Elisabeth Grace Foley

Historical Fiction Author

Two Men Named Hal Taliaferro

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If you’ve watched a lot of B-Westerns from the 1930s and ’40s, you’ve probably seen Hal Taliaferro a dozen times. If you watch primarily “A” pictures, you might remember him in the role of buckskin-clad trail hand “Old Leather” in Red River (1948), half hidden behind Buffalo Bill-esque hair and beard. And even if you don’t know the name or the face, you might recognize him by his voice—he had one of the most distinctive and recognizable speaking voices in old movies. The first time I watched Dark Command (1940), in which he had a bit part as a townsman, I couldn’t spot him in a crowd scene but knew he was there somewhere because I knew the voice.

Like many actors, he performed under a screen name. Two different screen names, in fact. But unlike a lot of regulars in Western movies, Taliaferro was a genuine Westerner himself, born into a ranching family and working as a cowboy in his youth before he headed for Hollywood. And the story behind his second and probably most familiar screen name goes back to some entertaining tales from his family’s early days ranching in Montana in the 1880s. [Read more…]

Legends of Western Cinema Week 2021: The Tag

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It’s Legends of Western Cinema Week again! This yearly blog event hosted by Hamlette’s Soliloquy, Along the Brandywine, and Meanwhile, in Rivendell is always great fun, and I’m excited about this year’s edition! The questions in the kick-off tag are great ones, and I have at least one post coming later in the week that I really enjoyed putting together (maybe more than one post; I don’t know yet!). To get things underway, here’s my answers to the tag:

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1) Western movies or western TV shows?

Both to a degree, but I tend to think of TV shows as being a little lighter on plot (perhaps because of shorter running times) and on historical authenticity.

2) Funny westerns or dramatic westerns?

Dramatic, as in not purely comedy, probably has the edge here percentage-wise, but I like a story that’s leavened with good humor instead of being starkly dramatic the whole time.

3) Westerns that focus on loners or westerns that focus on families?

I’ve never been a big fan of the trope about the lonely, haunted drifter or gunfighter who’s fated never to find a home…but I do enjoy stories of a footloose character engaging with a family or community and becoming a part of it in some way. I guess you could say I like both, but I particularly appreciate a quality Western built around a family, especially an intact nuclear family, because they’re relatively rarer.

4) Male-centric westerns or female-centric westerns?

Either or both, honestly. This applies to stories I read and stories I write, too: it’s not the first thing I think about. I think it’s entirely natural that a large number of Westerns focus on men due to the nature of the setting—and yes, once in a while I may get the impulse to take in a story about a frontier woman instead, just for a change from the usual (as you might feel the hankering for a city story instead of a country one, or a 1900s story instead of an 1800s or vice versa) but whether a story centers around a man or woman is never the driving principle behind what I choose to read or watch.

5) 1930s to 1960s westerns or 1970s to 2020s westerns?

1930s-1960s, almost entirely. My answer to question No. 7 explains a lot of this, I think.

6) Westerns that take place in America or westerns that take place internationally?

Almost 100% of the Westerns I read and watch are American, but the one exception is the brilliant The Man From Snowy River (1982). I saw it for the first time last year and it shot immediately to a place among my favorite Western movies.

7) Family-friendly Westerns or edgier Westerns?

Well, my tastes and principles in general means that most movies I watch are “family-friendly,” and that’s a big reason I watch mostly older movies. However, I do appreciate a serious and powerful story, and I’m a firm believer in the idea that a creative artist can use the tools of their trade to tell a story with mature themes in a way that we call “clean.”

8) Straightforward good guy or conflicted hero?

I tend to prefer the straightforward good guy—not somebody unnaturally perfect, just a decent upstanding human being.

9) Historically accurate Westerns or Westerns that aren’t afraid to take some creative liberties?

The more I read and study about the West, the more I find historical inaccuracies in old movies and shows jarring on me—it makes me feel like such a wet-blanket, but I can’t help it. On the other hand, I do feel that older films often have certain qualities that later ones claiming realism are lacking…I have a bunch of thoughts on this topic that I might try and put into a blog post, whether during this week or another time. But put it this way: a Western movie that’s well-made and entertaining and historically accurate will score big points with me!

10) Bittersweet or happily-ever-after endings?

I’m a happy-endings girl. I can accept a bittersweet ending every once in a while if it’s just right—if it’s right for the story and if it strikes the right chord with my tastes—but in general I prefer a happy or at least satisfying end.

Check back later this week for my next Western post!

Interview With Emily Hayse, Author of “These War-Torn Hands”

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This morning I’m delighted to welcome fellow indie author Emily Hayse for an interview about her newest release, These War-Torn Hands. I’ve known Emily for some time and have enjoyed several of her books, and I’m immensely intrigued by the concept of this latest one. These War-Torn Hands is the first book in a planned fantasy western trilogy, and what I’m particularly excited about is that it’s also a retelling of Arthurian legend, which sounds like such a cool idea! I’m looking forward to reading it, and I loved getting to quiz Emily about her inspiration for the story, her love for the Western genre and more in this great interview, which I hope you’ll enjoy:

Welcome, Emily, and thanks for doing this interview! Let’s talk first about your writing in general. Most of your books are historical fantasy—would you call that your favorite type of fiction to write? What specially appeals to you about blending speculative elements with settings based on real historical eras?

