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.”