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New Trilogy, Book I of Doc Holliday's story
Borrowed Time
by
S.M. Ballard
Unto Death...
In the days before they became legends,
John Henry “Doc” Holliday, a Georgia dentist
turned gambler whose constant companion
is the specter of early death, and Wyatt Earp,
a rough hewn frontier lawman saddled with a
taciturn nature and an iron clad sense of
justice, forge an unlikely alliance to hunt down
the brutal killers of a young Dodge City woman.
During the course of a cross-country
manhunt to stop the murders before they can
strike again, Holliday and Earp form the basis
of a friendship that will last, literally, unto death
$12.95 Tradesize Paperback
Being a fan of all things Old West and in
particular "Doc" Holliday and the Earps, I decided
to pick up a copy of "Borrowed Time".
Almost instantly I found myself teleported back in
time to places rich in detail and atmosphere. From
the rolling plains to the bustling cowtowns, I could
clearly envision myself in these settings. The
descriptions were vivid as well as historically
accurate which as a student of the Old West I found
very satisfying. I could almost smell the smoke
filled saloons, or feel the cold wind blowing in
from the plains.
Doc Holliday, usually portrayed as a one
dimensional, almost abrasive character in books and
film was brought to life in Ballard's story as a
living, breathing, complicated man complete with
real emotions and a depth that's severely lacking in
most other characterizations. This not only applies
to Holliday but all of the other characters as well.
I particularly enjoyed the banter between Doc and
Wyatt, conversations that seemed as natural as any
you might have with a best friend. None of their
interactions seemed contrived or stiff.
The story telling, besides being richly
descriptive, also had an easy going style and a nice
flow, balanced nicely between dialog and action.
This was one of the few stories I've read, Western
or otherwise that I felt connected to the characters
and cared about them as well.
It was an engrossing novel I simply couldn't put
down. A winner for sure and honestly I can't wait to
read the second book in this series and anything
else that S.M. Ballard writes.
---Jared Place
Winooski, Vermont
S.M. Ballard's Borrowed Time is an action-packed tale
of adventure. Ballard whisks readers from one exciting
escapade to another, leaving them as breathless as Doc
Holliday. This book, the first in a trilogy, focuses
on the developing friendship between Wyatt Earp and
Doc Holliday while the two make Dodge City, Kansas,
their home. Historical figures such as Bat Masterson
and the other Earp brothers also make appearances.
Fans of the film Tombstone will particularly enjoy
Ballard's characterization of Doc Holliday, as it is
very similar to Val Kilmer's portrayal in that film.
--Rachel Kovaciny, http://rachelkovaciny.blogspot.com
"Susan Ballard takes the reader to a time of Doc
Holliday's life before Tombstone, a time when the
famous dentist meets his long time friend, Wyatt Earp,
and a time when the course of Doc's life is as if on
loan. Susan's incredible way with words captivates the
reader with her very first paragraph as she takes them
on a western journey through vivid scenic descriptions
and riveting dialogue bringing to life the man who
truly did live on borrowed time."
~ Janice Hendricks, Tombstone Times -
June 2007
I can honestly say that this book was excellent reading from the first page to the last page. It was both entertaining and relaxing.
Ms. Ballard has woven truth with fiction in a very believable format, introducing you to the lifelong friendship of John "Doc" Holliday and Wyatt Earp. She describes their adventures together and the jealousy that erupted between the Earp and Wyatt camps. She explores their relationship even through "Doc" Holliday has consumption and is slowly dying.
Sometimes the narrative slows down, giving you the
feeling of fear that "Doc" has when his "consumption" takes hold. His breathing is hard and it is seemingly impossible to get air into his lungs. Sometimes the narrative speeds up, like the bullet from "Doc's" gun when it is released and reaching his intended target.
If you like westerns, adventures and a good read,
I recommend "Borrowed Time."
---Ellen Clugston, Editor, "The Voice in the Desert."
