Virtual Book Tour: Elmer Kelton's The Familiar Stranger by John Bradshaw #western #adventure #historical #fiction #giveaway #interview #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours - A Life Through Books

Friday, June 27, 2025

Virtual Book Tour: Elmer Kelton's The Familiar Stranger by John Bradshaw #western #adventure #historical #fiction #giveaway #interview #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours



A Hewey Calloway Adventure, Book 5


Western Adventure

Date Published: 12-03-2024

Publisher: Forge Books



Elmer Kelton’s Hewey Calloway, one of the best-loved cowboys in all of Western fiction, returns in this novel of his middling years, as he looks for work―but not too much work―in 1904 West Texas.Hewey Calloway had intended to pass straight through Durango, Colorado, en route to visit a friend several miles northeast of the city. He had left his home range about a year before, with a herd of young horses. It was supposed to be a relatively straightforward affair; deliver the horses, collect the payment, and return home with the money. Things got out of hand, however, and there he was in Durango a year later with plans to go north rather than south. Oh, well, he thought, he had always wanted to see new country.

It isn't long before his travels lead him to a cabin on a rainy night. There he meets a young man, sick as a dog, who weakly tries to send him off. And for good reason: the man has smallpox, and soon enough, Hewey catches the deadly disease. The man cares for him in turn, and it's just as he is feeling better that the man disappears. The next morning a Pinkerton detective turns up with posse, looking for a wanted bank robber.

As he travels north, Hewey seems to run in with both the young man who tended to him, as well as the detective. But something seems off about the Pinkerton detective, and Hewey keeps his mouth shut. When he reuinites with his friend Hanley, they do everything they can to get to the bottom of the mystery that threatens both theirs and this young man's life.






Interview



What is the hardest part of writing your books?

The hardest part for me is finding the time to write as much as I would like. My wife, Sara, and I own a small ranch with a couple-hundred head of sheep, goats and cattle. Some days I can write half a day or more, while on others I may never make it to the computer. I also still write a few newspaper stories, so that pulls me away from book projects.



What are your most played songs?

I’m a rock fan. Always have been. “Story of My Life”, by Social Distortion. “Cowboy Song”, by Thin Lizzy, “Letter to LA”, by Joe Ely, “Bad Company”, by Bad Company.



Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

My wife and parents, our friend Barbie, and Steve Kelton’s widow, Karen McGinnis, all critique my manuscripts. I’m also a member of a local group called Write Right Critique Group.



What book are you reading now?

“A Cool Breeze on the Underground”, by one of my favorite authors, Don Winslow



How did you start your writing career?

I began writing magazine and newspaper stories in my mid-twenties, all for horse and livestock publications. Write what you know. In 2007 I became a fulltime staff writer for Livestock Weekly. I began writing a few short stories, and then I had the opportunity to take over “The Familiar Stranger”.



Tell us about your next release.

I have two manuscripts awaiting publication. One is “Elmer Kelton’s The Blessing”, which is the sixth novel in the Hewey Calloway series. It takes place after Elmer’s “The Smiling Country” and takes Hewey back to Upton County. Hewey and Spring are presented with an incredible opportunity, but Hewey soon gets crossways with his old adversary, Fat Gervin.

The other is nonfiction, called “Across The West Texas Sky, The Story Of A Helicopter Cowboy”. It’s a profile of Aubrey Lange, who served two exciting tours in Vietnam as a medevac helicopter pilot and then began a helicopter company that gathered livestock across the southwestern U.S. for over four decades.

About the Author

John Bradshaw is a native of the small town of Abernathy, Texas. He is an award-winning journalist with well over a thousand published stories. Elmer Kelton’s The Familiar Stranger, co-authored with Steve Kelton, is his first book.

Bradshaw attended South Plains College followed by Texas Tech University. He spent several years shoeing horses for a living as his writing career progressed.

While the desire to write books was always there, Bradshaw first pursued a career in journalism. He wrote numerous stories for ranching, horse and horseshoeing magazines.

Growing up, Livestock Weekly came in the mail once a week, as it does for most in the livestock industry. Writing for Livestock Weekly was always a goal, and in 2005 Bradshaw’s first story was published. It was a profile of Brownie Metzgar, a humorous cowboy still working in a feedlot while in his late 80s.

In 2007 Bradshaw accepted a fulltime position with Livestock Weekly. While with the paper he had over a thousand stories published, as well as enough market reports to give him permanent nightmares.

Horses have always played an important role in his life. The son of a horseshoer, he has spent a significant amount of time either on or under a horse. He still shows in both ranch horse and reined cow horse competitions.

He and his wife, Sara, live outside Abernathy. Sara owns an architecture firm, SK Architecture Group, and they raise Spanish goats, hair sheep and cattle.

In 2013 the couple had a stillborn son, Fox Joaquin Bradshaw. After several years of heartbreak they adopted an infant boy, whom they named Julian Boone Bradshaw. Boone died in his dad’s arms following an accident at the barn five days before his sixth birthday.

 

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