Who is Lloyd “Moon” Mullins? I am a veteran, world traveler, humorist, sexual icon, philosopher, bon vivant, raconteur, literary and film connoisseur, husband, and novelist who’s trying not to take all this too seriously. Also, not for nothing, I am decidedly not a website designer.

 

My new novel, A Rare and Dangerous Beast, is available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other fine booksellers. It is an historical novel about an idealistic Russian/Buriat teenager who comes to America during the California Gold Rush. Over 40 years, he experiences the Old West as a miner, a cowboy, a soldier, an adopted member of the Nez Perce tribe, and a deputy Sheriff. The book is in the form of a jailhouse memoir (like that of Tom Horn), while he awaits trial for the murder of a federal marshall. Through his adventures, he sees both the best and worst of America, through some of the most stirring times in our history.

My first novel, Thumperica, is available on Amazon. It is a dystopian satire about a future America, and has something to offend everyone. It is also very funny (at least I think so).

Author Bio:

Lloyd Mullins grew up on an Indiana tree farm, and then spent 20 years serving in the U.S. Air Force. After retiring from the service, he came to the startling realization that he was completely untrained in anything that would enable him to make a living in the civilian world. After a 10-year series of jobs (photographer, skid builder, retail worker, camper delivery, and school bus driver), and a heart attack, he decided to give college a try. To his surprise, he found he loved school so much that he refuses to leave. He currently  holds an MFA in Creative Writing – Fiction from Miami University, and works at the Indiana University East Writing Center as a writing consultant. He reads voraciously, and is also a life-long student of American history, particularly the Old West. His fiction and non-fiction have appeared in America’s Emerging Literary Fiction Writers: Illinois, Indiana, & Iowa, Emerging Writers: An Anthology of Nonfiction, Indiana’s Emerging Writers: An Anthology of Fiction, and Tributaries: The Indiana University East Journal of Fine Arts, and Frontier Tales Magazine. His self-published novel Thumperica: A Novel of the Ghost of America Future was a Semifinalist in the 2018 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition, and A Rare and Dangerous Beast was a quarter-finalist in the 2023 Cinematic Book Competition (under the working title To Be Free: The Life and Times of Nate Luck). Chapter Four of A Rare and Dangerous Beast as published in the November 2022 edition of Frontier Tales magazine, under the title: “A Cowhand by Any Other Name”, and voted the reader’s favorite tale for November 2022.

For what it’s worth (He really has no idea), To Be Free has earned 5 stars and the “Highly Recommended” award of excellence from the Historical Fiction Company, 4.8 stars from IndieReader Pro, and compared thematically to No Country For Old Men, True Grit, and Unforgiven in feedback from the 2023 Screencraft Cinematic Book Competition.

Contact info:

You can contact me at: lloydbmullins@gmail.com OR find me on the social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Substack (I think that’s a social media thing).

Sell Sheet (since apparently that’s also a thing):

Title: A Rare and Dangerous Beast

Author: Lloyd Mullins

Genre: Historical fiction

ISBN:

979-8218265717 Trade Paperback/$18.99

979-8218268220 Large Print Paperback/$36.99

979-8218292737 Hardcover/31.99

979-8218265724 ebook (epub)

Publication date: 1 December 2023

Available worldwide on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, and other fine booksellers.

Reviews:

From Beth, on Goodreads:

A Rare and Dangerous Beast introduces the reader to Nate Luck, a Russian-Buriat immigrant to the American West in the mid 19th century. He comes to the U.S.—like all of those immigrants before him—to make a better life for himself and to weave the fabric of his life with that of his adopted country. Nate carries with him a rich understanding of philosophers like Locke and Mill, his own code of ethics, and a strong sense of adventure.

Nate himself is a compelling character as are those who cross his path, whether friend or foe. It is easy to picture him in Colorado or Wyoming or Washington Territory because of the rich description of the landscape and the people living in it. Whether prospector, cowboy, soldier, lawman, or Native American, these feel like real people living real lives.

The novel is an education. Mullins’s careful research and presentation, the use of historical events and characters, offers a reading experience balanced somewhere between a novel like McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove and Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven. Nate’s eyewitness account of historical happenings like the Sand Creek massacre leaves the reader wiser and, perhaps, more horrified, at some of the ugliness at work in the shaping of America.

Though this reader would have loved to see more female characters in the narrative, those who appear within the novel are strong individualists who can hold their own on the brutal frontier and they almost always enhance whatever scene they are in.

