New Release — Killing Blood by Robert D. McKee

Billy Young boards a train with his brother, Frank, unaware that only one of them will survive the short, hell-bound ride. When a group of brutal outlaws led by a man called Blood begins to methodically shoot the passengers down, Billy finds a way to save himself with the sole purpose of avenging his brother’s death.

But as events unfold, in an unlikely twist, Billy discovers the outlaws are working for someone else—someone with much to gain from the deaths of certain people in the community. Frank’s murder sets Billy on the trail of the three men who changed his world forever—and he won’t stop until he finds every last one of them.

Once he tracks them down, he’ll exact his vengeance—and it will be a pleasure. He’ll follow them to hell and back with one thing on his mind…KILLING BLOOD!

EXCERPT:

“How old are you, boy?” asked the leader. As he came up from his seat, he folded his knife and dropped it into his pocket.

The man who held the gun gave Billy a yellow-toothed grin. His breath reeked of onion, but Billy’s spinning brain only half logged that fact. “What?” Billy asked.

“I said, how old are you?”

The man with the gun touched the muzzle to a spot between Billy’s eyebrows. The rest of the passengers sat silent and watched. At least they all watched except for Frank. Frank was a man who was quick to sleep, and he had already nodded off.

Billy swallowed hard and said, “Nineteen, sir.” He called the man “sir” because he figured being polite in this situation couldn’t hurt. “I was born in seventy-two, and yesterday was my birthday. My brother and I took this train ride down to Cheyenne to celebrate.”

The leader of the group lifted the Colt from the holster on Billy’s hip. “Well, happy birthday, kid. If you want to live to see another one,” he said, tucking Billy’s gun into his belt, “you best do as you’re told.” 

     

New Release — WESTERN DUO by J. L. Guin

 

When “gun-handy” ex-lawman Jack Bonner begins to think about settling down, he’s approached by one last offer he can’t pass up. Three enterprising businessmen present a plan for him to schedule gunfights—with his opponent paying a fee for the privilege of fighting him! Seems like the perfect plan—good for the town businesses, good for publicity, and good for Jack’s pocketbook—if he doesn’t meet someone faster than he is. But as time wears on, there’s a shift in attitudes all around, and Jack begins to yearn for other things that don’t come easy for a CROSSROADS’ FAST GUN…

Two Huntsville Prison inmates, Derrick Mulford and Harlan Cole, are released for “time served” in the hopes that they will lead lawmen to a strongbox filled with stolen gold from a robbery that happened many years before. Did the dying prisoner, Charlie Cruppe, accurately confess to them where the gold was hidden? Derrick begins to wonder if tracking down the fortune will be the death of them when he and Harlan are followed and held at gunpoint—are their lives worth finding the sister of the robber for her help? Only she knows the hiding place her brother described. Are they willing to die for CHARLIE’S MONEY?

EXCERPT

Joe Snipes set his beer glass down and moved to take a gun shooter’s stance—legs spread shoulder width and facing Jack. “I don’t like how you keep staring at me, mister!” he barked, while pointing a bony finger at Jack.

Jack took his own stance and said, “It seems to me that you’re staring at me just like I’m looking at you. It may be that we have business to discuss, so we might as well discuss it. That’s if your name happens to be Joe Snipes.”

Joe did not answer. Instead, he made a move to draw his six-gun. Jack Bonner drew his .45 Colt in a fluid motion and fired one shot that hit Snipes in the upper chest. Jack would have shot a second time, but he did not want to kill Joe unless forced to do such—although the reward offered stated dead or alive.

Joe accommodated by taking a step back from the impact of the bullet and dropped his six-gun in the move, then fell forward to lie face down on the floor.

When it appeared that Joe Snipes was in no condition to further resist, Jack stepped over to the fallen man’s side then picked up Joe’s six-gun and stuck it in his waistband. He rolled Joe onto his back to assess the damage that the bullet had done.

Jack had purposely shot high so as not to lung-shoot the man. He would try to keep Joe alive in order to claim the reward since he was unaware of how far it was to the nearest law office to claim his prize. If the man died, he might become putrid before Jack could turn his corpse in. Joe’s eyes remained closed, but he was breathing steadily. “Is there a doctor in this town?” Jack asked to no one in particular.

The bartender came from behind the bar to stand nearby. “No doctor in Crossroads,” the man replied. “Hell, mister, you just shot that fella, now you want to save him?”

     

New Release — DAKOTA TRAILS by Robert D. McKee

 

When beautiful Katie Burke offers money to anyone who can best Neil Bancroft in a fight, he’s not sure he’s hearing right. Neil has never laid eyes on the mystery woman – so why does she want to see him beaten black and blue?

