New Release -- BOUND FOR TEXAS by Kit Prate -- Giveaway!

Cattle…Dust…and Death…

When ex-gunman Trace Belden decides to buy some cattle and settle down on his own Texas spread, he gets more than he’s bargained for—and not in a good way. An ongoing confrontation with Cord Bishop, a man he once thought of as his best friend, taints every minute of the trail-drive back to the Belden ranch—with the loss of several prize Hereford cows and a violent ambush of Trace’s crew.

Though Bishop believes he holds all the cards—Trace’s beautiful ex-wife and son—he soon learns that Trace won’t lie down; even if it means never seeing his son again. Trace is determined to protect his own—the herd, his men, his little brother, and a young boy who has run away to join the Belden crew.

As disaster strikes again and again, Trace realizes that the vendetta with Bishop can only result in tragedy and loss—and he vows not to lose either of the young boys who mean so much to him. But when Trace’s younger brother, Lonny, begins to carry a gun, he knows he has to rein the wild youngster in before someone gets killed—if it’s not already too late.

It’s a long way back, with death and dreams awaiting the Beldens as they head home— BOUND FOR TEXAS…

EXCERPT

"It's pure Hell, ain't it? All this waiting?" Lon Belden lounged against the far wall; at fifteen, a younger, more compact version of the other. Seventeen years separated the brothers; that, and a difference in temperament and experience that creased one's face with the hardness of times gone by, and this one with the quick lines of boyish laughter.

"Quit saying ain't, and stop swearing." Trace spoke with a tired impatience, his voice taking on the tone of a weary parent.

"You could have left me with the crew." Lon's head came forward slightly as he tugged at his tight collar. An oily smear spotted the mirror that hung on the wall at his back. He saw the spot and tried to rub it away with his sleeve, succeeding only in making it bigger.

"Sure," Trace said ruefully. "I left you with them. Last night. That's why I had to bail you out of jail this morning."

Lon grinned across at his brother. "We had one grand old time, Trace," he said, his face coloring. "There's this girl down at that cantina by the tracks got…" He cupped his hands in front of him.

"Madam will see you now." A strange voice cut into the young man's remembrances; clipped, precise. Disapproving. "If you…gentlemen will follow me." The man gestured for them to fall in behind him, his nose in the air as if he smelled something unpleasant. Lon shoved himself away from the wall and shouldered his way past Trace, imitating the butler's mincing walk. Belden lifted a well-polished boot and applied it to the kid's rear end.

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New Release -- LONG RIDE TO LIMBO by Kit Prate -- Giveaway!

GOLD, GOD & GLORY

Hernando Cortez had lived his life. The glory had been his. God watched over his deathbed, and the gold…its secret would soon be buried with him.

CHICAGO, 1893

Ten years ago that Reese Sullivan rode away from his wife Vanessa and young son Trey. His reasons were strong. And his own.

Vanessa used her beauty and cleverness to seduce an ambitious and kind Wes Underwood. Now he was dead. Ambushed and robbed. And with a cold irony, she has come to Detective Reese Sullivan the hunt the killers down.

Now an angry and bitter son will ride with the father he hates to avenge the death of the step-father he loved – and something more; to reclaim what was taken from his step-father’s body – the key to a vast and fabled treasure. They will embark on a perilous journey that will pit father and son against unseen enemies, natural disaster, and each other – while back home in El Paso the women they love face an unimagined danger at the terrifying end of the …

EXCERPT:

