Hawkins Bar author Jerry “JL” Guin has published his 17th novel. His latest book is called “CC Crane: Bounty Distractions”.

Guin sums up his latest book: “CC (Charles Carter) Crane is a 22-year-old former farmer looking for a job when he wanders through Bellington, Kansas. He was cleaning stalls in a livery in exchange for a place to sleep when newly appointed Sumner County Sheriff ED Johns takes note and hires him as Deputy Sheriff. He later becomes a bounty hunter. This is the story of some of the things he did to survive the attacks of some very evil men.

Guin, 77, is a US Navy veteran from Arkansas. He graduated in 1967 from Humboldt Business College and graduated in 1972 from the College of the Redwoods. He lived in Eureka and Arcata for many years before moving to Hawkins Bar in 1988. He worked most of his life as a lumber salesman, retiring in 2006.

Guin started writing in 1995, sending news to a Western magazine. In 1997, he wrote “Matsutake Mushroom”, a non-fictional recording of the 1993-1994 wild mushroom harvest in Oregon and California. He then turned to Western fiction writing and since that time has published around 50 short stories and a multitude of novels, including his latest, “CC Crane: Bounty Distractions”.

“I wrote this book because I’m retired from the workforce and writing western fiction is what I’m doing now, when I get the idea,” he said. “I have an idea in mind for a story and I’m making it the best I can. “

Guin said he became a fan of westerns as a teenager when he read a lot of Zane Gray books and the like.

“CC Crane: Bounty Distractions” (Sundown Press, 164 pages) and Guin’s other books, which include 2020’s “Pushed Too Far,” “River Whiskey,” and “Western Duo,” are all available at amazon.com. There will be another new novel coming out in 2022, he said.