Vengeance Valley by Richard S Wheeler Has Been Named the Best Original Western Paperback of 2004 by



March 23, 2005 -- Veteran western novelist Richard S. Wheeler, of Livingston, Montana has a knack for creating exciting and unique stories about the American West. One such story line put the novel, "Vengeance Valley" into the winner's circle in the 2005 Western Writers of America (WWA) Spur Awards competition. "Vengeance Valley" won in the Best Original Paperback category.

Wheeler has won four previous Spur Awards as well as the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement in Western literature. He has written fifty-five novels in the last two decades, with more titles due out this year.

In contrast, "Vengeance Valley" was Pinnacle's first Spur Award. Published in September, 2004, the title is one in Wheeler's mining camp series published by Pinnacle. The first mining-camp story was "The Bounty Trail;"Vengeance Valley" is the second title in the series. "Seven Miles to Sundown" will be on booksellers' shelves in April.

Western Writers of America has been around since the 1950s, and is one of the oldest literary societies in the country. Its membership numbers more than five hundred, and an annual convention to celebrate the literature of the American West meets in a western city each June. At this year's convention, in Spokane, WWA will present Spur Awards in fifteen categories of fiction and nonfiction. Wheeler and representatives from Pinnacle will be on hand to receive their new honor.

About the Book:
"Vengeance Valley" takes place in a mining town called Yancey high in the Colorado mountains. There, telluride gold ore is discovered directly under a hospital run by the Sisters of Charity, and suddenly every greedy scoundrel and executive in the camp is scheming to oust the nuns from their hospital grounds and cash in on the bonanza. But they didn't reckon on the courage of the nun the miners know as Sister Drill Sergeant, or on the tenacity of the prospector, Hard Luck Yancey, who found the new bonanza close to where he had won his previous fortune only to have it stolen from him.

For more about "Vengeance Valley" and other entertainments written by Wheeler, consult his Web site at www.RichardSWheeler.com. There's even an excerpt posted, and a simple click to order the book directly from the publisher. The title is also available at bookstores throughout the country.





Vengeance Valley by Richard S Wheeler Has Been Named the Best Original Western Paperback of 2004 by