Tyler Auffhammer
Robbinsville – This isn’t Robbinsville High School alumni Tyler Auffhammer’s first publication, but he believes it is his best so far.
“Marshal Horne of Talon’s Crossing” is a short story collection set in 1870s Nevada, and follows veteran lawman Gideon Horne as he protects and serves the small town of Talon’s Crossing. The book was released in November by book publisher Airship 27.
“It really captures the types of stories that have been in my imagination since I was a kid,” Auffhammer told The Mountaineer, the Waynesville-based newspaper where he works as a reporter.
After traveling during his youth, Auffhammer finished high school in Robbinsville (class of 2011), and then attended Western Carolina University on a Teaching Fellows scholarship.
He spent six years teaching high school English and creative writing in Davie County near Winston-Salem, but recently moved home with his wife and children to Waynesville. Recently, Auffhammer began working as a reporter for The Mountaineer.
Auffhammer grew up reading the stories of Louis L’Amour and watching western shows and films like “Gunsmoke” and “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.”
“Marshal Horne is the stereotypical lawman: gruff and hard-nosed,” Auffhammer told The Mountaineer of his fictitious hero. “But also well-read, experienced, and caring. I wanted a fully-rounded character to head up my stories.”
According to the plot summary, “Talon’s Crossing, Nevada is a fast-growing western town with its share of growing pains. Born on the edge of the frontier by ranchers and farmers weary of the horrors of the past Civil War, it is home to both the good and the bad. Men and women seeking their fortune off a land that doesn’t give it up easily. From buffalo hunters, to miners, cattlemen and gunfighters, all contending with the desperate Indian tribes and the unforgiving weather.
“Maintaining law and order in Talon’s Crossing is veteran lawman Marshal Gideon Horne and his young, inexperienced Deputy Seth Barr. In four new stories they contend with an audacious shooting competition, the mysterious murder of a cowhand, a notorious outlaw gang on the loose and the discovery of gold in the hills surrounding the town.”
“We are really excited about this one,” said Managing Editor Ron Fortier of book publisher Airship 27. “With Marshal Horne of Talon’s Crossing, writer Tyler Aufhammer has recaptured the romantic adventure of classic Western TV series ala Gunsmoke and Lawman among many others.
“His stories evoke a time when the American West paved the road to a country’s unstoppable future.”
In 2018, Auffhammer had a story included in Pro Se Production’s 1950s Western Roundup and one of his poems was later included in a collection by the Cowboy Poetry Press.
The book is available at Amazon.