Pistol Thicket is Bill Shaw’s third novel centered on this fictional North Louisiana town.

Bill was a native of those piney woods, but his wife Monica is a South Dakotan. They were married for 51 years and have three daughters and five grandchildren. Bill and Monica met in the summer of 1963 as soda jerks at Old Faithful, Yellowstone Park. Both retired from teaching school. Bill was the Woodson Professor of Law and Ethics in Business at The University of Texas Austin. Monica taught Social Studies at Del Valle High School.

“Good-night sweet prince; And flights of angels fly thee to thy rest.” William Shakespeare, Hamlet. Bill Shaw, son of Leslie and Julia Shaw of Ruston, Louisiana, grudgingly departed life on October 27, 2017. To ensure he would approve of the wording of his obituary, he self-authored his obituary in 2009 along with the music he wanted played at his service.