 When Katie offers him a job—help her find her husband’s cached gold—his curiosity is piqued even further, and he has no choice but to follow her into the wilds of the Dakota Territory.

 As they face murderous outlaws, Indians, and come dangerously close to trading their lives for the treasure, Neil realizes Katie has entranced him. He’s falling in love with her, and yet, he doesn’t know who she really is. Her nebulous past is not what she’s led him to believe it is…so how can he trust her? Yet, after all they’ve been through, how can he not?

 In a wonderful tale of western mystery laced with edgy suspense and human longing, Neil and Katie discover that the gold may not be as important to them as the hope of a beguiling future together—if they can only survive the deadly danger of the DAKOTA TRAILS…

"Robert D. McKee weaves a thrilling Western that keeps the reader guessing, and the pace drives readers through to the end before they know it. I’m not personally partial to the Western genre, but I could not put this book down. Neil and Katie are dynamic and fun characters, and along the way the people they encounter truly bring the Wild West alive in a historically accurate way. Dakota Trails is a wonderful blend of Western, mystery, and romance."  — Historical Novel Society

 “Gold is where you find it. With his debut Dakota Trails Robert McKee has not only spun gold into a delightful tale, but beguiles us with his talent as an author. McKee's history is immaculately researched—from the land, the people and places, McKee knows his business."  —W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear, New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors of People of the Songtrail

EXCERPT

Neil was halfway into his first beer when the woman from the corrals stepped through the saloon's open doorway. As she crossed to the bar, Neil noticed she eyed him at the table where he sat.

"Excuse me, sir," she said to Dick, the bartender. "Could I trouble you for a glass of water?"

"Why—why, sure, ma'am." Dick's awkward behavior made it obvious that except for the local whores, he was unaccustomed to a woman coming into his saloon. He reached beneath the counter, came up with a pitcher of water, and filled a tumbler. She thanked him with a pretty smile and took a sip.

It was still early, and the place was not yet crowded. No more than a dozen men sat around the dimly lit barroom, all of them with their mouths agape watching the young woman drink her water.

She blotted her lips with an index finger when she was finished, and then she turned her back to the bar and looked out over the room. "Afternoon, gentlemen," she said. Everyone stiffened, but no one said a word. "My name is Kathleen Burke. Katie Burke." She patted a small pocketbook she carried. "In my purse, here, I have a Liberty Double Eagle that I will give to any man who is willing to knock that cowboy over there unconscious." She lifted her hand and aimed a finger at Neil Bancroft.

     

New Release—A Good Day To Die by James Ciccone

 

You don’t want to make me mad. I’ve got a lot of hate in me, and I am not afraid of one blessed thing in this life. I’m Crawford Goldsby—better known as Cherokee Bill—and if you think you’re the one to bring me to justice you’re wrong…dead wrong.

They call me a half-breed, but I killed my first man by the time I was twelve, and I never stopped. Why? Because I like killing—and I’m damn good at it. Indian Territory wouldn’t be the same without me.

But this outlaw likes living, too, and when I rob that train carrying millions for a big payoff here in Indian Territory, I’ve got a plan to cut loose and run to South America—along with my fancy woman, Maggie.

Don’t get in my way. Indian Territory is mine. Oklahoma Territory is mine. If you cross me, your life is mine, too. I’m barely eighteen, and I can deliver a kill shot without even looking your way—yes, I’m that good.

Judge Parker can’t wait to get his hands on me over in Fort Smith. If he does, death by hanging will be end of me. Will Parker get his wish?  We’ll see…I’ve gotten confident in my own abilities to escape. If he gets his way at last, he won’t see Cherokee Bill running scared.

I’ll look the bastard in the eye and say, “It’s A GOOD DAY TO DIE…”

EXCERPT

Our gang, the Cook gang, was a ragtag assortment of homicidal maniacs, idiots, desperados, sexual perverts, gamblers, debtors, horse thieves, and perennial losers. And we all liked killing.

By the age of twelve, I had already managed to quit school, drink liquor, hang out with outlaws, shoot and kill a man, and gain an acquittal on a murder charge in open court. Admittedly, that was quite an impressive start in life.

In 1894, stories about me started hitting newspapers from as far away as New York and as close as the Fort Smith Elevator across the border in Arkansas. Of course, the reporters didn’t get the stories straight or put my real name out there, Crawford Goldsby. Instead, they used Cherokee Bill, and got folks all riled up by putting out that I was an outlaw with no fear, a robber on a reign of terror, a desperado at the same level of notoriety as Wild Bill Hitchcock, Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Johnny Ringo, the Calico Cowboy, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. However, none of that was exactly true. It was far worse. The truth was I was a kid of only eighteen, and my “reign of terror with the law,” as they put it, was just getting started.

