He grew up at a wild time and did what he had to do to survive. The law took one view of it; he took another. And the law wouldn’t get off his back. He did time, broke out of prison. He went north, hoping to leave the past behind. But the past followed him. And now there were murder charges. Whichever way he turned, trouble was right there. This is his account of what happened. Jack was born in Charleston in 1861. His parents died early of cholera and his guardian died when he was fifteen, leaving him penniless and alone. He went west and got work as a cattle drover. He shot an outlaw who was trying to rob him. Another outlaw, named Ibbetson, got away alive. Later, he ran across a cowboy called Skeeter on a cattle drive. They met again in a saloon and Skeeter asked him to help drive a herd of horses. Jack didn’t know they were stolen. He was arrested, went to jail. During his trial, he broke out of the courthouse with another inmate, who shot a courthouse constable. After that, a rope was waiting. He went north and got work on a ranch called Sand River. For a while it looked like he’d outrun trouble. He did the job and stayed clean. But up there, range wars were being fought. Ranchers hired range detectives to handle trouble. To some, they were hired killers. One of them was Ibbetson. When they met again, Jack knew it wouldn’t end well. His past had arrived.

    He has long since passed away, but his book remains, gathering dust on my shelf when it should have been entertaining good folks like you. So here it is at last: a western with heart written on an old manual typewriter. The story takes place in the badlands of West Texas (where he lived), and is chock-full of all the sprawling drama, heartache, triumph, tragedy, and gun-slinging grit one could desire. The cover of the book is adapted from an oil painting brushed by our father back in 77—one of many. I remember it hanging on the wall when I was a kid. I believe it was his favorite, so thought it only fitting that it be the cover. Now, finally, after all these years, our dad will get the recognition he deserves for both his writing and his painting. I sure hope he can see what's going on down here, 'cause I know it would make him smile. So take a deep breath, and let the troubles of the modern world slip away as you journey back to a simpler time (two simpler times, actually), the old west, and the 1940's....

    The task is ever harder, when you must do your building, carrying the ghosts of a long dead war. The burden gets unbearably heavy when you find yourself the last target of the most powerful megalomaniac in the territory. When you've been beaten, burned out, had your herd rustled, shot, and pursued across the high country, you end up in a pretty poor mood, and go hunting for revenge. The only thing that can save your soul, and keep you from sinking into the abyss, are the friends who find you along the way, and the unexpected, lusty, passion of the woman who heals your heart.

    Johnstone, Best-selling western author, John Spiars has created a timeless hero of the old west. The first novel in the Heck Carson Series, Riders of the Lone Star brings the wild and lawless Texas frontier to life. When the Law ain’t enough… He brings Justice. The year is 1852. Settlers on the Texas frontier are at the mercy of hostile Comanche and vicious outlaws, and the only ones holding the line between life and death are a few brave men, known as Texas Rangers. Outnumbered and outgunned, they bring law and order to the untamed land. They face impossible odds with nothing more than grit, determination, and a fast gun. It is this adventure and excitement that lures sixteen-year-old Jesse “Heck” Carson to leave his families ranch to join the fight. Heck quickly learns that this life comes at a price, the cost of which is hardship, danger, and possibly his own life. The bonds of friendship, loyalty, and duty lead him into epic battles that test his courage and resolve, and along the way he learns what it means to wear the star of the Texas Rangers. Excerpts: As fast as he could, he pulled the hammer back and fired, the first Comanche jerked once and hit the ground. The other warrior was no more than two feet away now. Heck wondered if he had another bullet left. Had he fired five or six shots? He couldn’t remember. Saying a silent prayer, Heck pulled the hammer back and looked at his approaching enemy. The point of the warrior’s lance was inches away from his chest when heck pulled the trigger. The barrel of the Walker was almost touching the chest of the charging Indian. Heck heard no sound, but saw the smoke pour out of the barrel and the big warrior dropped to his knees, and fell on top of the young Ranger. Lieutenant Sutter and Corporal Anderson approached the men on horseback, ready to do what had to be done. Looking at the group of riders, however, Sutter immediately recognized he had made a terrible mistake. These men were not military, not even by Southern standards. They were unkempt, filthy, and armed to the teeth. His heart sank as he noticed that most of the detachment were Mexican and their guns were not in their holsters. “What is going on here?” he said, unable to believe what he was seeing. The lead rider smiled and said, “This was even easier than Senor Cortina said it would be. Thank you.” Without saying another word, the man raised his pistol and fired two quick shots, hitting both Lieutenant Sutter and Corporal Anderson between the eyes. The man wheeled around with his rifle as Heck landed on his back, but it was a fruitless gesture. There was a look of pained surprise on the man’s face as Heck covered his mouth and pulled him to the floor. Heck plunged his knife into the man’s chest several times, as he kept his hand over the man’s mouth. After several seconds his muffled cries were silent. John Spiars is the author of the Heck Carson Series. He is a writer and amateur historian with a passion for the history and myths of the "Old West". His hope is to keep alive the western genre for this generation and all of those to come, while both entertaining and educating readers of all ages. He is a native Texan and lives in North Texas with his wife and four children. When not writing western novels, he maintains a blog and Facebook page about Texas history and travel entitled Under the Lone Star.

    Praise for Alan David 'A classic of the genre.' – Tom Kasey, bestselling author of Trade Off.Alan David is a prolific writer of over 500 novels in a wide range of genres, from classic westerns, to historical thrillers. His other western novels include Fight or Die, Gun Hell, Gun Wages, Wildmen and Draw or Die. Pioneering Press is an imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK’s leading independent digital publisher. We publish new and classic westerns by authors from the US and the UK. Sign up to our newsletterFollow us on Twitter: @PioneeringPress

    He had been saving the pay he sweated so hard for, and he reckoned there was enough to set himself up with a spread of his own. He thought he might look into the Triple X Ranch, the one they called the Whiskey Brand. It had prime cattle land and was a bargain... or so it seemed.

