A Wind of Knives

A Wind of Knives is a 20,000 word novella about a quiet rancher in Civil War era Texas, Daniel Hays, who emerges from an alcohol-soaked haze to find his sole ranch hand (and lover) has been lynched—hanged by party or parties unknown. Left with virtually nothing but his failing ranch, Daniel takes it upon himself to seek out those responsible for his lover’s death, experiencing puzzling new relationships along the way, including repeat encounters with a ghostly coyote that leads him to the final stop on his odyssey for revenge. PRAISE: "A Wind of Knives dusts off the classic western’s most enduring motifs and gives them a shine. With no lack of gunplay and bloodshed, the book also has heart and intelligence. In short, Kurtz delivers an intense, gritty, and moving story that takes a new look at the Old West." –Lee Thomas, Bram Stoker Award and Lambda Literary Award-winning author of The German and Ash Street “Many Westerns have explored the theme of revenge, but few have done so as provocatively as Ed Kurtz’s A Wind of Knives. And certainly none have approached it in quite the same way. On its surface, this is a familiar story: after his lover is brutally murdered, farmer Daniel Hays seeks revenge. The difference, from the start, is Daniel’s lover is… was… a man. And in Texas during the Civil War, justice for the slaying of a ‘sodomite’ is not a priority for the law. “But if switching up gender roles in an otherwise traditional Western was all A Wind of Knives offered, it would be thin gruel. Kurtz gives us much more than that—sympathetic characters skillful plotting, and most notably a moving and insightful meditation on love and loyalty.” —Heath Lowrance, author of City of Heretics "A western must be gritty and raw. The story must embrace not only the manifest destiny of the frontier but the loneliness of the land. Ed Kurtz does all this and more with A Wind of Knives. His rancher possesses a spirit for vengeance (if not justice) that drag readers deeper into the tale while the pages smell of gunsmoke." –Steve Berman, editor of the Wilde Stories annual series "Daniel Hays is one of the most interesting characters to cross the western terrain." --Edward A. Grainger