     

New Release -- RELUCTANT PARTNERS by J. L. Guin

 

Bounty hunter Judd Jacoby has been doing things his own way for many years—up until now. He’s got a reputation for always bringing in the outlaw he’s after—and doing it alone. But when Judd is dealt a serious head injury, he’s reluctantly forced to accept a partnership with Faye McJunkin, a young woman he rescued when pursuing criminal Lonnie Sims.

When Judd and Faye track two ruthless bank robbers to a cabin, they must confront the men after dark. Faye comes up with a plan to get them in close proximity of the cabin door, but what might happen next is anyone’s guess—and the stakes are all or nothing. 

As time goes by, Faye proves herself time and again, but can Judd accept needing an unwanted partner? If he doesn’t, will he have to give up bounty hunting entirely? There might be an unexpected, surprising solution to the unusual dilemma for both of these RELUCTANT PARTNERS…if they live long enough!

EXCERPT

It was three days later when Sturgis paid Perkins a visit. He grinned when he came in and sat down in a ladderback chair next to the bed where Perkins lay. “You're looking better, Dan. Your coloring is starting to come back.”

Perkins blinked his eyes open. “Hurts like hell, but the doctor left a bottle of some foul-tasting stuff that I sip from time to time. It deadens the pain some but mostly puts me to sleep again. I think I'd rather drink whiskey.”

Sturgis laughed. “There will be plenty of time for that after you heal up. Did you notice my new addition?” He leaned forward and took a hand to pinch up the badge pinned to his shirtfront.

Perkins glared at the badge in astonishment. “What the hell is that?” Perkins knew that Carl Sturgis was a reckless man, reckless with his own life and reckless with the law. Together, they had been in enough tight scrapes for him to know that Sturgis, as well as himself, were anything but honest men.

“Why, it's my badge! I'm the new marshal of Stanley, appointed by Mister Avery Belk, unofficial mayor of the town. The badge and the job are legit, gives me something to do while waiting for you to heal up enough to ride. Part of the package he offered includes the care you receive, however long it takes. I get a hotel room, all my meals, and forty dollars a month. On top of that, I have free run of the town.”

This time, Perkins managed a grin. “Kinda like bringing a fox to watch the chickens.”

     

New Release — DANGEROUS TRAILS by John D. Nesbitt

Saddle up and ride along with one of the greatest western storytellers of our time, John D. Nesbitt, in this outstanding collection of short stories. If you’re looking for tales of danger, action, and adventure, these tales deliver—along with plenty of western justice.  This anthology is a collection of stories about men and women, guns and horses, wrongdoing and those who pay the price—and will keep you wondering what’s around the next bend of these DANGEROUS TRAILS…

      

New Release — Bennett’s County by Darrel Sparkman

Sheriff Billy Bennett takes his job seriously—and he’s darn good at it. No one breaks the law in his county. So when he gets a complaint of women dancing naked in the nearby forest, of course he has to investigate. Some say they’re witches, but Sheriff Bennett doesn’t hold with that—he doesn’t allow witches in his county.

But when a self-proclaimed warlock comes looking for them with plans to steal them away, Billy Bennett has him ushered out of Bennett’s County for good. There are no warlocks…only bad men. And Sheriff Billy Bennett will see the law is obeyed, no matter what—or who—tries to bend the rules.

Caught in the middle of an odd battle, the sheriff begins to wonder if he’s bitten off more than he can chew in order to keep law and order alive and well in BENNETT’S COUNTY… Is there any way this can end well?

EXCERPT

     Samuel was about half the size of his wife, a phenomenon I’d seen before. I always looked closely for bruises, but never found any on him. I shouldn’t be suspicious. I’m sure she’s the sweetest thing on earth.

     He sure was jumpy. If you came up behind him and poked him in the ribs, he’d jump about two feet in the air. Some of the boys had taken to coming up behind him on the street and setting off firecrackers. Jumpy. I needed to catch those boys, because the noise was hard on horses. We had a couple run off. One had Arnold on it.

He took his hat off and worried the brim a little. “Well, Sheriff, Emma thinks that witch is at it again.”

     It was a morning for contemplation. The most wonderous thing is how ideas get started—good and bad. Most folks hold their opinions to themselves. Seems the ones we don’t want to hear are always proclaimed the loudest. The dangerous thing disturbing my contemplation is that these people were serious and that was disturbing. There’s no amount of trouble that can come from people who convince themselves in their own stupidity and follow their new-found belief in righteous indignation. I studied them close as I practiced my reply. My lips may have moved some.

     “Which witch?”

     Emma gasped. “There’s more than one?”

     In a practiced move, both turned to the side and spit between their fingers. Hers landed first, but she’s a lot bigger—more power.

     She turned back to me with a triumphant stare. “I knew it. We have an infestation.”