"MOST OF THEM ARE SIMPLY FUN TO WRITE ABOUT": BANDIT HEAVEN'S TOM CLAVIN

Tom Clavin's latest look at the wild west is one that looks at it's closing with outlaw Butch Cassidy who used the terrain known as The Hole In The Wall to allude dogged lawmen The book is an entertaining and romantic look at the closing of an era. Mr. Clavin was kind enough to talk about it with The Hard Word.

SCOTT MONTGOMERY: Bob Drury and you said that your last collaboration, Throne Of Grace, was the middle part of a loose trilogy between Blood and Treasure and The Heart of Everything That Is. Do you see Bandit Heaven being linked to any of your other books?

TOM CLAVIN: There is a link to my last solo book, The Last Outlaws, in that Butch Cassidy and the various bandits he presided over were really the last outlaws. Once the 1890s were over and Butch and the Sundance Kid departed for South America, the era of the Wild West outlaw was over.

S.M.: Much has been written on Butch Cassidy and the Hole-In-the-Wall Gang. What did you want to express about his story?

T.C.: Use a wider lens so that the reader is given a picture of not just Butch and his gang but the “Wild Bunch” women too as well as lawmen like Charlie Siringo who were trying to rid the American West of the remaining bad guys.

S.M.: Besides a great movie based on his exploits, what makes him a fascinating character for the public?

T.C.: Butch Cassidy was so good at what he did – robbing banks and trains – and he did it with flair and rarely resorting to violence. He had an appealing charisma that made him perhaps the most likable outlaw of the Wild West.

S.M.: Like Dodge City and Tombstone, this book is also about a place. What made the Hole-In-the-Wall, itself, a large part in your book?

T.C.: The Hole-in-the-Wall, Robbers Roost, and Brown’s Hole, collectively known as “Bandit Heaven,” were safe hideouts for outlaws that lawmen would not go near. I found it fascinating that these havens existed and were connected by the Outlaw Trail, which was a highway for escaping bandits heading for safety.

S.M.: I didn't realize one of the people who pursued Cassidy and the gang was Tom Horn. What made you feel he was an important part of the story?

T.C.: One reason was that Horn represented a frequent Wild West figure who could be a lawman one month and an outlaw the next, and go back and forth. He was a Pinkerton detective and also a paid assassin. Second, in his latter role he cut a swath through Brown’s Hole, making it unsafe for outlaws and leading to the end of “Bandit Heaven.”

S.M.: What about the lawmen and lawless of the American West draws you to tell their stories?

T.C.: So much of the rule of law we have today was established by lawmen who were often part-timers, poorly paid, untrained, and routinely at risk. We know the famous ones like Wyatt Earp but there were many unsung heroes who did their jobs to protect their communities. With outlaws – well, most of them are simply fun to write about.