     “It's not a pretty way to die, lawyer. And it takes a long, long time.”
     Mendoza was laughing again, softly, something obscene in his joy at being reminded of past pleasures. Momentarily panicked, Wes Underwood began to bargain for his life. With the grinning giant that stood before him, and now—even more urgently—with the ominous figure that stood behind Trey's back. “For God's sake, man!” he pleaded. “I can't tell you what I don't know!” It was a lie, poorly told in a brief moment of throat-drying fear, a man's desperate attempt to hold on to a fortune in gold he was sure existed; a treasure that bound him with dreams of wealth so great that he was willing to die for it. Even now.
     Suddenly, Mendoza stopped laughing. There was the subtle sound of steel slicing through starched cotton. “For God's sake...” Underwood screamed.
     Trey Underwood watched as the knife ripped through his father's white shirt just to the right of the buttons. From the belt upward, in the blade's wake, a narrow rivulet of blood appeared, bright red and spreading. Instinctively, as much as the rough hands on his arms would allow, the older man backed away from the pain. He stared down at his taut belly, aware that he had been cut, his knees going weak, and then tensing as he realized the wound was only deep enough to draw blood. He swallowed, mentally cursing the dryness in his mouth that made his tongue feel thick and unmanageable, his keen attorney's mind working.
     He was no good to them dead, and that thought consoled him and gave him courage. He pulled himself erect, his posture changing as his spine straightened. “Kill me,” he breathed, “and you'll never find it. You won't even know where to begin to look...” A grim smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. For the first time during the long hours since his captivity, Wes Underwood felt in control.

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New Release - Jason Kilkenny’s Gun by Kit Prate - Giveaway!

Legendary bounty hunter Rance Savage is dying of pneumonia. As luck would have it, he is discovered by two brothers, Will and Josh Kincaid, and brought into town to be cared for by Doc Harper. Once he’s recovering, Savage plays on young Josh Kincaid’s starstruck admiration for him by giving him his first real taste of manhood.

But when Savage kills a man, he’s put under lock and key—unfairly—to young Josh Kincaid’s way of thinking. To make matters worse, it’s Josh’s own uncle, Jake Kincaid, who is responsible for bringing the bounty man down. Josh has a skewed view of who the real Rance Savage is—and he’s determined to help him get free—no matter the cost. 

In a deadly twist of fate, Savage finally is in the position of power he’s been seeking for twenty years—to kill the man he blames for making him a cripple. A chance discovery of a long-hidden rifle is the catalyst that brings freedom from a terrible secret—and death in its wake. How many lives will JASON KILKENNY’S GUN destroy?

EXCERPT:

The entrance to the cavern was plainly visible. Something lay on the ground in front of the black hole. Dark, furry, like a small bear, yet somehow different. Whatever it was, it sprawled across the corpse of the old wolf.

Josh rose up on one elbow. He was a good hundred yards from the wolf’s den, and he lay quietly, debating his next move. In his mind’s eye, he drew fantasies of what must have happened, the way the old wolf must have died. The animal would have fought to his death to defend his secret place, and would have taken his attacker with him. Using the rifle as a staff, the boy rose up on his knees and pulled himself erect. There was a sadness in him as he approached the creatures sprawled on the ground.

He reached the pair, realizing for the first time that the thing he had thought an animal was a man in a buffalo-hide coat. A big man, six feet or more in height, with immense, well-muscled shoulders, and long-fingered hands. Laying the rifle aside, Josh reached out, his fingers probing at the long artery in the man’s neck. Suddenly, a hand closed around his lower arm, a vise squeezing against the fragile bones in his wrist.

     And then the voice came, weak, barely above a whisper. “I need help, boy.” The fingers tightened, and the man repeated the words, louder, “I need help.”

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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.

#NewRelease -- The Dundee Saga, Book 2, Casa Grande by Kit Prate -- #Giveaway!

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BLURB

Cooper Dundee is in trouble. His stagecoach line is about to go under—and he stands to lose everything.  The long-standing rivalry between Coop and his older half-brother, Jonathan, has been simmering since childhood. Now that Jonathan has lost his share of the business on the turn of a card, his resentment is at a boiling point.

But Jonathan isn’t the only one who wants to see Cooper go down. An old nemesis from the past insinuates himself into Cooper’s life—and into his business—with deadly plans of his own.

When Coop is nearly killed in a suspicious stagecoach accident, he realizes he’s been set up. The lynch mob is just outside the door—if he survives his terrible injuries.  With his pregnant wife, Regan, and her young son, Michael, in his life, Cooper’s got too much to live for to give up now. But how can he beat the odds stacked against him? In a desperate bid to save everything dear to him, he faces a deadly showdown with a snowball’s chance in hell of surviving. Either way, it will all end at the place he was born—Casa Grande… 

EXCERPT

It was those long, grueling hours of hard labor that had melted the flesh from him. At first, his soft hands had bled, and the white flesh on his back had burned and blistered. And then, as the days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months, his entire body hardened. After the first year, he could stare at his own reflection and wonder about the face that stared back.

