Joshua Love, Texas Outlaw

Joshua Granville Love, crazy Texas outlaw, from my Western novel, "Whirlwind," and the upcoming NaNoWriMo novel, "Three Ways From Sunday." Josh is 22 in "Whirlwind" (and 19 in "Three Ways From Sunday"), wanted in half of the west for crimes ranging from cattle rustling to stagecoach robbery to murder. He was born in El Paso, Texas, and got his first gun, the one he still carries, at age 13. It's an 1861 Colt navy model, black, with custom ivory plates on the grip, carved with a herd of running horses on both sides, and was a birthday present from his father. He's 6'2" tall, plays banjo, loves to sing cowboy songs, and is crazy as a loon. Happy and laid back most of the time, once the madness hits him, he becomes a figurative demon, and nobody wants to be within range of his gun. He travels with Elijah Cooksey, the Faro dealer (he's also in my gallery, one image back from this one) and serves as his casekeeper...when he can keep from being too bored or getting too drunk. Those two things get him into mischief faster than anything else. Eli is the only one who can get him to settle down, when he goes nuts, because he looks up to him.