James C. Work Books In Order

Publication Order of Keystone Ranch Books

Publication Order of Ranger McIntyre Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

James C Work is a western fiction author from Estes Colorado. He was born in the Fall River Valley, a small town several miles from the famous Este Park in Colorado. Work has always been interested in languages and literature and got his bachelors and masters from Colorado State University. For his doctorate, he studied literature and culture at the University of New Mexico. Once he graduated, he went on to work as a professor of creative nonfiction, nature writing, and Western literature at Colorado State University. It was supposed to be a transition role but he ended up teaching for more than three decades. It was during this time that his interest in Victorian poetry dissipated to be replaced by Western American fiction. Within a decade, he wrote a book that was then used as a textbook all across the United States and was then elected Western Literature Association president. Other offices he has held over the years include Rocky Mountain MLA Director and Colorado Seminars in Literature Executive Director. His other interests include etymology, archetypal mythology, and rhetoric. He published his debut novel Ride South to Purgatory in 1999 and has never looked back since. He currently has more than ten novels in the “Keystone Ranch” and the “Ranger McIntyre” series alongside several single standing novels, and several pieces of nonfiction.

The award-winning author has won several awards including a Distinguished Service Award from the Western Literature Association, the Literary Achievement Award from the Frank Waters Society, and the CSL Book of the Year. On a personal note, Work has several accomplishments that he has said he is very proud of. He was responsible for the discovery of a new type of application for the Arthurian legends, which he set in the American West when he brought Lancelot and Gawain to Wyoming. In 2011, he published “Don’t Shoot the Gentile,” a hilarious set of memoirs that was published in the “Utah Memoir.” He has also kept up with the times and had his articles published in “NewWest,” an online magazine with most of his works also published on Kindle. James Work makes his home in Fort Collins and when he is not writing his novels and memoirs, he may be found fly fishing, canoeing, camping, and hiking.

In James C Work’s “Unmentionable Murders,” a body is discovered floating in the river. It was naked except for the underpants and the authorities at first believe it could have been a photography accident. But then they discover another body in a remote lake nearby and the accident theory now looks very shaky. Ranger McIntyre’s brief does not usually include women in underwear or anything o do with homicide but with the police having no headway, he decides to jump in. His investigations are very successful and in no time, he has most of the pieces of the puzzle together though he soon finds himself in a remote hut in the countryside being asked to disrobe by a stranger. He had also been drawn into a federal investigation just before he was taken by the stranger. The suspect they had been investigating had been selling salacious photos of nudes that seem to be dead. McIntyre’s work with the federal agent seems even more embarrassing given that he is so taken by Violet Coteau, the agent’s secretary. She looks like a flapper though she can drive a car like a rally driver and shoots like a sharpshooter.

“Small Delightful Murders” by James C Work is set in Colorado, in a pristine national park. The Small Delights Lodge which the owners had wisely built in the Rocky Mountain National Park is under fire. The owner had been shot at, electric booby traps set for the patrons, boats sabotaged, vehicles set ablaze, and finally, there had been murder and arson. Tim McIntyre the Ranger has a long list of suspects including a rogue park ranger, the proprietor of the neighboring resort, and some mobsters from Chicago who want to use the resort as a speakeasy for their illegal alcohol during the prohibition. All McIntyre’s boss wants is for the situation to be resolved as fast as possible. The only help that McIntyre can get consists of an FBI secretary he has a crush on and Polly, a highly confident and driven girl

One Response to “James C. Work”

1. bill willingham: 8 months ago

   Especially like the Keystone Series of books and the development of the characters. I hope you have another Keystone book coming soon

   Reply