NEW RELEASE — BUST OUT by W. M. SHOCKLEY Giveaway!

Two outlaws set out on yet another bank robbing heist to add to their “stash”, but things go awry when Buddy, the mastermind, decides to kill the teller.  Merle, his accomplice, manages to get away, and Buddy sends a prostitute to find Merle and hatch a plan to free him from jail. But when Merle shows up, he realizes he’s been framed, and in the chaos of getting away, he snatches up twelve-year-old boy, Reuben Solomon, to ensure his safety out of town.

Reuben Solomon has finally been allowed the responsibility of making a delivery from his father’s store—then all hell breaks loose. Gunshots ring out, and the next thing he knows he’s being hauled out of town by a stranger. This is the beginning of his big adventure, and his new life. Merle sees a different side of the boy who has been stifled by his alcoholic father. During the short time they ride together, Merle teaches Reuben the things the boy’s father should have taught him about life—until Reuben begins to think maybe he might not want to go back to the life he led in Shasta.

When Reuben returns home, it’s just as bad as before—even worse, since he’s learned about the world outside of Shasta. When he receives a gift from Merle, he knows he must head back out to find him when he turns fourteen. But Buddy has escaped the hangman, and with several murders to his credit, he knows that Reuben is his key to finding Merle—and the money that Merle took when he left to start a new life. Nothing will stop Buddy in his relentless search for the partner he believes double-crossed him, and now must pay. Can Reuben find Merle before Buddy has a chance to murder his old partner?

EXCERPT

     Shasta had the feel to it—Merle couldn't ever describe the feel, but he knew it when he got it, and knew it was real. Something wasn't right. Lots of things weren't right. Still, he forced himself to walk the horses into town just like Buddy had ridden out of Red Bluff—slowly. On one side of the street there were fifteen or so buildings under a tree covered hill. On the other side was the jail building with a clock tower and some other buildings in a field. At least three other buildings were in various stages of completion.

    He stopped in front of the bakery at the end of the street—they were baking something, and it smelled too good for Merle to pass up. He checked the clock tower above the jail building and saw he had time, so he tied up the horses and went inside. The smell was even better: real food after five days of rice and beans and pan-burned biscuits. He bought several rolls from the fat woman with a funny accent and went back outside where he put some of the rolls in his saddle bag.

    When he came out, the big clock showed 11:46. Merle leaned against the hitching rail and ate a roll. He split another between the horses. He'd been able to rest them pretty good, even as they came into Shasta, so they were ready to run when he busted Buddy out.

    If he busted Buddy out—the feel kept coming back on him. The town looked normal enough with only a few people on the street, mostly going into or coming out of the dry goods and general stores down the way. Across the street, the jail building didn't even look to be open. No, everything looked peaceful and quiet. But the feel told him it wasn't so. 

Has something bad happened to you that actually turned out to be good?  Be sure and leave a comment for a chance to win a free ecopy of BUST OUT.

     

New Release -- CODE OF THE WEST Six Classic Western Novels in a Boxed Set -- Only 99 cents

Are you ready to ride into the old west with six fantastic tales of outlaws, lawmen, Apaches and ex-gunmen? There’s nothing like outwitting a band of Apache warriors, facing down a man with a hard grudge, or standing with a brother you don’t agree with—because he’s your blood—and doing it all from your easy chair! Each and every one of these tales of the west are guaranteed to keep you turning pages. You’ll share these hard-hitting action adventures as surely as if you were standing in the dusty Texas heat or the wilds of Indian Territory alongside the outlaws, marshals, and bounty hunters captured in the pages of CODE OF THE WEST! So, DRAW…if you dare!

ONE-EYED COWBOY WILD by John D. Nesbitt

Gene Hill welcomes his brother Zeke home, but some of Zeke’s new habits have him worried. When Zeke takes up an old feud with the Bickford brothers, Gene has no choice but to stand with his blood—even if it costs him the woman he loves…or his life.

