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.”

New Release -- RESCUE TRAIL by Darrel Sparkman

Jake Rawlings was broken. One senseless killing and the loss of his wife left him without an anchor. Guilt and bitterness pushed him to turn in his badge. When he decides to follow the trail of a lone woman on the prairie, he’s led to a feisty widow and her daughter fighting for their lives. Saving them was easy. Can he save himself?

EXCERPT

     When the gambler’s hand touched the butt of his pistol, Jake tried to reason. “Slim. This is not a serious problem. If you need time to close your affairs here, we can do that.”

     “No need. There’s nothing left.”

     Jake watched the man as the odd statement put his nerves on edge. Nothing left? “This is not how you want to do this. Maybe I should walk outside and come in again when you’re in a better mood.”

     He watched the man grip his pistol and met his glassy-eyed stare. He’d seen that same look on men going to the gallows. “Don’t do this, Slim. There’s no need.”

     “I disagree.”

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 -- APACHE TEARS by John Duncklee -- Giveaway!

A year of evenings in 1948 spent with "Apache Bill" Russell, a second cousin to Geronimo, listening to his stories and gaining a deep appreciation for his people. I should have been doing homework from the university. Alas, I failed freshman chemistry, but I learned far more from Bill Russell than from any homework, or classes for that matter.

A young Apache boy, Kaetin, loses everything in one fateful night of death when many of his people are massacred by another Indian tribe. Stolen away and forced into captivity, Kaetin waits for his chance to escape, and when it comes, he kills the man responsible for the deaths of his mother and sister so many years ago.  (John Duncklee)

BLURB

But Kaetin must learn to accept what has happened in his life and turn away the bitterness that his thirst for revenge brings. Once he joins Geronimo’s band, he faces being shunned by many of the warriors for his unwillingness to become a warrior himself.

Can Kaetin survive in the harsh Apache world and stand true to his own beliefs? Through a white prospector, Silas, he learns that not all White Eyes are treacherous, and that revenge can never bring happiness. Reconciling his losses and his future proves to be the hardest thing he’s ever done.

EXCERPT

The village was silent in death except for the sobbing that came from my friends and relatives. It was a temptation to beg for death, but we were forced into a line and herded away from our village. I kept thinking that my father would come with the other men and rescue us, but I knew they were all hunting far up the canyon. Our Papago captors made us walk away toward the south. None of the White Eyes or Mexicans bothered or helped us. It was not long before we realized that the Papago were taking us to be slaves. It was not only to provide them labor, but also to fulfill their revenge against us, the Apache, to whom they harbored a deep hatred that seemed to have lasted since the beginning of time. 

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New Release -- THE PEACEMAKER by Andrew McBride -- Giveaway

Eighteen-year-old scout Calvin 'Choctaw' Taylor believes he can handle whatever life throws his way. He’s been on his own for several years, and he only wants to make his mark in the world. When he is asked to guide peace emissary Sean Brennan and his adopted Apache daughter, Nahlin, into a Chiricahua Apache stronghold, he agrees—but then has second thoughts. He’s heard plenty about the many ways the Apache can kill a man.

But Mr. Brennan sways him, and they begin the long journey to find Cochise—and to try to forge a peace and an end to the Indian Wars that have raged for so long. During the journey, Choctaw begins to understand that there are some things about himself he doesn’t like—but he’s not sure what to do about it. Falling in love with Nahlin is something he never expected—and finds hard to live with.

The death and violence, love for Nahlin and respect for both Cochise and Mr. Brennan, have a gradual effect on Choctaw that change him. But is that change for the better? Can he live with the things he’s done to survive in the name of peace?

EXCERPT

     Choctaw blinked sweat and sunspots out of his eyes and began to lower the field glasses; then he glimpsed movement.
     He used the glasses again, scanning nearer ground, the white sands. He saw nothing.
     And then two black specks were there suddenly, framed against the dazzling white. They might have dropped from the sky.
     They grew bigger. Two horsebackers coming this way, walking their mounts. As he watched they spurted into rapid movement, whipping their ponies into a hard run towards him.
     The specks swelled to the size of horses and men. Men in faded smocks maybe once of bright colour, their long hair bound by rags at the temple. They had rifles in their hands.
     Breath caught in Choctaw’s throat. Fear made him dizzy. His arms started to tremble. He knew who was coming at him so fast.
     Apaches.

     And you killed them or they killed you.

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