Posts in category: News & Updates

Kirkus Reviews weighed in on “Trail Angel”, and again I was thrilled. As with the Booklist review, Kirkus is another of the trade magazines that write pre-publication reviews targeting booksellers, libraries and others seeking guidance in what titles they order. A good bit of the review must be given over to plot synopsis, but I liked how the critic highlighted some of the main themes in the book.
On the central love story between Southern war widow Annabelle and Union cavalryman Josey, the review draws parallels with what the country as a whole was facing in 1866: “Affectingly written, the bond between Annabelle and Josey is a first gesture toward forgiveness, and a hopeful sign of the possible reconciliation of the two battle-weary halves of the nation.”
In regards to Josey’s symptoms of what modern readers would diagnose as post-traumatic stress disorder, the reviewer notes, “Debut novelist and career journalist Catron poignantly captures Josey’s wounded soul that resists a full plunge into cynicism.”
You can find the review on the Kirkus website, but for your ease I’ve appended it here:

In the immediate wake of the Civil War, a family heads to Montana in search of gold.
Annabelle loses her husband in the Civil War, and all her brothers die fighting for the Confederate side as well. Federal tax collectors ravage her considerable inheritance, and she decides to leave Charleston, South Carolina, for Montana with her family to start a new life. Her clan is led to Montana by a former Union colonel and Josey Angel, a Union soldier infamous for his proficiency in killing his adversaries. The colonel decides to lead the wagon train along the Bozeman Trail, a passage that counts as a shortcut, but remains notoriously dangerous. They risk encountering deadly snakes, hostile Native Americans, and vicious bandits—Josey’s primary task is to keep the group safe. At first, Annabelle is intimidated by his dark reputation and aloofness, but is overwhelmed by curiosity; there seems to be more to this man than a knack for violence. He can be not only gentlemanly, but thoughtful as well, and is clearly burdened by the memories of savage conflict, of things seen and done. Debut novelist and career journalist Catron poignantly captures Josey’s wounded soul that resists a full plunge into cynicism: “Josey never much questioned the morality of the killing because he never expected to outlive the war. The way he saw things, a number needed to die before both sides lost their taste for it.” Annabelle is haunted by her own loss, and gradually she and Josey develop a bond that flirts with romance. And Josey’s skills as a soldier are sure to be tested soon—a band of mysterious horsemen furtively tracks the group, promising an imminent confrontation. The story takes place in 1866, barely a year after the end of the Civil War, and the resentment that remains is palpable. Annabelle is bitterly unforgiving of the sacrifice of her husband and brothers, and at the destruction caused by Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s ferocious march through the South. Affectingly written, the bond between Annabelle and Josey is a first gesture toward forgiveness, and a hopeful sign of the possible reconciliation of the two battle-weary halves of the nation. This is an unsentimental but moving tale, composed with emotional intelligence and historical insight.
A timeless tale of love and adventure on the American frontier.

“Trail Angel” will be available for purchase online beginning Aug. 17. Copies should be in bookstores by the end of the month. You can order “Trail Angel” at Amazon or Barnes & Noble now. Use these links:

The first review for “Trail Angel” comes from Booklist, and I don’t think I could be happier with it. Booklist is one of four trade magazines that do pre-publication reviews for libraries, bookstores and others looking for guidance in what titles they order. The reviews are necessarily short, but I thought the reviewer included a great plot synopsis. Here’s the full review:

Advanced Review – Uncorrected Proof Booklist Online Exclusive: July 21, 2016
Trail Angel. Catron, Derek (Author) Aug 2016. 358 p. Five Star, hardcover, $25.95. (9781432832803).

Drink in this opening sentence: “From the banks of the flat, broad river, Annabelle Rutledge Holcombe looked east toward everything she had known.” Who is Annabelle? She’s a Civil War widow who’s staking everything—her life, her family’s lives—on a dangerous journey to Montana and the slim prospect of finding prosperity in the gold fields. She’s guided on her trek by Josey Angel, an ex-cavalryman whose past is littered with dead bodies and caked in blood. Each sees in the other a way to start looking forward and to stop dwelling on the past. Catron uses a real historical event as his backdrop (the story is set during the run-up to the violent war between the U.S. and the Sioux), and he throws in some immediate danger in the form of some nasties who are following Annabelle’s wagon train. Beyond that, though, this is a story of two lost people who find each other and a way to keep on living. A finely constructed, well-told western.
— David Pitt

Don’t forget: You can order “Trail Angel” at Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Use these links:

Order Trail Angel on Amazon

Order Trail Angel on Barnes & Noble

Like I’ve done countless times before, I logged into the Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites and typed an author’s name into the search bar. The result appeared in nanoseconds, yet it was time enough for me to notice moisture on my palms.

This was the first time I’d ever had a reason to search my own name.

And there it was:

Trail Angel
by Derek Catron

I stared longer than was necessary. Before I start sounding like new parents who speak of their child’s birth as if they are the first couple to have accomplished the feat, let me just say: It felt good.
For most first-time authors, the rewards in writing a book are intangible. The satisfaction in completing the work. The relief in learning someone who doesn’t share your last name enjoys it. The pride in hearing readers discuss your characters as if they are real people. These moments may be the only payoff for months of lonely labor, and if you don’t pause to appreciate them, you’re unlikely to find the motivation to go back and write the next book.

So allow me my moment. I’ll get over it soon enough, just as the thrill of seeing my name printed above a newspaper story wore off a long, long time ago.

In the meantime, I hope you’ll repeat my experiment and type my name into the search bar of your bookseller of choice. These are pre-orders only. The book won’t be released until Aug. 17, and on that date it may be available only as an e-book. I’m told it may take another week or so before the delivery of the books makes sales of the hardback possible.

But why wait? The more books they sell before Trail Angel’s publication, the more they’re likely to order from Five Star Publishing. I’d like to sell a lot of books. I’d like to cash in that lottery ticket someday. But mostly, like any author, I want to be read. It’s the intangible reward that keeps all of us writing.
To make it easier, here are some links:

I’m listing Barnes & Noble second because they don’t have the cover photo on their page yet. (I can’t imagine how they will get over this slight.)

Trail Angel will be published in August by Five Star, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. Until then, here’s a little book jacket material to whet your appetite.

From award-winning journalist and first-time novelist Derek Catron comes a historical Western and love story set on “the bloody Bozeman,” the trail that sparked the only Indian war that ended with the army’s defeat.

In the spring of 1866, Annabelle sets out with her extended family to the gold fields of Montana. Guiding the wagon train is Josey Angel, a cavalryman said to have killed more men than any soldier in the Union army. His reputation frightened Annabelle. His almost boyish appearance and manner intrigued her.
The journey through landscapes so beautiful and vast that anything seems possible will test—and strengthen—Annabelle, a Southern widow who lost everything in the war. Josey discovers new purpose in seeing to the safety of the settlers. Haunted by memories of the war and what he did to survive it, he sees in Annabelle a reason to think beyond living one day to the next, if he can only find redemption for his sins.
As they begin to turn to each other, Annabelle and Josey discover even greater perils. A mysterious gang of bandits stalks their trail, and the Sioux will do anything to drive away the interlopers. Josey, Annabelle and all of those they care for are unwittingly headed into the path of a new and savage war.

With richly drawn characters and an action-packed plot, Trail Angel takes readers on a fast-paced ride from a new and distinctive voice in the genre.

Read a sample here.