Sherwood Smith has reviewed "Space Cowboy" in her LJ, and some very nice things to say about it. Here's the url:
http://sartorias.livejournal.com/253734.html

Yeah, I'm happy!

Spring is _slowly_ arriving, and when I say slowly I mean glacially. For the last two week the weather has been alternately snow squalls or clear, cold and windy. (The low last night was -03, which is better than it was a week ago when the temps were falling off between -10 and -15 at night) But this morning there are about a hundred snow geese in the field, a pair cranes have taken up residence, and night before last I had to chase a barn swallow out of my grandmother's bedroom that had flown in the window at 3:00 in the morning. With signs like these, spring must be just around the corner.

I hope.

Justin

A few weeks ago a heavy box arrived from the UK, the return address unmistakably from my publisher. My contributer copies had arrived! After the initial thrill of holding the book in my own grubby hands the next crisis reared its ugly head:

Who gets the copies???

The first two copies went to Connie and to the kids. Seems only fair, since it was dedicated to them. Same with Gisele LeBlanc, who had been my first reader. She got copy four. My folks got copy three. So far, so good.

Suddenly the box, which had seemed endless at first, is now half full, and I haven't begun to send a copy to everyone I want to send one to. As I stuff the various copies into envelopes I come to the sudden realization that contributer copies are a little like winning the lottery. No matter how many you get, sooner or later it's never going to be enough! ;)

Justin

Space Cowboy is out!

The official release date was last Friday, and all of the online bookstores are showing it as available, (well, the UK sites are. Amazon.com.UK has it, but not our version of Amazon.com) I also had a really nice card from everybody at Usbourne about the book coming out.

I'm officially a published novelist!  ;)

Here's a link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Space-Cowboy-Justin-Stanchfield/dp/0746087128/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204645180&sr=8-5

Found this posted on the Waterstones site:

Synopsis

On the remote planet of Aletha Three, a genetically engineered creature with the unstoppable killing instinct of earth's most ancient predators has begun stalking the struggling population. Armed only with his dad's old rifle, cowboy Travis must find out where the predator came from and how he can stop it - before it gets a taste for people, instead of cattle. Filled with danger and excitement, cowboys, spaceships and nightmare creatures, "Space Cowboy" is everything a boy could want in a book.

Bookseller review
Kevin Stone, WATERSTONE'S GODALMING
4 out of 5

This is exactly the sort of book I would have read over and over as a kid and reading it brought back the fond memories of the great unsung books I read all those years ago. There isn't much in the way of pulp science fiction for kids these days and whilst this doesn't attempt to break new ground, the combination of western adventure, dinosaurs and identifiable characters makes this a really solid read. Whilst the story is tight, themes such as biological ethics and the environment are subtlely embedded within, never once encroaching so much on the story as to become preachy. At the end of the day, this is cowboys in space and in my eyes, that is a winner in itself.
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Customer review

Junior Proof Readers Ayr Branch
4 out of 5

Space Cowboy is a very thrilling, mysterious and an adventurous read. I was gripped from the very first page. I couldn't put it down! I liked the fact that it was set in the future. The main character is called Travis McClure and I think he is very brave and determined.
If there are any more books written by Justin Stanchfield for my age group I will definitely read them! I thought that the ending of this book is quite surprising because the person whom I least expected to be evil reveals himself as a traitor! I am not going to tell you what happened becuase you have to read the book to find out! This book is extremely good!

reviewed by Mark Lawrence

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Seven days and counting until the release!

Justin

My daughter is reading the bound proof of space cowboy for a book report, and the other night she told me that the father in the book reminded her of me. I asked if that was a good thing or a bad thing, and she said, as if there was no doubt of the issue, "It's a good thing."

Hard to get a better review than that!

Yesterday the final proofs arrived in my inbox! Yes, it's getting close to that point. I have to go over the text and approve it (so far everything looks great) and then compose the dedication. Who would have thought that could be difficult? After all, isn't that one of the things every writer dreams about, writing the dedication on their first novel? But, the thought always looms - this may be my one and only shot at it. there is never any guarantee of selling another one, so I really need to make this one count.

Hello everyone, and greeting from Montana!

I'm new at this entire Live journal thing, so be patient, and please don't look too closely at my spelling mistakes. I've been known to make a few, a fact which has not escaped notice of numerous editors! ;)

If you're wondering who I am, my name is Justin Stanchfield, and I'm a 45 year old father of two, a cattle rancher from Southwest Montana (think Butte) and a first time novelist. My novel, a young adult SF adventure titled "Space Cowboy" is due out next spring, so muh of my rambling here will be devoted to the book, how it came to be and the ongoing process of going from short story writer to novelist.

As far a short stories are concerened, I've had a few published, probably over a hundred by now. I haven't counted in a while. My fiction has appeared in magazines raniging from Boys' Life, Cricket and Cicada, to Interzone, Black Gate and Asimov's. I write primarily  SF/F, though some of my kid's stroies are pure adventure. And yes, I do consider myself a kid's writer, something I am terribly proud to be! Also, if you happen to be a SFWA member, I served three terms as Treasurer, but currently have let my membership lapse. Maybe someday I'll join again, but for now, I'm a little burned out of the organization.

At any rate, thanks for dropping by! 

All the Best,
Justin