The Spanish Peaks

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Summary: This is the kind of read anyone will enjoy!
Review: Notes on The Spanish Peaks by Craig Nelsen, Rodgers & Nelsen Publishing Co. A friend of a friend knew someone with an interesting manuscript and...well, that's how those stories go. After reviewing the manuscript and being both moved and impressed by the story, we decided The Spanish Peaks would be our initial foray into historical fiction. Reviews and reader response have validated our decision. The Denver Post, for example, says, "Fans of western historical fiction have been searching for the new Louis L'Amour or Zane Grey for years, having to make do with dry mountain man tales or Wild West flights of fancy. The wait may be over. With the novel, 'The Spanish Peaks,'...Jon Chandler has cut L'Amour's trail and appears to be headed for higher ground." "Picture a combination of L'Amour's excitement and action with some of Larry McMurtry's eloquence and plot development...and it becomes clear that Chandler has come up with a winning debut." High praise, indeed. But just part of the picture. We've received glowing comments from folks who live and breathe the Wild West, people like prominent western artist James Collender, American Cowboy Magazine editor Jesse Mullins, Buffalo Bill re-creator Al Huffman, In Search of Butch Cassidy author Larry Pointer and western historian and Sand Creek Massacre expert Pat Mendoza. We feel that Jon Chandler has the vision and talent to become an important contributor to the literature of the West. The Spanish Peaks is a great start. It is a terrific story anyone would enjoy, whether they read time period work or not. You do not have to be interested in mountain man tales to see the value in this timeless, well written work. C. Nelsen

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Summary: Notes re: The Spanish Peaks
Review: Notes on The Spanish Peaks by Jon Chandler December 1998

I first heard Tom Tobin's name from my grandfather, Russell Patterson, as we fished the Rio Grande River near South Fork, Colorado. Between casts, Bop, as I called him, told me the story of the mountain man and scout who was Kit Carson's friend, a man who tracked down the Espinosa Gang, killed two of them and beheaded the corpses. Bop's father and grandfather knew Tobin. They knew him to be a rough and tumble, and perhaps dangerous, character.

Bop's family was made up of some pretty colorful characters itself. His great-uncle, Decatur "Kate" Patterson, hooked up with William Green Russell in 1858 and wound up leading a party of Georgians to the foot of the Rockies, where they discovered gold at the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River. The result was Denver. Bop's father, Morgan, was a legendary sheriff, miner, justice of the peace, fiddler, bear hunter, fisherman and, according to his obituary when he died at age 99, friend of Buffalo Bill's.

The Pattersons settled in southern Colorado, where Kate had been given land at Huerfano Butte by Ceran St. Vrain. Their home was at the foot of the majestic, haunting Spanish Peaks, the Huajatolla of Colorado. In 1863, near the Spanish Peaks on what would become known as La Veta Pass, Tobin caught up with the Espinosas.

A seed was planted by my grandfather on the Rio Grande so long ago, and I knew I'd write about Tobin's exploits someday. But as it turned out, Tobin was not the most sympathetic of characters. The beheadings of the Espinosas, for example, were for practical rather than cognitive reasons; it was easier to transport two heads to Fort Garland than two entire bodies.

The twin peaks, however - the Huajatolla - were characters in themselves. In dozens of trips over the years, I was captivated by them, and somewhere along the line, I made the decision to take Tobin's story and present it as historical fiction, giving him the urgency and nobility required by a western.

Finally, a few years ago as I stood before the grave of Samuel Patterson, the family patriarch buried in a pioneer cemetery on what is now Gail Ritter's ranch, it came to me. I could see the vast expanse of land to the east, leading up to the Peaks, even today looking completely uninhabited. La Veta, the town below, was somehow transformed to its frontier persona, John Francisco's Fort. I could virtually see Tom Tobin, now Sam Tate in my mind, riding down the slope of La Veta Pass, his life cluttered with emotional debris from needless and violent acts.

I saw a western, and I wrote of the West.

When the first manuscript was finished, I also wrote a song, The Spanish Peaks, that appeared on my 1996 album, Out West of Laramie. Today, when I perform it around the country, I'm always transported back to the Rio Grande on a day when the trout were biting and my grandfather told me a story.

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Summary: The Spanish Peaks wins Spur Award for Best First Novel.
Review: The Spanish Peaks wins prestigious literary award

Jon Chandler's "The Spanish Peaks" designated Best First Novel by western writers group

Western Writers of America, Inc. has named Jon Chandler's The Spanish Peaks as winner of the 1999 Spur Award for Best First Novel. The Spur Awards, and particularly the Medicine Pipe Bearer's Award for Best First Novel, are the foremost honors for writers of the West. Western Writers of America, Inc., was founded in 1953 to promote the literature of the American West and bestow Spur Awards for distinguished writing in the western field. The Spur Awards, given annually for distinguished writing about the American West, are among the oldest and most prestigious in American literature. "I'm honored beyond words to join so many of my heros who have received Spur Awards," said Chandler. Winners in previous years include Larry McMurtry for Lonesome Dove, Michael Blake for Dances With Wolves, and Glendon Swarthout for The Shootist. Set in frontier Colorado territory at the end of the Civil War, The Spanish Peaks is a fictionalized account of legendary mountain man and scout Tom Tobin's confrontation with the Espinosa gang in southern Colorado. Paul Pape, a Beverly Hills-based screenwriter/producer has finished a screenplay of The Spanish Peaks. "It's a great western novel, and I hope to see it turned into a great western film," said Pape. In addition to his fiction writing, Chandler is a popular Country-Americana songwriter and performer. According to the book's publisher, Rodgers & Nelsen managing partner Craig Nelsen, "Jon is one of the best singers and songwriters in the country, and many people know him for his voice and musical abilities. But he's also a fine writer, and we're proud to publish his first novel." A life-long Western buff and fourth-generation Coloradan, Chandler has released several Americana-oriented products in recent years, including his 1996 Keepers of the Flame CD, sponsored by the National Association of Conservation Districts and many of the country's premier agricultural organizations. Keepers of the Flame has won nine major communications awards to date. Denver-based Red Gecko Records has a July release date for Chandler's new CD, Westerns, featuring the theme song for Chandler's novel, The Spanish Peaks.

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Summary: Successor to Louis L'Amour?!
Review: This is a wonderful book! Jon has truly captured the spirit of this part of Colorado--we live near the Spanish Peaks in the San Luis Valley, and regularly travel the country he writes about. I drive past old Fort Garland every day. The pictures Jon draws with his words are so accurate, they are like a photograph. Our valley really is that beautiful! The characters are so vivid they feel alive, and the plot and the action move right along. My husband originally bought the book and loved it, then I read and loved it. We loaned it to my mom, who is now buying a copy to keep, plus several copies to give as gifts for Christmas. As a western writer, I can see Jon Chandler as the successor to Louis L'Amour--equally exciting and well-researched material. Highly recommended!!!

Rating:
Summary: Successor to Louis L'Amour?!
Review: This is a wonderful book! Jon has truly captured the spirit of this part of Colorado--we live near the Spanish Peaks in the San Luis Valley, and regularly travel the country he writes about. I drive past old Fort Garland every day. The pictures Jon draws with his words are so accurate, they are like a photograph. Our valley really is that beautiful! The characters are so vivid they feel alive, and the plot and the action move right along. My husband originally bought the book and loved it, then I read and loved it. We loaned it to my mom, who is now buying a copy to keep, plus several copies to give as gifts for Christmas. As a western writer, I can see Jon Chandler as the successor to Louis L'Amour--equally exciting and well-researched material. Highly recommended!!!