration. A character was created, Noah, a plantation slave who escapes to Texas during the Civil War. The writers took it from there, each contributing 5,000 words apiece. The first writer out of the gate is Elmer Kelton, who gets the story off to a suspenseful start. Kelton, with his knowledge of character development and his broad expertise in American history, immediately plunges the beleaguered Noah into trouble so deep and dangerous, that when he runs for his life astride a worn-out work mule, the reader goes willing, heart in throat, hoping the runaway Noah will make it across the Mississippi River. Chapter by chapter the book is handed off to the next writer in line, a lot like runners in a relay race. There can be no preparation for writing like this. The writers read the preceding chapters and chose to take up the story where the previous writer left off or to send it in a new direction. The thirteen writers in this collaborative effort split almost equally in their choices. The result, while a bit uneven at times, is great fun to read. You can sense the fun the writers had as well. One or two chapters are oddly out of sync, and with these I went along kicking and squirming to get back to the original thread. But the delight of this book is in hearing the different voices, and in watching the plot build in unexpected, often rollicking, ways. There's something here for anyone who loves western fiction: poker and whiskey, kidnapping and chase scenes, a cavalry battle with horses aplenty, love and childbirth, revenge and reunion. And if there is a plethora of characters who come and go willy-nilly through the pages, there is always the stalwart Noah riding steadily and heroically throughout the story. As the editors say in their Notes: "We don't intend to submit Noah's Ride for a Pulitzer, but we do think it's a great showcase of what author's can do in collaboration. And it's a pretty good western novel!" I'll second that.