Alex Harold
4 books in the catalogue, published 2000 to 2005.
Alex Harold writes Western novels set in Lake City, Colorado. Western Reflections Publishing carries his three Slumgullion books, Slumgullion Gold, Slumgullion Greed and Slumgullion Grit, along with a three book set that bundles them together. The catalogue places him in the tradition of Western writers who mix the lore of the Old West with the thrills of real adventure.
About Alex Harold
We know Alex Harold through his books. Open Library has an author record for him, but our catalogue copy of it shows no birth or death dates, and we haven't found a source we can check, so we won't offer one. What the shelf does show is a writer who picked a single town and stayed with it.
The catalogue years run from 2000, when Slumgullion Gold appeared, to 2005, when Slumgullion Greed and Slumgullion Grit followed. The subjects Open Library attaches to Grit are Western stories, sheriffs, fiction, and frontier and pioneer life. That is the clearest picture of his work that the record gives.
Books
Slumgullion Gold
The 2000 novel and the first of the trio in our catalogue, at 147 pages. Set in Lake City, it is the shortest of the single volumes and a natural place to start.
Slumgullion Greed
Published in 2005 and running 167 pages, the longest of the three single novels. It keeps to the Lake City setting and the Western adventure tradition.
Slumgullion Grit
A 166 page novel from 2005, filed under Western stories, sheriffs and frontier life. Lawmen and small-town stakes are part of the draw here.
Slumgullion 3 book set Slumgullion 3 book set
All three single novels in one purchase, listed at $21.95. A tidy way to take home the complete Lake City run without picking between volumes.
What the books share
Harold's books share one place, Lake City, in Colorado's San Juan Mountains. The catalogue calls that the common thread of everything he wrote. Beyond the setting, the books sit in the classic Western tradition: frontier life, lawmen, and adventure with some Old West lore folded in. Each book is named for a single hard word, gold, greed or grit, and each word suggests the pressures of a mining-country town. Because the stories are fiction, we have not tried to map them to real events.
The subjects this author is catalogued under. Open Library record.
Next steps for readers of this author
Reading the Slumgullion books alongside the real county
If you enjoy Westerns set in a real town, read the Hinsdale County entry first for the 1874 founding and the mining economy. Then pick up Gold, Greed or Grit from the library pages and notice where fiction borrows from a place like Lake City.
Driving to Lake City
The byway page gives the route length and the sights along CO 149. Check road and season conditions with the agencies listed there before you go, and ask the Lake City Museum what its schedule looks like when you plan the day.
Go deeper
Alex Harold's Slumgullion novels are set in Lake City, a mining town in Colorado's San Juan Mountains. These sources describe the real county and landscape behind that name, for readers who want to see how fiction and place line up.
Hinsdale County Museum
The Hinsdale County Historical Society runs the Lake City Museum. Its website says the society's mission is to collect, preserve and exhibit material on Hinsdale County history.
Hinsdale County, Colorado Encyclopedia
An overview of the county, which was established in 1874. It explains that Lake City began as a supply town for nearby mining camps.
Silver Thread Scenic Byway
The Colorado Department of Transportation describes the drive along CO 149 near Lake City, including the Slumgullion earth slide and old mining camps.
Good to know
How many Alex Harold books does Western Reflections carry?
Where are his stories set?
Do you have a biography of Alex Harold?
Writers like this one are how the list was built
We have published Colorado and Western writers since 1996, and every submission is still read by a person. Send yours, finished or half written.