So many so-called “novellas” these days are nothing more than whole novels that have been chopped into three parts so the publisher can squeeze three times the sales out of the reader. A true novella tells a whole story and does it with precision.
It requires different skills than writing a long form novel. It’s a different beast. Just as a song is different to a sonnet.
Elwood Flynn skips the boring bits. Attention grabbing prose, cliffhangers at the end of every chapter, action, revenge, humour… occasional nudity.
There are of course novellas—and great ones too—that are not littered with action and vengeance. The Great Gatsby, The Old Man and the Sea, Animal Farm etc. And their tight prose has been an inspiration. But Elwood is the business of a different type of novella: the pulp thriller, the classic dime novel… The Western.
In 2026 the first three books in the Robin Castle series of westerns will be released. The first, Hot Lead, coming on the 10th of May 2026.
Each book contains the same hero, Robin Castle, and if you were to read them in order there would be a journey of sorts. The first book, Hot Lead, is his origin story, but it is a complete story. A standalone within a series, as are all of the books. You can pick up any book in the series and read a complete story, without needing to know his origin story or what came before.
Start anywhere, or start at the beginning. The choice is yours.
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