He had changed so much, including adding a beard, that even Cooper Dundee did not recognize him. He laughed. Only moments before, he had shared a drink with the man whose testimony had sent him to prison—and shared a drink with the man’s attorney, Estevan Foley—and neither one had known him!

Finished with his chores, he stood up, smearing yet another glob of thick grease on the large wheel hub. It was an effective cover for a lug nut he had loosened. It was going to work, he thought smugly. This time, after all the waiting, all the careful planning, it was going to work.

And before the day was over, Cooper Dundee would be dead.

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#NewRelease--The Dundee Saga, Book 1: Tucson by Kit Prate--#Giveaway!

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BLURB

Bound by blood but separated by years of hatred and mistrust, half-brothers Jonathan and Cooper Dundee are locked in a fierce struggle over their father’s legacy—the Dundee Ranch and the failing transport company. With cruel cunning, Jonathan has launched a ruthless plot to betray his family and to gain control of everything. 

But his secret allies become impatient, and loose a campaign of bloody terror that endangers the lives of all the Dundees, as well as the fiercely independent Regan O’Rourke, already tormented by her conflicting desire for both Jonathan and Cooper. All too quickly, the long-simmering rivalry becomes a deadly wave of kidnapping, and murder that threatens the Dundee family, and soon escalates to include the entire Arizona territory. 

Old wounds are opened as the brothers square off in the high stakes power struggle for the Dundee dynasty. Compassion has no sway. Forgiveness is forgotten. The Dundees are fighters, and this blood bath has begun!

EXCERPT
    The still morning air suddenly came alive with the high-pitched shrieks of small children, whose rough-and-tumble antics churned up great clouds of yellow dust from the un-paved street as they raced across the wide thoroughfare to attack Cooper from the rear. His surprise seemed genuine, and soon the man’s rich baritone mingled good-naturedly with the jubilant screams of the youngsters.
    Gallantly, Cooper Dundee fought the good fight. He chose to prolong the skirmish, knowing that in the end he would surrender, and he covered his head with both arms in an attempt to suppress the laughter. The troop of young boys piled on top of him and pinned him to the ground. Straddling him—one on each arm and leg, and two more who bounced up and down on his belly and chest—the half-dozen children shouted in one voice, “Say ‘uncle’!”
    Cooper convulsed in laughter, bucking away from small, tickling fingers. And then, thoroughly winded, he succumbed. “Uncle!” he breathed. When nothing happened, he repeated the word much louder. “Uncle!” Slowly, cautiously, the motley crew unwound themselves. One by one, they gave up their places, rising to stand in a tight but ragged circle around the man.
    He pulled himself erect, stretching to his full six-feet-two, the handsome product of his Scottish father and Indian-Mexican mother. He was a lean man, a year past thirty, his sun-bronzed cheeks contrasting sharply with the amber-flecked green eyes that dominated his face. Dark hair, untouched by the sun, fell across his high forehead, the sweat-damp locks at his neck and ears tightly curled. Swearing softly, he raked his fingers through the unruly mop, and stooped over to pick up his hat.
    The flat-crowned, wide-brimmed plainsman hat seemed his only concern now, and he was fastidious in his attention to the numerous dents and creases that pocked the battered felt.
    Lovingly, he patted the Stetson back into shape, rotating the hat in a slow circle around his bent elbow as he dried the sweatband on his sleeve. Finally satisfied, he settled the hat squarely on his head, the wide brim shadowing the laughter in his eyes.
    The game then resumed when ten-year-old Toby Udall swaggered forward, properly insolent as he played out the charade. An old sombrero hid his thick head of red hair, while his freckled nose and grubby chin were covered with a bright red bandanna. He cocked his head and stared up at Cooper, his eyes narrowed in an expression of unspoken menace.
    More threatening than his sneer was the fearsome weapon he was now pointing at Cooper’s belt buckle. In his small boy’s mind, his mother’s discarded broom became a long-barreled Sharps rifle, the stubby straw nub firmly pressed against his right side. He palmed back an imaginary hammer, cocking the piece and poking it at Cooper’s belly with great authority. “Your money or your life, pilgrim,” he growled. The large cinnamon jawbreaker that nested in his fat cheek was now a chaw of tobacco, and he worked it against his jaw until he collected just the right amount of the pungent juice. Forcing a cough, he spit into the dirt between Cooper’s feet. “You heard me, mister,” he drawled. “Your money or your life!” The five similarly armed outlaws at his back echoed his demands.
    Outnumbered, Cooper offered no resistance. He began a frantic search of his pockets, his outer vest pocket first and then his trousers. Slowly, he probed the depths of the right front pocket, pulling it inside out to a chorus of whispered dismay. The make-believe road agents moved closer, watching as the man flicked away imaginary pieces of lint in his fruitless search for treasure.
    At last, as the band of midget marauders inched closer, he plunged his hand deep inside the remaining pocket and delved to the very bottom. There was the faint jingle of coins, more prolonged hesitation, and then—as he withdrew his hand—the bright flash of copper.
    He doled out the coins until each small hand held its own Indian-head penny, and then, aware of an additional pair of eyes beyond the circle, he produced yet another. He tapped Toby’s shoulder and pressed the second coin into his palm. “For your friend,” he smiled, nodding toward the porch.
    Michael Patrick O’Rourke stood in the shadows on the wood-plank sidewalk in front of the Dundee Transport Line office, far apart from the others. More than distance separated him from the boys in the street. The distinct eastern cut and style of his factory-tailored suit as well as his unnatural tidiness set him apart.