This is a richly textured novel that leaves the reader with much to think about re: what it is to be American, to build a country, or to be a decent human. It will appeal to readers who like Westerns, U.S. history, Native American history, and the truth that arises in the very best fiction

The following reviews were written using the working title, To Be Free: The Life and Times of Nate Luck

From IndieReader Pro: RATING: 4.8 stars (out of 5)

Half-Russian, half-Mongolian Nate Luck immigrates to America in 1854 and spends the next forty years seeking a path to social justice—a path soaked in the blood of the Black and Native Americans he calls family and friends.

In Lloyd Mullins’s historical novel TO BE FREE (The Life and Times of Nate Luck), a half-Russian, half-Mongolian young man immigrates to America in 1854 in the search for freedom from the confining pressures of his home. Anatoly Mikhailovich Lukyanov, now called Nate Luck, is often mistaken as Chinese, but he soon finds solace in work as a cowhand (calling himself a cowboy) with the help of his newfound friends Jack and Dave. Steered by his moral compass, when the Civil War breaks out, Nate fights for the Union to help end slavery, after which time he spends over a decade among Native Americans, marrying and having children with a wonderful woman named Coming Together. Gruesome and traumatic experiences later turn his new life upside down, but Nate continues to be consumed by thoughts of justice. His unique perspective and his lifelong theme of social justice lead to an ironic yet cathartic conclusion—if the ending is abrupt—with profound implications.

Each chapter is a self-contained scene describing a specific event Nate endures, sandwiched by wisdom he learns on that adventure. The introduction paragraph to each chapter is usually ominous and foreboding, as when Nate offers foreshadowing on the dangers of nicknames, while the conclusion is typically insightful—for instance, this follows a tense scene where character suggest names to tell three men named Dave apart: “Always beware a man who changes his own name, no matter what position he may hold. He is not to be trusted.” While each chapter is a self-contained scene, the chapters build on one another to progress the story forward at a steady pace propelled by character relationships and Nate’s personal ambitions. Nate is a moral man, driven to act in ways he feels are “right” and “responsible,” though he is often led astray by material distractions, like lust and money and revenge, which makes him both a likable and a relatable hero.

The book’s historical setting is masterfully cultivated, not only with era-appropriate content but also with dialogue that feels true to the time period. While most of the characters’ beliefs and values are products of their time, Nate and his friends tend to be more liberal, showing how social progress was made at the time. For instance, Nate is an avid reader of philosophy and shares his books and knowledge with Dave, who is a freed slave, but Nate often butts heads over this with Jack, who is fiercely loyal to Dave and aims to protect him from the dangers of white men who would kill a black man who knows how to read. Other minor characters, like Nate’s tenacious wife Coming Together, have full, lush personalities that challenge Nate’s beliefs and influence the plot while successfully respecting their individuality. While the book’s major antagonist at times feels one-dimensionally evil, most characters remain dynamic and complex. The traumas of Black and Native Americans are approached with tact and powerful empathy.

IR Verdict: With many moving parts and taking place over several decades, Lloyd Mullins’s TO BE FREE is a sweeping historical novel populated by richly complex characters about a man’s search for justice in a world rife with violence and discrimination.

From D.K. Marley, The Historical Fiction Company:

The novel’s main theme is finding a place in American society as an outsider. Lukyanov flees Russia under the threat of violence and holds an idealistic view of the US, largely due to his Enlightenment-infused father. He quickly learns that his Asian features result in discrimination from his new countrymen, his first step toward cynicism. His Enlightenment views lead him to critique America’s hypocrisy on slavery, including this interesting exchange about American slavery and Russian serfdom:
Dave sat deep in thought for a while and then said, “You Russians sure done us one better.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well here at least, a slave’s free when he dies. You boys have figured out how to keep him in chains and make money off him even when he’s dead.”

Much of the plot also deals with US-Native relations, which contributes to Lukyanov/Luck’s disenchantment with his adopted country. He lives among them multiple times, once infiltrating a tribe as part of an Army assignment and once joining from genuine choice. Each time culminates in witnessing the Army’s brutality toward Natives. Lake’s outsider perspective allows him to see 19th century America more objectively than its natural-born citizens. By the novel’s end, he views much of American society as a corrupt sham, and no longer blames his enemies for their behavior, but society’s incentives. The end result is a tragedy of sorts. This means that To be Free shares themes with two of America’s greatest artistic works, The Godfather and The Great Gatsby. The first implied that assimilating into mainstream American society was impossible, the second made a similar statement about fulfilling the American dream. Luck’s commentary fits along similar lines.

