William Wallace Johnstone (October 28, 1938 – February 8, 2004) was an American author most known for his

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 ...

, horror and survivalist novels.

Life and career

Early life

Born and raised in southern

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, Johnstone was the youngest of four children. His father was a minister and his mother a school teacher. He left school when he was 15 and worked in a

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

and as a deputy

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

. He later served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and, upon returning to civilian life, worked in

radio broadcasting Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

for 16 years.

Career

Johnstone started his writing career in 1970, but did not have any works published until 1979 (''The Devil's Kiss''). He wrote close to two hundred books in numerous genres, including

suspense Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it aff ...

, horror,

men's adventure Men's adventure is a genre of magazine that was published in the United States from the 1940s until the early 1970s. Catering to a male audience, these magazines featured pin-up girls and lurid tales of adventure that typically featured wartime fe ...

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...

, and

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

. His main publication series were ''Mountain Man'', ''The First Mountain Man'', ''Ashes'' (with Ben Raines as the protagonist), and ''Eagles''. His own personal favorite novel was ''The Last of the Dog Team'' (1980). He also authored two novels under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

William Mason. His works have been translated into languages other than English. Johnstone lived in

Tallulah, Louisiana Tallulah is a city in and the parish seat of Madison Parish, Louisiana, Madison Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The 2010 population was 7,335, a decrease of 1,854, or 20.2 percent, from the 9,189 recorded at the 2000 United Sta ...

and later in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

. Johnstone died in 2004 at the age of 65. His death remained officially unconfirmed for two years.

Posthumously published books

Copyright pages of at least one book published in 2006 noted that Johnstone had died and that a "carefully selected author" was chosen to carry on his legacy. J. A. Johnstone, his niece, continues her uncle's series. The decision to continue publishing Johnstone books under his name was met with criticism by Lee Duran, a columnist with ''

The Joplin Globe ''The Joplin Globe'' is a five-day daily newspaper published in Joplin, Missouri, United States, covering parts of 14 counties in southwestern Missouri. Ottaway Community Newspapers owned the ''Globe'' from 1975 to 2002. Since 2002, it has been ow ...

'', who criticized the editing of one book, writing, "giving billing to the dead is sort of like ghostwriting in reverse with sales depending upon the name of someone who really is a ghost".

Critical reception

His 1993 novel ''Eyes of Eagles'' received a largely positive review from ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'', which read, "Johnstone .. on rare occasion, molds history to fit his tale. However, neither these liberties, nor the one-dimensional characters dampen this rousing, two-fisted saga of the growing American frontier". ''Talons of Eagles'', his first hardcover, was reviewed by ''Publishers Weekly'': "Despite some interesting period lore, the narrative is padded with lengthy historical discussions and further weakened by lackluster prose". His 1995 novel ''What the Heart Knows: A Love Story'' was his mainstream fiction debut. It received a negative review from ''Publishers Weekly'', which called its storytelling "earnest and heartfelt" but noted "this tale about a May-September affair between a small-town Southern girl and a hard-nosed businessman never develops into anything more than an extended romantic cliché". ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' wrote that ''What the Heart Knows'' was "a sentimental wannabe '' Bridges of Madison County'', strictly for the romance crowd". ''Publishers Weekly'' received ''Scream of Eagles'' negatively, writing, "this is a preposterous story, with little historical accuracy or value, featuring a shallow caricature of a western hero". ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' gave a

starred review A starred review is a book review __NOTOC__ A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece ...

to ''A Lone Star Christmas'', writing that it was " well-paced saga with cattle rustling, bar fights, painful secrets, unrequited love, and a baby born on Christmas day". ''Butch Cassidy: The Lost Years'' received a positive review from ''Publishers Weekly'', which wrote, "Johnstone is a masterful storyteller, creating a tale that is fanciful and funny, exciting and surprisingly convincing". ''A Big Sky Christmas'' received a starred review from ''Library Journal'' that offered the following verdict: "Johnstone and his nephew have written an excellent Western with plenty of action and suspense along with great secondary characters and story lines that will appeal to historical fiction readers, too". ''A Frontier Christmas'' received a negative review from ''Library Journal'', which wrote that, though "The Johnstones consistently write great Westerns", there is "the relentless barrage of terrible events in the story line" and to "read this one for the action, not the Christmas cheer". A ''Library Journal'' review of ''A Texas Hill Country Christmas'' read that the novel was a "rollicking Western" that is "full of gunfights, outlaws, and an unforgettable holiday".

Selected works

*''The Last Mountain Man''. Zebra/Kensignton, 1984. *''War of the Mountain Man'' (The Last Mountain Man Series). Zebra, 1990. *''The First Mountain Man''. Pinnacle, 1991. *''Eyes of Eagles'' (The Eagles Series). Zebra, 1993. *''Talons of Eagles'' (The Eagles Series). Zebra, 1995. *''What the Heart Knows: A Love Story''. Kensington, 1995. *''Scream of Eagles'' (The Eagles Series). Kensington, 1996. *''The Drifter'' (The Last Gunfighter Series). Zebra, 2000. *''Preacher'' (The First Mountain Man Series). Pinnacle, 2001. *''Blood Valley''. Pinnacle, 2006.

With J. A. Johnstone

*''Six Ways From Sunday'' (The Blood Valley Series). Pinnacle, 2009. *''Pride of Eagles'' (The Eagles Series). Pinnacle, 2006. *''Preacher's Quest'' (The First Mountain Man Series). Pinnacle, 2007. *''Matt Jensen: The Last Mountain Man''. Pinnacle, 2007. *''Avenger'' (The Last Gunfighter Series). Pinnacle, 2007. *''Butch Cassidy: The Lost Years''. Kensington, 2013. *''Lone Star Christmas'' (The Christmas Series). Pinnacle, 2011. * ''A Big Sky Christmas'' (The Christmas Series). Pinnacle/Kensington, 2013. *''A Frontier Christmas'' (The Christmas Series). Pinnacle/Kensington, 2013. *''A Texas Hill Country Christmas'' (The Christmas Series). Pinnacle/Kensington, 2015. *''Cruel Winter of the Mountain Man'' (The First Mountain Man Series). Kensington, 2022.

With Fred Austin

*''Savage Country'' (The Last Gunfighter Series). Pinnacle, 2006. *''Preacher's Fortune'' (The First Mountain Man Series). Pinnacle, 2013.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnstone, William W. 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists People from Missouri Writers from Shreveport, Louisiana Western (genre) writers American horror writers American science fiction writers 1938 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Louisiana