It is definitely one of my very favorites. The entire reason I got into fantasy in the first place was that I loved history, and when I had a story that I couldn’t find a time period for, I’d make up a world and eventually it happened enough that fantasy became a genre I wrote. What I love about blending the two is the ability to drag in other things like legends and make them real. You can change the stakes and grab readers that otherwise wouldn’t realize they’d enjoy that period of history and show them the beauty of history or the sorts of people that lived then.

Tell us about your relationship to the Western genre as a whole—what do you love about it, and what do you think makes a good Western?

I love so much about this genre. The landscapes and settings have so much variation and potential for danger and beauty. I love the moral complexities it demands because of the lack of structured law. A person was often forced to make a moral stand or at least his own decisions because there was no one else to make him. And honestly, I just love all the horses. A good western, in my opinion, is the marriage of a tough problem, be it man, land, or self, a beautiful setting, some danger, and a hero with the moral character to face it.

Oh, I love that description. How much research on the real American West did you do? Is there anything in the story that readers would be surprised to learn is based in reality and not fantasy?

For this book I did a fair amount of reading, some accurate fiction, and some nonfiction about the western genre and what accurate portrayals looked like, but the American West has been one of my favorite time periods in history so there was a lot of prior knowledge I leaned on. There will be some things in the later books that are based in reality and you wouldn’t think it, but the closest I can think right now is that the isarks are roughly based on pterodactyls. There are some stories where cowboys reported seeing large flying reptiles out in the middle of nowhere and the isarks are an homage to those legends.

What are your favorite Western books and movies?

Ooh. I do really like some of Louis L’Amour’s books. I read a collection of his frontier short stories that I absolutely loved. Books like Moccasin Trail, San Domingo, and Bound for Oregon shaped my childhood. I also love yours. I will read any western of yours. But I’m always looking for more recommendations in that genre! Some of my favorite western movies are The Magnificent Seven, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, Conagher, Stagecoach, and Ride Lonesome.

I am so flattered that you included me here. (I love San Domingo and Moccasin Trail too!) Moving on…I know you’ve worked with horses. How is that real-life experience reflected in your writing?

I think it’s reflected mostly in the small, comfortable details. Being able to get past the surface information, because so many people write horses in books, and add that touch of realism where a horse person would recognize the same feelings or experiences they have around a horse. Things like the way gray grime builds on your hands when you groom a horse, or the tiny things they do to tantrum when you’ve said no to nonsense, or how they snort really long when they’re relaxed.

That’s exactly the kind of detail that always makes me feel that an author really knows what they’re describing. Now, about the Arthurian aspect! Without giving us too many spoilers, which parts of Arthurian legend do you focus on retelling?

This book touches on the setup of the legend. Arthur’s rise to king of Britain, Merlin sort of overseeing it, and Vortigern inviting the Saxons (and a lot of trouble) into Britain. The following books will cover the better-known legends, things that happened in the glory days, the quest for the Holy Grail, and the departure of Arthur.

Do you see These War-Torn Hands as a “fractured” or “twisted” take on Arthurian legend, or a more straightforward classic-style retelling?

I love this question. In a sense, I am trying for a more straightforward telling. By the second book, if you know the legends, you’ll start to be able to name specific Arthurian stories that are unfolding in front of you, and I am writing roughly in chronological order for the legends, so you’ll get the usual progression. However, everything makes sense as a western and I’ve changed up and combined some events and characters to make it fit the world better. So I think it may be possible for someone to enjoy it simply as a western (albeit a fantasy one) without really knowing the Arthurian side of it.

Were you influenced by any specific Arthurian literature or authors?

I was mostly influenced by King Arthur and The Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green, but I also read Rosemary Sutcliff’s King Arthur trilogy and some Sir Thomas Mallory.

You know, I still haven’t read Green’s King Arthur, but I probably should one day since his version of Robin Hood was always my favorite! And now, final question: how is These War-Torn Hands similar to your previous books, and how is it different?

It has the same historical feel, the same sort of prose, the largeish cast of characters that are similar to my other books. I think the scope is wider on this one. It’s my first published series I’ve done, so there’s a lot of setting up and not resolving yet that’s in this book. Also, I have multiple POVs which isn’t something I’ve done much in my other books.

EMILY HAYSE is a lover of log cabins, strong coffee, NASCAR, and the smell of old books. Her writing is fueled by good characters and a lifelong passion for storytelling. When she is not busy turning words into worlds, she can often be found baking, singing, or caring for one of the many dogs and horses in her life. She lives with her family in Michigan.

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