Most stories prioritize either their plot or their characters. Biographical fiction generally falls into the latter camp, with much of the genre serving as character studies for their respective subjects. To Be Free does an unusually good job at balancing both. Its adventurous plot of voyage, cowboys, wars, Native Americans, love, rivalry, and corruption will keep most readers hooked through what is admittedly a long narrative. But Lake discusses his view of himself and the world, building a compelling psychological portrait. He discusses his support for the Enlightenment, his love of novels, his skills at language and in horseback riding, and his thoughts on Manifest Destiny, on killing during war, and on what makes a good life. Each chapter opens with a fragment about its theme, which is a nice touch and gives additional insight into Lake’s mind and beliefs. One of this reviewer’s favorite quotes was the following:
It was funny, but then I thought about “Blessed are the peacemakers.” In my experience, all too often, the peacemakers pay the price for all of us. Look at Jesus. Or Black Kettle. The world would be a whole lot better off if we’d listen to men like them rather than kill them because they’re inconvenient.

Side characters, such as Esme, a love interest, and Bill Morrow, Lake’s rival, also receive thoughtful character analysis that produces important character arcs. The romantic and conflict driven plot-lines help ensure a well-rounded narrative that will appeal to most readers.

In conclusion, To Be Free balances the different aspects of storytelling better than most novels. It contains an exciting plot and thoughtful characters, good dialogue and descriptions, conflict and romance, social commentary that is forward looking and doesn’t overwhelm the narrative, and even functions as both a biographical novel and a memoir. It is highly recommended for fans of creative nonfiction (biographical fiction) and westerns.
*****
“To Be Free” by Lloyd Mullins receives five stars and the “Highly Recommended” award of excellence from The Historical Fiction Company

From Coverfly (cinematic novel competition):

TO BE FREE tells the action-packed, vivid story of Nate Luck, a Russian-Buriat immigrant to
America during the heyday of the “wild west.” As a rancher, a soldier, and a father, he transforms
effectively from a starry-eyed, adventure-craving idealist to a disillusioned but still principled
American in every sense of the word. The characters, plot and structure are all there to make this
a dynamic feature or limited series, and the storytelling should be noted as a standout . . . 

One of the primary elements . . . is character, and that is an area where this book really shines. Nate Luck is a captivating protagonist, driving the action forward with his impulsive love of life, fighting spirit, as well as sunshiny optimism. Whether he’s defending someone outside a brothel or battling the love of his life, Esme, the plot hinges on his action and his character. He also is a unique protagonist in terms of his heritage, and the specificity that brings to him navigating The West is truly wonderful. His strength as a horse-rider due to his Mongolian grandfather and mother, his resistance to being seen as anything other than independent, they are ripe for bumping up against this classic American setting. How he
transforms into someone who seems the cracks in the shiny marquee of The American Dream are
all the more heartbreaking for the great spirit he brings to fulfilling it.

The women characters are also refreshingly vital and active, which is all too rare in male-dominated
genres and historical stories. From the engaging way Nate’s mother is described to the feisty
Esme, there would unquestionably be desirable parts for actors of many different genders, ages,
and ethnicities. This diversity is a definite plus, but all the more so because it doesn’t feel on-thenose,
but rather — simply — earned and factual.

Speaking of factual, the historical research would set this project apart for adaptation as well. They
add so much (seeming, at least) authenticity, whether talking about the cargo laborers traveling
on credit-tickets to the differences between the Cheyenne and the Nez Perce tribes. While at times
the line between reality and fiction is blurred, much like in the novel of The Princess Bride by
William Goldman, this only serves to plunge us deeper into the story and is effective. My only
caveat would be that some of the racial realities of the time, even if they are grounded, can be a
tough pill to swallow. For instance, Nate’s reaction to the Chinese as an “inherited prejudice” may
shut down some readers, even if he very quickly realizes the error of his ways in America.

One quick thematic note: I really like the idea presented that, because Nate has a wealth of
memories to “draw on and remember,” that he can live as a “King of Infinite Space.” This poetic
counter to the ravenous demands of Manifest Destiny elevates the story into the arena of the bestthemed
Westerns, like NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, TRUE GRIT, or UNFORGIVEN. Overall, this is a
highly readable story that has the action-oriented, visual elements to translate well to the screen.