Friend, Charles E.

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Friend, Charles E.

PERSONAL:

Education: College of William & Mary, J.D.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Williamsburg, VA.

CAREER:

Attorney, editor, and writer. Has private law practice in Williamsburg, VA.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

The Law of Evidence in Virginia, Michie (Charlottesville, VA), 1977, 6th edition, LexisNexis (Newark, NJ), 2003.

Police Rights: Civil Remedies for Law Enforcement Officers, Michie (Charlottesville, VA), 1979, 2nd edition, Callaghan (Wilmette, IL), 1987.

(Editor, and contributor) Actions and Remedies, Callaghan (Wilmette, IL), 1985.

Personal Injury Law in Virginia, Michie (Charlottesville, VA), 1990, 3rd edition, LexisNexis (Newark, NJ), 2003.

(With Kent Sinclair) Friend's Virginia Pleading and Practice, Lexis Law Publications (Charlottesville, VA), 1998, 2nd edition, LexisNexis (Newark, NJ), 2006.

Also author, with Thomas E. Spahn, of Essentials of Trial Practice: Evidence, Experts, and Ethics, 1995. Editor of Virginia Bar Association Journal and Virginia Evidence Reporter.

FICTION

The Savage Trail, Fithian Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1992.

All the Proud Ships: A Novel of the American Revolution, Fithian Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1996.

"SHERIFF SHANNON" WESTERN SERIES

Shannon's Law, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Shannon's Way, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Shannon, U.S. Marshal, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Shannon: Carrying the Star, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Shannon's Ride, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Shannon: The Road to Whiskey Creek, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Shannon's Express, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Charles E. Friend, an attorney who has published numerous titles about law and law enforcement, is the author of Shannon: The Road to Whiskey Creek, Shannon's Express, and other works in the "Sheriff Shannon" Western series. "I think that the Western novel has an appeal that's timeless, because it reminds us of a period when, so it seems to us at least, life was a little simpler and values were a little more clear-cut," Friend told an interviewer on the Avalon Books Web site. Asked if the character of Clay Shannon was based on a historical figure, the author responded: "In a sense he's based upon a real person, because he has the qualities that made the great lawmen of the West the legends that they are." Friend concluded: "In effect, Clay Shannon is a composite of the best of those old-time peace officers. He's what we all want a lawman to be."

In Shannon: The Road to Whiskey Creek, set early in the sheriff's career, the frontier lawman attempts to save a desert town from a band of ruthless outlaws. According to Booklist critic David Pitt, the novel "is must reading for fans of the series, not to mention old-school western fans." In Shannon's Express, the territorial governor asks the sheriff to investigate a series of crimes that threaten to halt the construction of a railroad through the mountains. Shannon's Express "is full of colorful Old West characters and settings," Pitt stated.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 2006, David Pitt, review of Shannon: The Road to Whiskey Creek, p. 53; September 15, 2006, David Pitt, review of Shannon's Express, p. 36.