THE OUTLAW, BILLY STARBUCK by Kit Prate

When Will Simpson decides to turn outlaw, he does it up right! Robbing trains will bring him the fame and wealth he craves—and will also ensure he’ll end up with the girl he loves. But his first train robbery goes awry and he makes a lifelong enemy of payroll guard Kyle Lassiter, who loses his arm in the heist.

GHOST RIVER by Livia J. Washburn

After his entire hometown turns against him for a crime he didn't commit, Jacob Travers runs away and joins a gang of bank robbers. But when a job goes bad and Travers is seriously wounded, he sees the man he considers his only friend turn tail and run—leaving him to die or be caught. Disillusioned but determined to survive, Travers crawls to the site of a deserted trading post in Ghost River—a place he never knew existed—where he recovers, repents, and swears to stay clean. Life has a way of making that difficult, however.

HALF-BREED LAW by Chuck Tyrell

Halfbreed marshal Garet Havelock sets off across the Mojave Desert to retrieve $100,000 in stolen gold bullion. Fate has served up its own brand of justice when he realizes the man he’s after is the Yankee raider who shot him years before, Buzz Donovan. But Donovan is pure evil, and Havelock is the only man who can stop his cruel atrocities with a taste of HALFBREED LAW…if he lives through it.

ONCE A DROVER by Jerry Guin

Trouble seems to find Sam Hall, no matter how he tries to avoid it, from St. Louis to Fort Worth and the wide plains in between. But when Sam comes home to Texas to see after his aunt’s spread, he’s determined to settle down. Fate says differently when a woman in need of his help turns up unexpectedly.  No matter what his good intentions were, he must take up his gun once more to save her life.

RIDE THE WILD RANGE by Cheryl Pierson

Young Will Green's entire family is murdered by Red Eagle's Apache renegades. During the long days and nights of captivity, Will plans his vengeance as only a ten-year-old boy can. But those plans are thwarted, along with his own imminent death, by a lone stranger who boldly walks into the Apache camp and forcefully takes Will from the band of warriors. Angry and humiliated, the Indians swear to follow Will and his savior as soon as they can round up their horses—and they won't stop until blood runs red.

Finding Creativity Through Tranquility

Serenity echoes deep in a central Wyoming lodgepole pine forest with the sights, sounds, and smells of nature. Chickadees chirp from tree branches, mule deer munch late summer grass, and orange-spotted butterflies wing through waves of yellow daisies. Within the stillness of the woodland, a group of 20 people spread like spokes on a wheel, finding inspiration, tranquility, and creativity.

            

 For the past four summers I’ve welcomed a group of writers to my secluded mountain property. We spend an afternoon soaking in the solace of the landscape, escaping traffic noise and the ring of telephones. This is my special retreat, a place where I’ve written articles and developed book ideas. I share it with my writers’ group one day of the year, and during those afternoon hours, creativity flows, from poetry to children’s stories.

             

Located a short 20-minute drive from my house in town, my woodland hideaway seems hours from the barrage of droning disruptions. This peaceful parcel of forest land has become my writing refuge. Thoreau had his Walden's Pond; I have my Peaceable Kingdom, 3+ acres of Rocky Mountain forest at an elevation of 8,000 feet. Within the timbered setting stands a 12x40 foot wood-sided cabin, which receives electricity from the sun via solar panels and heat from a russet-enameled woodstove. Although other cabins are visible through the lacy lodgepole branches, rarely is my quietude disturbed, for other property owners don't frequent their private paradises as I do mine, even during summer. 

