Old West Artist-Turned-Author Michael Schall Johnson Soon to Exhibit Literary Tribute to Dakota’s Legendary Lawmen and Outlaws at Chicago Book Festival

Even prior to becoming an author, Michael Schall Johnson’s love for Westerns was revealed in his art and his personal history. When he moved with his family to the Black Hills of Wyoming in 1968, he worked on telephone lines and was inspired by the old wagon wheel ruts left by stagecoaches of the Old West and the clashes of the robbers and lawmen.

It wouldn’t be long before this inspiration would turn into a novel – “The Bloody Road of Gold” – with his western ink sketches and paintings. And this year, he plans to showcase the novel at an upcoming book festival at Printers Row, which will take place in Chicago’s Printers Row Park, on September 6-7, 2025.

“The Bloody Road of Gold” follows Jack Neuman, a fifteen-year-old orphan who finds refuge among the Lakota under Crazy Horse before becoming a scout for the U.S. Army.

However, his fierce sense of justice soon results in heartbreak and loss, which sends him on a journey to renew his sense of purpose. Along the way, he teams up with legendary figures such as Calamity Jane and legendary local lawman D. Boone May to battle notorious outlaws.

Their rogue’s gallery included the likes of the Frank Towles Gang, Archie McLaughlin, and Billy Mansfield. Johnson’s probing knowledge of the Black Hills lends reality to the shootouts and stagecoach rescues, as well as conflicts with the Sioux, transporting readers into the perilous world that is now only remembered mostly by Hollywood glitzy exaggerations. Johnson’s artistic eye shapes the novel’s almost cinematic scenes, making the hills, campfires, and conflicts come alive.

Those who would like to check out “The Bloody Road of Gold” in person can find it on display at the self-publishing and book marketing company ReadersMagnet’s exhibit at the book festival at Printers Row. The book is available on Amazon. For more information about Johnson’s other literary and artistic works, simply visit his website at https://wyomingslim.com/.


Author: Michael Schall Johnson
Published date: May 1, 2020
Publisher: Independently Published
Genre: General Fiction

Author’s Biography

Born Michael William Schall, in Maywood, CA in 1943. His name had been changed to Johnson by his stepdad and mom at age 14. When signing up with a nationwide artist registry, there were many Michael Johnsons, so the name Michael Schall Johnson was adopted as a pen name. Michael has had an interest in painting and sculpturing since his youth. At age twenty-six he and his new family moved to the Black Hills region of Wyoming in 1968, working as a Mountain States Tel. repairman. He put the first phones ever in the Four Corners, Wyoming area, about 30-40 of them, as he recalls. The visible ruts in the old Deadwood stage line trails and the tales of the stagecoach robberies were the inspiration for his historical novel, “The Bloody Road of Gold,” set in the late 1800s in the Black Hills. A lover of the westerns from childhood, stars like Tim McCoy, Tex Ritter, Gene Autry, Gabby Hayes, Andy Devine, Hopalong, Shane, etc., etc., were his idols as a boy. Spicing up this story are the likes of Calamity Jane, Seth Bullock, and probably the greatest lawman ever in the old west, D. Boone May, not as famous as others, but he should have been. Our hero and May together strive to eradicate the likes of Big Nose George Perot, Sam Bass and Lame Johnny Donahue, and many others from the Black Hills. After seeing his words in print, he was inspired with the writing bug.

A student of the art of painting, sculpturing, and writing, he studied for a short time at the Colorado Institute of Art. Several “Best of Shows” have been the high spots for these undertakings, along with having a few works in some museums in the west. The mid-’70s saw him gaining a great deal of art education by working for and with some very talented artists around the movie industry as a museum and contracting artist in Los Angeles. Then as Art Editor for Newsreel Magazine 1983-1985.The book Mickey Schall Jackson Hole Lineman is generally a record of his early years of tramping and meandering through quite a good bit of the 1950s, the pleasurable Wyoming years of the ’60s, ’70s, and eighties, and finally ending up in Nevada. It was not written with the purpose to enlighten the reader with great wisdom. There is some good information about an exciting chapter this era. The crude illustrations, by the author, are intended to add some humor. An old Corvette also helps keep alive the love for old cars. He writes short stories that range from true to life to historical fiction and fantasy.

Michael moved to northeastern Nevada in the early 80s after a divorce and worked for Frontier Telephone, retiring in 2005. He met and is happily married to Madeline. They currently live in Las Vegas, Nevada, and together they have 4 children, 9 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.

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