BARTON, (Samuel) Wayne 1944-

PERSONAL: Born May 23, 1944, in Odessa, TX; son of John Samuel (an oil field worker) and Alene (a homemaker; maiden name, Gurley) Barton; married Margaret Whisenand (a homemaker), April 4, 1966; children: Charles, Kristin. Education: Texas Tech University, B.S., 1967. Religion: Presbyterian.

ADDRESSES: Home—2509 Emerson, Midland, TX 79705. Agent—Charles Neighbors, Inc., 7600 Blanco Rd., Suite 3607, San Antonio, TX 78216.

CAREER: Arco Oil and Gas Co., began as engineer, became senior engineer in Roswell, NM, Casper, WY, and Midland, TX, 1967-94; writer, 1994—. Also works as woodcarver, with work represented in private collections in the United States and abroad; guest on media programs, including the television series The American Woodshop and The Woodwright Shop. Writer's Digest School of Short Fiction, editorial associate, 1987-94.

MEMBER: Society of Petroleum Engineers, Western Writers of America (member of board of directors, 1985-87).

AWARDS, HONORS: Spur Award, Western Writers of America, 1981, for magazine article "One Man's Code"; Medicine Pipe Bearer Award, 1982, for Ride down the Wind; additional awards for wood chip carving.

WRITINGS:

WESTERN NOVELS

Ride down the Wind, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1982.

Return to Phantom Hill, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1984.

(With Stan Williams) Warhorse, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1988.

(With Stan Williams) Live by the Gun, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1989.

(With Stan Williams) Manhunt, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Stan Williams) High Country, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1993.

(With Stan Williams) Shadow of Doubt, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1994.

(With Stan Williams) Wildcat, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1995.

(With Stan Williams) Fairchild's Passage, Forge (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Stan Williams) Lockhart's Nightmare, Forge (New York, NY), 1998.

OTHER

Chip Carving: Techniques and Patterns, Sterling (New York, NY), 1984.

Chip Carving Patterns, Sterling (New York, NY), 1990.

New and Traditional Styles of Chip Carving: From Classic to Positive Imaging, Sterling (New York, NY), 1994.

The Art of Chip Carving: Award-Winning Designs, Sterling (New York, NY), 1998.

(Coeditor and contributor) What Western Do I Read Next? A Reader's Guide to Recent Western Fiction, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1998, 2nd edition, 1999.

Chip Carving: Design and Pattern Sourcebook, Sterling (New York, NY), 2002.

Author of "Bookmarks for Westerns," a monthly column in Roundup, 1985-88; also columnist for Chip Chats. Contributor of stories to anthologies, including Roundup, edited by Stephen Overholser, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1982; and The Texans, edited by Bill Pronzini and Martin H. Greenberg, Fawcett (New York, NY), 1988. Contributor of articles and stories to magazines, including Far West, Western Fiction, Analog, and Empire.

SIDELIGHTS: Wayne Barton traces his interest in Western history to his childhood, when he frequently listened to his parents tell stories of their early years in central Texas. By the time he was twelve years old, he was an avid reader and felt sure he wanted to be a writer some day. Yet his first attempts at writing left him discouraged, and he enrolled in engineering school. "Graduation, marriage, and an engineer's position with a major oil company never quite killed the urge to write," he reminisced in Twentieth-Century Western Writers, "and finally I learned enough to do something about it." His first published short story, a western, was nominated for the American Spur award for best short western fiction. Barton went on to sell many short stories in various genres, and eventually to write novels as well. Writing remains a part-time activity, and as David Whitehead commented in Twentieth-Century Western Writers, "it is indicative of the quality of Wayne Barton's work that the most common complaint levelled against him is simply that he has not produced enough to satisfy his many admirers."

In one of his best-known books, Ride down the Wind, Barton tells the tale of two army scouts, one white, one Indian, who eventually become adversaries. It is "a thrilling western," according to a Booklist writer. "Barton introduces many of his recurring themes and trademarks in this book," mused Whitehead. "His use of solitary, introspective men as heroes; strong, intelligent women who guide or enlighten them; an atmosphere of suspicion, where few men can be trusted or relied upon until the last shot has been fired; and a solid understanding of how ordinary people react to extraordinary situations."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Twentieth-Century Western Writers, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1991.

PERIODICALS

American Reference Books Annual, 1999, review of What Western Do I Read Next? A Reader's Guide to Recent Western Fiction, p. 427.

Booklist, January 1, 1982, review of Ride down the Wind, p. 585; February 15, 1998, review of What Western Do I Read Next?, p. 1038; May 15, 1998, Budd Arthur, review of Lockhart's Nightmare, p. 1593.

Books of the Southwest, May, 1989, p. 13.

Knowledge Quest, March, 1998, review of What Western Do I Read Next?, p. 54.

Library Journal, June 1, 2002, Jonathan Hershey, review of Chip Carving: Design and Pattern Book, pp. 187-188.

Publishers Weekly, April 6, 1998, review of Lockhart's Nightmare, p. 56.

Roundup Monthly, January, 1994, p. 24; March, 1995, p. 27; February, 1996, p. 28; August, 1998, review of Lockhart's Nightmare, p. 28.

School Library Journal, August, 1998, Herman Sutter, review of What Western Do I Read Next?, p. 188.*