Will Colt

Literary Western Novels & American Frontier Fiction

Will Colt

Carrying the authentic frontier grit found in Louis L' Amour's classics, but expanding into the interiority that marks contemporary literary Westerns like McMurtry and Stegner.

His work follow veins similar to those of contemporary authors Larry McMurtry and Wallace Stegner, prioritizing historical integrity over mythological nostalgia and questioning what survives when everything changes rather than celebrating conquest as triumph. Themes...

Books

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The Arrow and the Setting Sun

A fictional account of Ute Nation Chief Ouray.

They called him The Arrow: a man who chose to wound his own heart so that his people might survive.

Chief Ouray of the Tabeguache Ute was a leader unlike any other. Brilliant, multilingual, and possessed of a quiet authority that commanded respect from warriors and diplomats alike, he navigated the impossible terrain between two worlds as white...

Solomon’s Hand

A classic western adventure series (Book 5).

Book #5 from the series: The MacLean Brothers: A classic Western adventure series.

Solomon MacLean was born for trouble, and the untamed West is eager to oblige.

Weary of the monotony of his family's Virginia tobacco plantation in the bitter aftermath of the Civil War, Solomon MacLean's restless heart longs for something beyond the blue mountains. When he sets out for the American frontier, a rigged boxing match on the Ohio...

The Lawmen

MacLean Brothers: 4 Books in One

Four brothers leave the family plantation in Virginia for various reasons after the War Between the States. Each of the four end up pinning on the badge of a lawman and starting a new life maintaining order in an untamed land.

In Book 1: The Cavalier, Noah MacLean, the oldest brother, who rode with John Mosby during the war becomes a Pinkerton...

Series

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The MacLean Brothers: A classic Western adventure series.

Seven brothers and one sister, raised on a Virginia tobacco plantation, find their way west at various times and for various reasons. Each is seeking a new life on the American frontier full of promise. Without the comforts and conveniences of Virginia, each must overcome...

The Cavalier, Lonestar Ranger, Prescott, Big Sky Marshal, and 1 more

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The Lawmen: Four Books in One

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Praise

I liked the history base all though the story of the West in the late 1800s. I liked the protagonist 's character, values of life, and the work ethic to build for the future with the stick-to-it when the work was raw with heavy heaves of the body. The determination of building for the future that made the West grow from wild to ease for families. Parts of the book of the protagonist 's jobs of hauling silver ore mines in Colorado's high mountains. Some of the scenes the author's words pulled me into the tenseness of life and death stories whereas I could hear all the different sounds, and capturing the fearful thoughts during the dangerous problems.
The author showed great skill with his choices of words through out the complete book.
I recommend this book to those who likes history combined with good clean fiction.

– J Harper

Very well written. I enjoyed the story. I look forward to the next several stories. They need to start raising cattle next.

– Edward

Smooth words which drew me right into the story. I liked the descriptions of each person in the story.
I liked the ending, too.

– J. Harper

Latest Updates

April 8, 2026

Quick Draw New Release Deal, Friday April 10th

NEW RELEASE DEAL: Book 5 in the MacLean Brothers Series: Solomon’s Hand
Get books 1 through 4 in the series for FREE! www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQ68358G
Friday, April 10th 2026 ONLY
Don...

March 19, 2026

5 Star Review on Readers' Favorite

I'm excited to announce that Where Rivers Run West received a 5-Star review on Readers' Favorite.

March 1, 2026

Will Colt Makes the Historical Novel Society's First Chapters Competition Short List

This is a biographical novel of a real person in history, Ouray of the Ute Nation. It is told through the eyes of Chipeta, his wife.

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Blog

July 2, 2026

Alonzo Hartman: An excerpt from The Arrow and the Setting Sun

The cottonwoods along the Avonkarea stood thick where the Tomichi emptied into it, their pale trunks crowding close like old women gathered to whisper. We had ridden this passage many times, Ouray and I, leading the Tabeguache, the shade of these trees a familiar greeting on the long trail between the Uncompahgre and the Cochetopa. The spring melt had swollen both creeks so that they sang loud enough to swallow the sound of our horses' hooves on the soft earth, and it was this singing, I...

June 18, 2026

The Circus: An Excerpt from the Arrow and the Setting Sun

I saw a circus once, in Denver, on one of our visits to the white man's world.

It was a gaudy, clamoring thing with a great canvas lodge that could be placed over a dozen of our lodges. It was staked to a muddy lot at the edge of town, its pennants snapping in a wind that carried the smell of roasted peanuts and animal dung. Ouray and I had no interest in it, but the men escorting us insisted we take it in, as though it were a gift they were bestowing, a marvel we could not possibly have...

May 6, 2026

The Gray Ghost Legend Is Born

I recently posted a short story on Reedsy prompts. Here is the link if you'd like to read it. https://reedsy.com/short-story/rk04qc/

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