Johnny D. Boggs, an award winning author of westerns and historical novels, will be part of an event at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Johnson County Museum of History. Boggs will sit down for a conversation with fellow author Larry D. Sweazy to discuss Boggs’ new book, “Longhorns East.”
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New York City had never seen anything like this before.
A herd of Texas longhorn cattle were being loaded off a ferry and into the livestock market in the summer of 1855. The animals had traveled more than 2,000 miles by trail, railroad and finally ferry. Their journey was the vision of Tom Candy Ponting — a man who became known as the Prairie Cattle King. When he arrived in New York, he was the first to introduce longhorns to buyers in the city.
For author Johnny Boggs, the story seemed too good to be true.
“It seemed like a different take on the cattle drive. I always thought it would make a great novel,” he said.
Boggs, the highly acclaimed author of more than 50 historical fiction and western novels, has captured the daring cattle drive in his newest historical novel, “Longhorns East.” The tale is filled with danger and adventure, with Ponting meeting more than his share of rustlers, hucksters and hustlers.
Boggs will bring his story to Johnson County on Sunday during a special event at 2 p.m. at the Johnson County Museum of History. He will sit down for a conversation with Larry D. Sweazy, himself an award-winning author of Westerns and other books, to talk about Ponting and creating a novel out of his life.
The event will be an opportunity to interact with fans and get face-to-face feedback on his work.
“It’s great. When I’m writing a book, I’m by myself, except for a couple of dogs. You don’t really interact with people. So it’s great to get out to see if you can still handle a crowd — if you get a crowd,” he said with a laugh.
Boggs’ journey in the world of the West started in an unexpected place. He grew up in Timmonsville, South Carolina, on a tobacco farm. The swampy, humid South Carolina days seemed a world away from the wide open plains and dusty mountain trails he saw on television and movies.
But he was drawn towards wide open spaces, and early in his life, he discovered a love for writing.
“I remember in third grade, in English class, the teacher said to write a tale — just make something up,” he said. “I have no idea what I wrote, but I knew that feeling. I still get that feeling every time I start something.”
Very quickly, Boggs found that not only did he have a passion for writing, but he had a willing audience for his work too.
“I’d write stories for my classmates. They’d tell me what they want — write a mystery, write a science fiction story. I’d do that and sell them to my classmates for a nickel or a dime,” he said. “At a point I realized this was what I wanted to do.”
Boggs’ talents took him to the University of South Carolina, where he earned a journalism degree before going to work for a series of newspapers, including rising to assistant sports editor at both the Dallas Times Herald and Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
But in 1998, he decided to step away from the newspaper world to pursue writing novels.
“At some point, I just kind of got burned out. After 14 or 15 years of being in the business, I wanted something different,” he said.
Since that time, Boggs has established himself as one of the most decorated writers of westerns in the world. He is a 12-time finalist and nine-time winner of the Spur Award, given to the top authors in the western genre.
He has received more awards than any other author in the history of the Western Writers of America, and is a member of the Western Writers Hall of Fame. Booklist has called him “among the best Western writers at work today” and he has twice received the True West Magazine Best of the West Award.
“Longhorns East” is Boggs’ most recent release, coming out on Aug. 22. The book grew out of a pair of other novels Boggs wrote about cattle drives; he thought the story of Tom Ponting was a unique one.
Boggs had heard the story of Ponting’s life — growing up herding cattle in his native England before moving to the United States.
The venture from Texas to New York City really captured Boggs’ imagination. Ponting and his team drove their Longhorns across the Midwest, eventually making it to Muncie, where they loaded the cattle on a train and rode to New Jersey. After taking a ferry across the Hudson River, the cattle drive ended in New York.
Boggs did considerable research to get the details of Ponting’s life and the eastward-bound drive correct.
“I followed the trail all the way to Muncie, did some more research and then started writing it,” he said.
But as a historical novel, Boggs also added some flourishes to make it more enticing, such as weaving in elements of danger from rustlers and con men along the way. He also increased the number of cowboys who took part in the drive.
“You have to use your imagination. The characters always drive the story, and I had an interesting one in (Ponting),” he said.
In promoting “Longhorns East,” Boggs has been following the rough path that Ponting took, starting in Texas before making stops in Oklahoma, Missouri and finally Indiana.
He is looking forward to the event at the Johnson County Museum of History.
“You get to talk about the book, and some people have already read the book, so you get to have feedback on that. You get to hear what they like, what they don’t like, and then carry that on to the next novel,” he said.
IF YOU GO
An Afternoon with Johnny D. Boggs and Larry D. Sweazy
What: A conversation between Boggs, an award-winning author of westerns and historical novels, and Sweazy, himself a successful author. They’ll be discussing Boggs’ newest novel, “Longhorns East.”
When: 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: The Johnson County Museum of History, 135 N. Main St., Franklin
Tickets: $5, or $15 to receive a signed copy of “Longhorns East.” Wild Geese Bookshop will also be on hand selling copies.
Information: wildgeesebookshop.com
