Available at: Eastern Washington Hay Co./ Sequim U-Haul, 33B Taylor Cutoff Road., calling 360-683-7805 from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m.-noon Saturday. Also, The Good Book in Sequim, online in physical and e-book formats at www.buckeene.com.

Book signing: 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, Silverdale Barnes and Noble, 10315 Kitsap Mall Blvd NW, Silverdale

Note: “The Kind of Western I’d Like to Read” parts one-three also available.

After four volumes, Dwight “Buc” Keene, 73, says he always knew how he’d end his ideal western series.

Keene’s “The Kind of Western I’d Like to Read” started in 2009 on hundreds of yellow notebook pages following the story of Colton, a cowboy in post-Civil War Texas, in homage of westerns Keene grew up reading by Louis L’Amour and Zane Gray. About two years later Keene released the first part of his story “East of the Pecos” followed by “Part Two: Hope Deferred” and “Part Three: Desire Realized” in subsequent years.

Each book covers the gamut from action to comedy to romance, he says, but he’s been told it isn’t the typical western focusing more on the people than the spectacle.

But before finishing the series, Keene said he caught some flak for how his third book ended and how long it took him to release the resolution in part four.

“I know it took longer than it should have, but like a good wine, some aging was necessary, partly because I did not want to be rushed into bringing it to the right conclusion, and partly due to some curves life threw at me,” Keene said.

The ending of part three also upset several readers who felt Colton’s actions were out of character, Keene said. However, major plot points were always part of his vision.

“I knew how to end it the whole time,” Keene said. “I had a rough outline since the beginning even for the ending of book three.”

Today, he even puts new readers to the test saying a clue exists somewhere in the first three books about how his series ends.

“When they get to the end, it’ll be obvious,” he said. “They’ll look back and go ‘Oh!’”

For part four, Keene said he took a different direction by making Colton’s parts all in first-person perspective while adding more humor. He’s also proud of his efforts to flesh out unlikely heroes in Colton’s horse Lightfoot and a young girl named Pearl.

Without revealing any major plot points, Keene says, “Pearl, out of desperate circumstances, almost steals the show.”

What’s next

Despite releasing the final part of “The Kind of Western I’d like to Read,” Keene doesn’t anticipate riding off into the sunset anytime soon. He hosts a book signing at Silverdale Barnes and Noble in Kitsap Mall from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30. His first signing there the day before Father’s Day was a success, he said, with the store selling out of copies.

It was so popular that people were referred to order copies in store and he signed their receipts.

Keene is also working on another western series “The Train to Nowhere.” While it isn’t connected to his first series, Keene doesn’t rule out following up with characters from “The Kind of Western I’d like to Read” later.

Overall, he’s found the jump to authorship “a lot of fun.”

“I enjoy it enough that I’d continue to write even after retirement,” he said.

He’s also investigation making his first western series a box set to sell at bigger retailers.

For more information on Keene and his books, visit www.buckeene.com or call 360-683-7805.

Dwight “Buc” Keene’s final volume of his western series is out now in e-book and physical formats online and from his business Eastern Washington Hay Co. Submitted photo