Borrowed Time, a novel by S.M. Ballard Reviewed by J.D. Harkleroad
Borrowed Time is S.M. Ballard's first in a trilogy about the life and times of John Henry "Doc" Holliday. Before I read this novel, my first thought was What more can be said about Doc Holliday than has already been said? Boy, was I wrong! Until now (with the notable exception of Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc in the movie Tombstone), Holliday has only appeared as a shadowy appendage peripherally attached to Wyatt Earp's coat-tails. Ballard, however, brings Doc Holliday to life in his own right, fleshing the man out while revealing little-known layers of his life. The reader feels as if he is observing first-hand Holliday's transformation from his genteel, cultured background as Dr. John Henry Holliday to the hot-tempered gunman/alcoholic who came to be known as "Doc" Holliday.
Ballard has thoroughly researched her subject and it shows. The Tombstone Times, Arizona's History and Information Journal, has published numerous non-fiction articles by Ballard, many of them about Doc Holliday. The character so engrossed her that the concept for a Holliday trilogy was born.
Borrowed Time is not another "shoot-em-up-Tony." While action abounds in this novel, two other story-lines run parallel to the main plot. One illuminates Doc's interpersonal relationships: his abiding friendship with Wyatt Earp; his love/hate relationship with "Big Nose Kate" (Fisher) Elder who, by the way, did not have a big nose; his antagonistic relationships with both Bat Masterson and Wyatt's brother Virgil. The other story-line revolves around Holliday's struggle to live as normal a life as possible while dealing with an illness that, in that time period, proved fatal more often than not. The reader, however, gets so caught up in the Doc Holliday character that, even knowing how the trilogy will ultimately end (we all die sometime) is in no way a deterrent.
Borrowed Time is a great read that will appeal to both men and women, and I'm eagerly looking forward to Holliday in Tombstone, the second in Ballard's trilogy due out in 2008.
Reviewed by J.D.
Harkleroad and her husband divide their time between their farm in Virginia and their ranch in Utah. An expert rifleman and rider, she is described in the liner notes of a musical CD she recently directed as "...a woman of faith, wife, mother, educator, musician, photographer, and 'cowboy.'" Blood Atonement (pictured), a contemporary crime fiction novel, is one of her fictional "Men of the West" series. Others include Ketch Colt, Swep Culhane, and Freezeout!. J.D. Harkleroad belongs to The Western Writers of America.
Susan Ballard gets it right and Borrowed Time is a hoot and a half."
—Bob Boze Bell
Executive Editor, True West magazine
Borrowed Time Book Review, Cowboy Chronicle, March, 2008, by Nubbins Colt, SASS (Single Action Shooting Society) member #7802L
This is Ash Wednesday’s (S.M. Ballard’s SASS moniker) first novel, and it is quite a good job. Have you ever read a historical fiction and thought, or perhaps even saw someone else’s thought that said, “The way it should have been?” Borrowed Time is such a book.
We have Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, the Long Branch saloon, well-known family and friends, and a long trail across various parts of the Old West, all as a part of a deep character study of these two men in the pursuit of outlaws, and love, in places far different from the history with which we are all so familiar. And pursue they do, each getting hurt in the process, developing ever stronger bonds of friendship for each other as they assist each other in surviving, with the help of wonderful friends and allies.
If you will think back to the various films or books you have seen or read about these two gentlemen you will recall that virtually every one indicates a deep, abiding friendship and loyalty between John Henry Holliday and Wyatt Earp. What we generally do not ever learn is the history behind their relationship-what were those events that caused such a strong bond to develop between these two very different, and very flawed, gunmen of the American Western Frontier? Ms. Ballard has given us the opportunity to understand it, to see that when two men spend considerable time together in lonely, desperate places they can and will develop a sixth sense of camaraderie and understanding that probably can only be best described for real by modern police partners, combat soldiers, and maybe identical twins.
While you are reading it, your mind is saying you know this is not a true story, but in your heart you cannot help feeling it rings true, almost like a slice of a double biography. The many characters are real, they are strong, they are brazen, bold, flawed, desperate, good, and some, of course, are evil. So, one has to wonder when exactly did the Earp-Holliday paths cross? What did they experience that made them trust each other and remain so loyal? Certainly, it is easy to imagine the gunfights, lonely trails, tracking, facing and killing bad people, and the surviving of serious wounds such as described so well in Borrowed Time were the root of Doc’s and Wyatt’s tight-knit friendship. I’d like to think so. You will want to think so as well.
