The Lonely Spirit by Tamar Anolic is a Western Fiction/Romance Bookish Event pick #western #historicalwestern #shortstories #mustread #giveaway
- N. N. Light
- Apr 25
- 3 min read
Title: The Lonely Spirit
Author: Tamar Anolic
Genre: Westerns, short stories
Book Blurb:
As the only half-Comanche U.S. Marshal in the Old West, L.S. Quinn straddles two worlds, searching for peace in both.
Excerpt:
Before dawn, Lonely Spirit pulled his blanket off and rose from his pallet. He made no noise as he stripped off his sleeping clothes and pulled on a buckskin tunic and leggings. He lifted his lance, bow and arrows. Then he grabbed a pouch where he had been hiding some food. Seconds later, he slipped out of his family’s tipi, making sure to replace the covering behind him as silently as he had opened it.
Outside, he crept across the open plains to where a long line of horses marked the edge of the Comanche camp. The chill of the early spring made him shiver. Lonely Spirit had just reached the first horse when there was a step behind him. He grabbed his lance from his waist and whirled around.
“It’s only me,” his older brother, Smells the Sunrise, said in a low voice. He raised his right hand in a conciliatory gesture.
Lonely Spirit reattached his lance to his waist. He took a deep breath and willed his heart to slow down. The brothers stared at each other for a long moment in silence.
Then Smells the Sunrise spoke again. “Take the gray gelding you’ve been riding the last few days. He’s a fine animal.”
“Did you have me start riding him so that I could take him with me?” Lonely Spirit asked.
“Yes.” Smells the Sunrise stepped around Lonely Spirit and began untying the gray horse from its hitching post.
“How did you know I would leave?”
“You’ve been learning the white man’s language for two winters now, and Mother said you’ve been asking questions about your white father.” Smells the Sunrise handed the reins to Lonely Spirit.
Lonely Spirit stood a head taller than Smells the Sunrise, and suddenly he became aware of the difference. He shifted uncomfortably as he compared the difference in their skin tones and eye color for the thousandth time in his life. Does my father have my gray eyes? he wondered. Part of the reason I’m leaving is to find out.
“You are different from the rest of the tribe, Lonely Spirit, and the tribe has always treated you poorly for it,” Smells the Sunrise said. “You never deserved any of it- you cannot always choose your station in life.”
Lonely Spirit glanced to the east and was glad that the sun had not yet risen. The night’s darkness hid his tears. He clutched his horse’s reins, then took a step towards the animal.
“You may not be treated any better even if you find your white father,” Smells the Sunrise warned.
“I know,” Lonely Spirit answered. “But I must try. I have spent nineteen winters among our people, and still nobody wants me here.”
Smells the Sunrise swallowed. “Mother would prefer you stay, as would I. But you need to make your own decision.”
Lonely Spirit climbed onto the gray horse’s back.
“May he carry you well,” Smells the Sunrise said.
Lonely Sprit’s throat clenched. He wished he could say something, but all he did was spur the animal beneath him. Within seconds, he was riding away from the only home he had ever known.
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
The Lonely Spirit is an award-winning book with a unique premise: showing the Old West from the perspective of a half-Comanche U.S. Marshal. L.S. Quinn is one of the best Marshals on the force but struggles to find his way between the world of the Comanche and the Whites.
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $10 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally.
Runs April 22 – April 28, 2025.
Winner will be drawn on April 29, 2025.
Author Biography:
Tamar’s short stories have been published in numerous literary journals. One of her recent novels, Like Water and Ice, follows figure skater Thad Moulton as he trains for the Olympics. Tamar’s historical novels, such as Tales of the Romanov Empire and Triumph of a Tsar, focus on the Romanovs and Russian history, and have been both long listed and short listed for numerous awards. Tamar’s contemporary novels include the Middle Grade fantasy The Tunnel to Darkness and Light and the Young Adult novels The Keepers, Two Sisters of Fayetteville, The Fledgling’s Inferno, A Silent Evil and The Final Armada. Tamar’s short story collection set in the Old West, The Lonely Spirit, is an Indie Brag Medallion winner that has reached the finals for the CIBA Awards for Short Story Collections.
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