Holmes, 69, of Belton is a retired state auditor with an imagination - someone who was born with a gift to write.
He has written a Western novel titled “The Horse Thief and the Lady” that incorporates scenes of Belton and Salado in the 1860s.
Holmes is quick to share why he wrote the book. He is from a family of storytellers. When he was a boy his great-grandfather, Mitt Holmes, became a larger-than-life figure for him because of the stories his father told.
“My great-grandfather was once tied to a post by a posse of sheriff deputies,” Holmes said, smiling. “Of course, we all assumed it was an innocent misunderstanding. I’ve since learned that might not be so.”
Holmes’ uncle, Paul Patterson, whom he describes as the “greatest teacher the city of Crane ever knew,” was someone who noticed his writing talent early and encouraged him in his efforts up until he died last year at 99.
“The Horse Thief and the Lady” is a story about a teenage boy and girl who meet when they are young, then become separated by circumstance until a chance meeting years later brings them together.
“The chances are some of that actually happened,” said Jack Shannon, a Belton resident who read the book. “I quite well enjoyed it - my wife and I both did.”
Along the way, readers are introduced into a cotton-smuggling operation that dips down into Mexico, where some of the nation’s first draft dodgers took sanctuary.
“It’s a made-up story but a lot of these things did happen,” said Kathie Herring, a fan from Belton. “He has quite a way with words. He uniquely handles characters.”
Like the characters in his book, Holmes is not afraid to “hit the trail.” He’ll be doing book signings in Midland, Odessa and San Angelo.
When Holmes puts on his white cowboy hat and claims to have written the book in the “most accurate dialect ever” for a Western novel, he doesn’t bat an eye and appears to believe what he is saying.
“I was raised by my father, who was raised by his grandfather, Mitt Stone (actually Holmes),” he said. “My dad spoke the language of old Texas, and I write in that dialect.”