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#NewRelease--THE OUTLAW, BILLY STARBUCK by Kit Prate -- Giveaway!!

My first real crush when I was child was – without a doubt – Audie Murphy.  I wasn’t really old enough to appreciate the fact he was the most decorated war hero from WWII; no, my fascination with him was the Saturday afternoon feature film: “The Kid from Texas”.  The scene that really stuck out for me was young Billy the Kid standing on a porch, carving his name on a wooden post.

The film was one of the many “oaters” Murphy starred in.  He was good.  Actually, he was great from my viewpoint; the man could really ride.  And he was outstanding when he was playing a charming, devil-may-care delinquent.  As Billy the Kid of course, and then – later – in a highly underrated film co-starring James Stewart as his older brother; “Night Passage”.

The Outlaw Billy Starbuck morphed from those two characters.  Audie as Billy the Kid, and in his later incarnation as Jimmy Stewart’s train robber brother, Lee McClaine, the Utica Kid.

Murphy’s characters in both of those films died.  I wasn’t happy about that; so in “The Outlaw, Billy Starbuck” I decided to rectify those glaring theatrical errors.  Billy Starbuck was going to have a chance for redemption.

BLURB

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.

THE OUTLAW, BILLY STARBUCK, as Will calls himself now, turns his attention to the stage lines and the payrolls they carry.  But he’s met his match with expert stagecoach driver Simon Tyree, who is determined to deliver the payroll—along with some unexpected passengers—to safety, come hell or high water.

In a twist of fate, Billy Starbuck realizes he must join with Tyree to keep himself and the woman he loves alive when his old nemesis forces him to show his hand. But will his decision come too late? When vengeance comes calling, will Simon Tyree protect THE OUTLAW, BILLY STARBUCK…

EXCERPT

     “I’ll drive, old man,” he announced, reaching for the reins. In his mind’s eye, he could already see himself as the greatest stage driver in the territory.

     “Not hardly,” Tyree laughed, refusing to let go of the ribbons. “You’ve got a lot to learn before I turn you loose with one of my wagons!”

     The younger man was unperturbed. The vision of his new name loomed before him again, in print this time, on the cover of Ned Buntline’s magazine and Beadle’s dime novels ... and Harpers Weekly!      “I’m going to write,” he announced suddenly. “For Buntline and Harpers!” The sudden change in professions—from outlaw, to stage driver, to writer—didn’t bother him. He had time, lots of time. And when he was old, really old, like Tyree, he would write a book.

     “Billy Starbuck,” he said aloud, ducking when Tyree took a swing at his head. “I’ll write all about the true adventures of Billy Starbuck and how he stole from the rich to give to the poor!”

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