No Heroes Required: A Wild Journey of Imperfect People with Author Del Howison

My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Del Howison, author of the book The Survival of Margaret Thomas. Del Howison is an author, journalist, and SAG actor. He is a Bram Stoker Award-winning editor of the anthology series Dark Delicacies: Original Tales of Terror and the Macabre by the World’s Greatest Horror Writers. He has written articles for Fear.net, Gauntlet Magazine, and Writers Digest among others. Del’s short story Cul-de-Sac appeared in Weird Tales Magazine #369. His western short story The Lost Herd was turned into the premiere (and highest rated) episode, The Sacrifice, for the series Fear Itself. His dark western novel The Survival of Margaret Thomas was shortlisted for the Peacemaker Award given out by The Western Fictioneers. He has been shortlisted for over half a dozen awards including the Shirley Jackson Award and the Black Quill. Del’s retrospective short story compilation of dark tales, What Fresh Hell Is This?, was released in March of 2025 and listed by Australia’s Aurelias Magazine as one of the best books of the year. He was the cofounder and owner (with his wife, Sue) of Dark Delicacies, a book and gift store known as “The Home of Horror,” located in Burbank, California. For that 31-year effort they were awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Horror Writer’s Association. The store won the “Il Posto Nero” award from Italy and has been inducted into the Rondo Hatton Hall of Fame.

In my book review, I stated The Survival of Margaret Thomas is a historical fiction western by Del Howison. I don't read many westerns, but this one really caught my attention. Margaret Thomas, known to her friends as Peg, has suffered a loss. Her husband, the sheriff, was killed by a band of outlaws. But now, she has a chance to see the killers go to trial.

The entire book takes place between getting the letter informing her of the trial and getting to the farflung location a several day train ride and then a long horse ride away. On the way, she, her dog, Slocum, and her horse, Horse, meet up with a crazy assortment of others - a gypsy, a dwarf, and a prostitute - who become her found family.

Everyone has experienced pain and hardship. Everyone has something they keep hidden inside. No one is a pristine character. And yet? I loved every character and cheered them on through all of their antics and adventures.

Definitely a fun read!

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