__NOTOC__ Mike Blakely is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

singer/songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk-acoustic tradition, although this role has transmuted thr ...

, focusing on

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

subjects. He lives in, and is closely associated with, the U.S. state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Books

Blakely has been writing

Western fiction Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 20th century and ...

since 1993. Eighteen of his novels are currently in print. Two of them were co-written with

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

and

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

. ''Summer of Pearls'', won the 2000 Spur Award for Best Western Novel from the

Western Writers of America Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction, the more than 600 current members also include historian ...

. Two others have been nominated for the award. Four of his novels comprise an untitled Western saga that has been compared to the work of

Louis L'Amour Louis Dearborn L'Amour (; né LaMoore; March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels (though he called his work "frontier stories"); however, he also wrote hi ...

Partial Bibliography

* The Snowy Range Gang, 1992 * Glory Trail, 1993 * Shortgrass Song, 1994 * The Last Chance, 1995 * Wild Camp Tales, 1995 * Too Long at the Dance, 1996 * More Wild Camp Tales, 1996 * Spanish Blood, 1996 * Dead Reckoning, 1997 * Vendetta Gold, 1998 * Comanche Dawn, 1998 * Summer of Pearls, 2000 * Moon Medicine, 2001 * Come Sundown, 2006 * A Song to Die For, 2014 * A Sinister Splendor, 2019

Music

As a performer, Mike Blakely has toured extensively on his own and with his band and has made 16 tours to Europe. He currently performs mostly at festivals, house concerts, and private parties, most of them in Texas. He holds monthly concerts at his ranch near Llano. He has released eleven CDs on his own label, mostly featuring his own songs. His songs have also been recorded by artists such as

Johnny Bush John Bush Shinn III (February 17, 1935October 16, 2020) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Nicknamed the "Country Caruso", Bush was best known for his distinctive voice and for writing the song "Whiskey River", a t ...

Flaco Jiménez Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez (born March 11, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and accordionist from San Antonio, Texas. He is known for playing Norteño, Tex Mex and Tejano music. Jiménez has been a solo performer and session musician, as ...

Raul Malo Raúl Francisco Martínez-Malo Jr. (born August 7, 1965, in Miami, Florida), known professionally as Raúl Malo, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He is the lead singer of country music band The Mavericks and the ...

Gary P. Nunn Gary P. Nunn (born December 4, 1945) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He is best known for writing "London Homesick Blues", which was the theme song for ''Austin City Limits'' from 1977 to 2004 (seasons 2–29). Nunn is also consi ...

Johnny Rodriguez Juan Raoul Davis "Johnny" Rodriguez (born December 10, 1951) is an American country music singer. He is a Tejano and Texas country music singer, infusing his music with Latin sounds, and even singing verses of songs in Spanish. In the 1970s and ...

, and

Red Steagall Russell "Red" Steagall (born December 22, 1938) is an American actor, musician, poet, and stage performer, who focuses on American Western and country music genres. Early life and day jobs He was born in Gainesville, Texas, United States. He ...

. In 2007, his story song "The Last Wild White Buffalo" won the first-ever

Spur Award Spur Awards are literary prizes awarded annually by the Western Writers of America (WWA). The purpose of the Spur Awards is to honor writers for distinguished writing about the American West. The Spur awards began in 1953, the same year the WWA wa ...

for Best Western Song. Members of the

named three of his songs as being among the Top 100 Western songs of all time: "The Last Wild White Buffalo", "The Last Comanche Moon", and "The Old Cantina".

Personal life

Mike Blakely grew up on a ranch in

Wharton County, Texas Wharton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 41,570. Its county seat is Wharton. The county was named for brothers William Harris Wharton and John Austin Wharton. Wharton County ...

, where he helped his father tend cattle. He says he "has always wanted to live in the country, have his own place, be his own boss, and hunt and fish." From an early age, he also wanted to be a fiction writer. He served as a helicopter mechanic in the U.S. Air Force, after which he earned a degree in journalism at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. His literary influences include one of his early English teachers, as well as

J. Frank Dobie James Frank Dobie (September 26, 1888 – September 18, 1964) was an American folklorist, writer, and newspaper columnist best known for his many books depicting the richness and traditions of life in rural Texas during the days of the open rang ...

Elmer Kelton Elmer Stephen Kelton (April 29, 1926Kelton, Elmer (2007). - ''Sandhills Boy: The Winding Trail of a Texas Writer''. - New York, New York: Forge. - p.26. - . – August 22, 2009) was an American journalist and writer, known particularly for hi ...

, and Norman Zollinger. He is a past president of the Western Writers of America.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blakely, Mike American male writers People from Wharton County, Texas Moody College of Communication alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Singer-songwriters from Texas People from Llano, Texas