"The Kid"—a 20th Century lad with a stubborn wish that he’d been born a 19th Century gunfighter, and his faithful companion—an eccentric Indian— embark on an adventure-filled odyssey that takes them from John Wayne’s set of The Alamo in Texas to Opening Day at the Old Tucson Western Movie-Set Amusement Park in Arizona.
Their rowdy escapades eventually lead them to California’s celebrated Corriganville Movie Ranch—the Universal Studios Tour of its day. Here is where The Kid quickly learns the ropes by testing both his love and his courage. Acting out famous historical gunfights for the throngs of paying tourists brings The Kid closer to his dreams—and to death.
Nickel-Plated Dream is loosely based upon the author’s youthful recollections of 1959 when he was a 16-year-old gunfighter/stuntman at the then-world-famous Corriganville Movie Ranch Attraction near Hollywood.
"Authentic behind-the-scenes tale ... Readers will have their fingers crossed as they turn the pages." -- True West Magazine
A heartfelt ode to a time and place that is embodied in the glorious B-westerns we grew up loving. -- Leo Pando - The Old Cowboy Picture Show newsletter
He's one of us. -- George Coan, editor/trail boss The Old Cowboy Picture Show
About the Author
Stephen Lodge has been an active member of WWA for over ten years and his seminars on screenwriting a popular event at every annual convention. His background includes co-writing Rio Diablo, the Kenny Rogers Western epic, The Honkers, starring James Coburn & Anne Archer; and Kingdom of the Spiders, a cult classic starring Star Trek's William Shatner. He was Assistant to the Producer on TV's Camp Runamuck and spent several seasons with the popular Network TV series, The Fugitive. Steve has spent his entire life around the movie business, working on numerous TV series, Movies of the Week, and Major Features. Steve recently signed a motion picture option for his book, Charley Sunday's Texas Outfit! with Jeffrey Sneller Productions.
STEPHEN LODGE, author of the historical fiction, action-adventure saga, Shadows of Eagles, the modern-day cattle drive tale, Charley Sunday's Texas Outfit!, and the coming of age novel, Nickel-Plated Dream, is also the co-writer of Kenny Rogers' only down-and-dirty Western epic, the CBS Movie of the Week, Rio Diablo, co-starring Travis Tritt, Naomi Judd and Stacy Keach. His first major Motion Picture screenwriting credit was the United Artists feature, The Honkers, starring James Coburn and Anne Archer. Soon after, he was writing, producing & directing his own film, One Block Away. Another of Lodge's films, Kingdom of the Spiders, starring Star Trek's William Shatner, has gone on to become a favorite late night TV cult horror classic. Growing up, Steve rode his horse around Northridge, California, when the San Fernando Valley was mostly wide-open spaces. He was influenced greatly by "B" Westerns as a youth; wanting to be an actor from a very early age he found visits to movie sets fascinating. The gift of an 8mm movie camera at age 10 allowed him to write, direct and star in his own "Productions". He began his professional acting career at 12; at age 16 he performed at Hollywood's Famous Corriganville Western Street, Back Lot Movie-Ranch. After college, Columbia Pictures hired Steve; his interest in writing had been seriously developing since high school. During his two-years at Columbia, he was Assistant to the Producer on TV's Camp Runamuck. After that, he would spend several seasons as a Motion Picture Costumer with the popular Network TV series, The Fugitive. Steve has spent his entire life around the movie business, working on numerous TV series, Movies of the Week, and major features'all the while writing, and selling his scripts Steve presently makes his home in Rancho Mirage, California, near Palm Springs, where he lives with his wife, Beth, and their two dogs, Misty and Crystal. Since moving to the desert, he has written, produced & directed a 90-minute TV special, Bordello; authored a number of articles for various magazines; and completed additional screenplays, including adaptations for three of his novels, Shadows of Eagles, Charley Sunday's Texas Outfit, and Nickel-Plated Dream. At present, Charley Sunday's Texas Outfit! is under option to Jeffrey M. Sneller Productions as a future motion picture project.