            

In the midst of such peacefulness I create stories, sitting at my laptop that's powered by either its own battery or the solar panels connected to a cluster of marine-celled batteries, the collection which also lights our paneled cabin. Each form of energy helps me produce chapters of books or develop feature articles for magazines and newspapers. Although I can write at my home office in town, the visits to the cabin rejuvenate and revive my creativity, priming, prompting, and pumping the flow of words. Amidst the solitude, I've written three books and partially-written two others, as well as countless magazine articles, newspaper stories, and blog posts -- and more muse flows forth. Sometimes my creations are generated within the cabin itself, other times sitting under the shade of the towering lodgepoles or while reflecting in the enclave of the screened porch during twilight. The twittering of songbirds and ruckus of raptors, the fluttering of butterflies, scolding of pine squirrels, and wafting of a breeze in the tree tops tug at the tendrils of my brain and sing within the crevices of my heart, culminating in a creativeness that soars from my soul.

             

Setting is important in stories, from the written word to the backdrop of a movie screen. I am inspired by my mountain property much as Laura Ingalls Wilder was by her surroundings, whether it was Rocky Ridge Farm in Missouri or the great plains of the Dakotas. The inspired woodland location atop Casper Mountain encourages writings that will, I hope, uplift readers of my words. Whether the product is a book about my dog that helps children facing adversity, a story that teaches an environmental lesson, or an article that encourages people who are down on themselves, the excitement I feel when I sit across from my laptop in the stillness of my mountain acreage cascades through mind and spirit. For me, tranquility equals creativity and productivity.

             

Laura had her Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, and the Farm House in the Ozarks. I have a combination – my Little Cabin in the Tall Woods of the Great Plains. And tomorrow I will again share this unique environ with fellow writers. I smile as I envision the amazing compositions which will bloom within us as we savor the serene surroundings.

Gayle M. Irwin is a Wyoming writer, author, and speaker who creates inspirational pet stories for children and adults. She is the author of seven books and a contributing writer to six Chicken Soup for the Soul compilations. She is also a contributor to last month’s Sundown Press release Memories on Maple Street U.S.A.: Pawprints on My Heart. She volunteers for various Rocky Mountain region pet rescue organizations and writes for several newspapers and magazines, sharing stories about people, pets, and nature. Learn more at www.gaylemirwin.com.

 

New Release -- Punished: Navajo Witches by Jackson Lowry

Vincent Bayonne has gone from wealthy Louisiana plantation owner to penniless drunk in a very short time. But that’s not all. William Sherman, the ex-slave who put the torch to Bayonne’s beloved plantation, Dark Oaks, has done the unspeakable. Sherman, a voodoo priest, has placed a curse on Bayonne and made him one of the undead—living, but not truly alive.

The elusive Dr. Glencannon is the only man who can stave off the sense-dulling effects of the curse with his elixir—but Bayonne is always one step behind him. A young Navajo boy tells Bayonne his uncle, Begay, can help—but for a price—killing the skinwalker that has been terrorizing the Navajo people.

Though Bayonne resents having to hunt the supernatural shapeshifter, there is no choice for him. For Begay, true to his word, concocts a potion that holds the zombie traits at bay and allows Bayonne to do what he must do—including hunting the skinwalker.

As Bayonne stalks the skinwalker, he makes a surprising discovery. Will he be able to kill the beast? And can he make it back to New Orleans in time to meet the Queen of the Cape when William Sherman comes ashore?

EXCERPT

     He had been thrust into a furnace. Vincent Bayonne stirred sluggishly as he forced himself to get his face out of the alkali dust. He stayed on hands and knees, unable to go further. It slowly occurred to him that he hadn't been dumped into a furnace. He was in a blacksmith's forge. The heat blistered his back, but the dull thudding inside his head matched the even strokes of a smithy hammering out a horseshoe fresh and red-glowing from the coals.

     Choking, he spat. Or he tried to. His mouth was too dry to get the grit out. Memory of waking in a coffin with his mouth sewn shut after being filled with salt sent a surge through him that brought him upright onto his knees.

     "Damn you, William Sherman."  He cursed the man who had put the voodoo curse on him. As he turned his face upward, he realized he was in another type of grave. This one stretched for barren miles in all directions. From the angle of the sun, he had another couple hours of the searing heat to endure.