Johnny Boggs Books In Order

Publication Order of Hannah and the Horseman Books

Publication Order of Killstraight Books

Publication Order of Frontier Story Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Johnny Boggs is an American author born in 1962 and who primarily writes Western novels.

+Biography

Johnny Boggs spent his childhood on a farm in South Carolina. Interestingly enough, Boggs lived quite close to Francis Marion’s home. Marion was a revolutionary war hero. One wonders whether living around Marion’s old stamping grounds had any impact on Johnny Boggs choices as an aspiring writer.

Boggs always knew that he wanted to write. At the time, other kids were more interested in watching movies and Television shows and playing characters like Cool Hand Luke. Boggs loved movies, but he also took great joy from creating his own unique characters.

By the third grade, Boggs had already written his first story, and it wasn’t the last one. Boggs began penning tales about detectives and superheroes that he would then sell to his classmates. He will attest to earning a sizeable amount of money in the process, sizeable for his age at least.

When it came to education, Boggs went to the University of Carolina. He graduated in 1984, taking a degree in Journalism with him. He was able to secure employment with the Dallas Times Herald, finding a place in their sports department.

It took him a while, but he was able to climb the ladder to the position of assistant sports editor. Unfortunately, the Dallas Times Herald Folded in 1991. Luckily for Boggs, he was able to find a place at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Once again, he gravitated towards the sports section.

Difficult as the work might have been, Boggs still managed to climb the ranks to become assistant sports editor. This time, rather than the Fort Worth Star-Telegram folding, Boggs simply left, choosing to give his novels and freelancing efforts even more of his time.

Johnny Boggs’ interest in Westerns isn’t that surprising. After all, Westerns were still a thing on Television during his childhood. With shows like Gunsmoke piquing his interest, there was never a time when Boggs didn’t love Westerns, at least as far as he can remember.

As he grew older, though, while Boggs’ love for Westerns remained strong, he slowly but surely drifted away from the Hollywood representation of that world. Instead, Boggs found that he was drawn to stories of the true West, tales that lacked the glamor and shine of Hollywood.

It wasn’t long before he learned about and drifted towards Western fiction, with authors like Dorothy M. Johnson drawing his interest. Since taking up the pen and deciding to seriously pursue his writing career, Johnny Boggs has written about the American West from every possible perspective.

Whether you want fashion news or historical articles and even environmental issues, not to mention reviews and celebrities, if you love the American West then Boggs has probably written something that you will love. You only need to closely scrutinize his bibliography to find it.

Boggs believes that the West is more of a spiritual place than a physical place, and it has the power to elicit a unique sense of being amongst those who love and read about it. Boggs admits that the Western Genre has seen better days. However, he is pretty certain about its bright future, even on the big screen, primarily because the West is America’s heritage and people will eventually look for a medium that can tell those stories about that world.

For his efforts, Johnny Boggs has won the Spur Award a number of times. He has also won the Western Heritage Wrangler Award.

The author loves to canoe, hike and traverse ghost towns, not to mention working cattle.

+Northfield

1876 was an important year in Minnesota. That was the year that the James-Younger gang tried to rob the First National Bank of Northfield. The consequences of their actions were quite disastrous; Johnny Boggs retells this story from a unique perspective.

This is one story that has been covered extensively, not only in books but movies as well. However, Boggs brings something new. His work not only covers the James-Younger gang, but it also gives the law a voice.

He also brings a lot of the actual people who lived through those events to light, using their real names and giving history enthusiasts a reference point of sorts. Readers can look forward to narrations from ordinary farmers that actually spoke to the gang members to business owners who witnessed their actions first hand.

The James and Younger families also come into play here, and they are a little different from what some people might have assumed. All in all, Johnny Boggs tells a complete story, filling in all the holes and gaps in the tale that always frustrated him, and making the world feel whole.

More than merely a historical account, this book is a great Western.

+The Big Fifty

Coady McIlvain was 12-years-old when his father was scalped by Indians. The event, which took place in 1872 in Kansas, manifested to Coady the stark realities frontier life. Taken prisoner in the process, Coady did the impossible and escaped, only to fall in with his hero, a sharpshooter named Dylan Griffith.

The two are thrown into an adventure as they struggle to survive in difficult terrain. Coady’s captors are not so forgiving and their determination to recapture their prey proves problematic. This Johnny Boggs Western contrasts the myths and legends of frontier life with its brutal realities.

There is no other book out there that has done as effective a job of portraying buffalo hunters. Boggs creates a unique hero in Dylan Griffith. He is certainly the good guy here but he isn’t all good, showing little regard for his fellow man in some instances.

The Indians are very varied. You have some truly vicious and cruel ones; however, Boggs also introduces some amongst their ranks who are brave and considerate. Boggs gives everyone a fair opportunity to voice their perspective. Because the story starts out with such a bang, it immediately hooks readers and it doesn’t let them go throughout its run.

You can tell by reading this book that Boggs has a great appreciation for the West. His love for this part of history shines through every single word he writes.