Black Cat Weekly #4

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTIONOhio-born Willis Todhunter Ballard (1903–1980) was a prolific writer of more than a thousand stories for the pulps, most notably for the legendary mystery magazine Black Mask under the name W.T. Ballard. He also published mystery and crime novels under that name. But it was as a western novelist that he achieved his greatest success, penning dozens of novels not only as Todhunter Ballard, but under such pseudonyms as Jack Slade, Hunter D’Allard, Clay Turner, John Hunter, Sam Bowie, Parker Bonner, Brian Fox, and Clint Reno.

Building upon his fiction-writing success, he transitioned to Hollywood, where he wrote more than fifty scripts for shows such as Death Valley Days and Shannon.

He died at age 77 in Moount Dora, Florida.

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Ballard’s 1952 novel, West of Quarantine, combines mystery and western elements. It pits Major Bruce Powell, a two-fisted Texan, agaist ruthless men determined to steal a West Kansas empire at any cost. One of these men is Deacon Sandson, a U.S. Marshall backed by his deputies—twenty of the most ruthless killers west of Dodge City. Another is Clayton Daigle, whose alliance with the gun-crazy Laytons forms a combination of cunning and force that seems invincible.

But Powell is determined to make the territory a place to make a decent life, and how his accomplishes his goals makes for a thrilling story.

Enjoy this trip to the Old West!

—John Betancourt

Cabin John, Maryland