    He had been shot, his outfit stolen and he didn’t know why. When the tough old widow Abby Chaney found him half-dead on her Bitter Grass ranch and got him home, she swung Macleod’s future into an unexpected direction.He learned that Abby and her daughter Katy were hanging on by threads to their ranch in the Strawberry Mountains. They were pressed from the south by tyrant Charles Sampson, who wanted their rich summer pastures, and from the north by timber man Egert Taylor, who wanted the Bitter Grass timber, both of whom were willing to kill the women to get it.Never one to back down from a fight or forget a favor done him, Macleod wanted two things: to find those who had bushwhacked him and get his outfit back, and repay the Chaneys for saving his life. None of them knew how much their worlds were about to change the day Macleod buckled on his gun and stepped into the Bitter Grass fight – least of all Devon Macleod.Note: Formerly titled "Bitter Grass", published by Bottom of the Hill Publishing. The rewritten and enhanced novel is now published by Double Diamond Books under the title "MACLEOD".

    But during a guerilla mission in the north Georgia mountains, he learns first-hand how horrific and destructive the war really is. Having lost his taste for bloodshed after a brutal act on a night-cloaked bridge, he goes AWOL…and he isn’t alone.Crosseye Reeves, a former sharecropper on the Dunn plantation, was there to witness James’ moment of horror. And he’s had his own bellyful of war. Together, the men make for Denver, where a tale of treasure in Mexico gives them a new destination…perhaps even a new life.“Brandvold’s writing is fast-paced yet so richly detailed you can smell the gun smoke and taste the dust. Not to be missed!”—Wayne D. Dundee

    But the town is so wrapped up in lies, deceit and greed that it's difficult for Flynn to know who's telling the truth. VISIT WWW.RAGINGBULLPUBLISHING.COM AND DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE WESTERN STARTER LIBRARY

    But he was saved by a pair of grizzled old fur trappers, and he learned to fend for himself and live off the land.When Jim finally returns home to St. Louis, he finds that there was more to his father's murder than he'd thought. Though the Indians did the killing, someone else did the planning--someone too close for comfort. Now young Jim must untangle a thick web of lies, and when the dirty dealings come to light he will come face-to-face with a murderer. But if he tastes the vengeance owed him, it won't be as the boy everyone knew as Jim--it will be as a man named Trace McCall...

    One man's journey. One man's fight for a new life. From the time Sammy Winds pulled on his first pair of spurs, he understood the difficulties of growing up in the new American West. An orphan since he was a small child, Sammy grew up working long, dusty days as a ranch hand on the Twin T, busting broncs, herding cows, and learning to spit his tobacco juice with contest-winning precision. Sammy became used to sweat and toil and tough ranch life, but after an encounter with a murderous outlaw leaves Sammy the prospect of a fortune, the cowboy leaves behind his love and everything he has ever known to embark on a journey across the untamed West. Only he doesn't know just how dangerous his adventure is about to become. Follow the rugged excitement as Sammy treks Along The Fortune Trail, fighting off cruel weather, attacking renegade Apaches, and overcoming the evil ploys of enough crooks and villains to send any regular saddle-sore hombre heading home to the hills. But Sammy isn't just any man. With his eyes set on the chance of a lifetime, Sammy Winds tilts his hat toward the mysteries of the trail, ready to gallop his way to the riches awaiting him in Denver and prepared to stomp on any obstacle in his way.

    A place where contracts are solemnized with a handshake and disputes are settled with a gun. There is gold here and some men mine for it, while others steal it from those who toil. But when the outlaw’s war of plunder and killing takes the lives of some of Tom Satterfield’s friends, he declares his own private war on the entire outlaw breed, and shows them what one fearless man can do when he is pushed too far.

     What the Verdugo brothers did not count on is that Lucas Eldridge is a dangerous man that is not to be trifled with. For over two years Lucas is a man driven to exact justice and revenge from the bandit brothers that took everything he ever wanted and everything he ever loved when his wife died at their hands. In a pursuit through the Colorado Rocky Mountain wilderness that cover towns such as Breckenridge, Como, and Silver Plume and across the "Great Divide" Lucas sole purpose for living is to take the life from the Verdugos and condemn them to the depths of Hell. Lucas has become a hard and haunted man until he rescues the beautiful redheaded, green eyed Devon King the sister of a surveyor working for the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad from Jose the youngest of the Verdugo brothers on top of Boreas Pass. Devon King is everything that Lucas departed wife was and his heart knows it, but his hatred for the Verdugos leaves no room for love. Or does it? Follow Lucas Eldridge in his western adventure as he battles the Verdugos and other outlaw's, mountain lions, wolves and the deadly cold and snow of a Colorado winter in the high country of the Rocky Mountains in his quest for justice and finally love.

    But when he arrives in Lynchburg, Virginia, in the spring of 1885, what he discovers there is far worse than he expected. His partner, who sent for him, has been murdered while in pursuit of a dangerous bounty. And the killer isn’t done yet. Vito is fighting against time, the townspeople of Lynchburg, and a sheriff seemingly determined to cover up every detail about the crime. However, he must follow the trail his dead partner left behind, and uncover the truth lurking in the shadows of this small town. Then he meets Ellie, a fiery woman in search of the storied Beale Treasure, and everything changes. Inspired by true events, The Beale Treasure: A Frank Vito Bounty Hunter Series, is a gun-blasting Western, full of grit and spirit, that will keep your heart racing right up until the stunning conclusion.

    He hunted outlaws like some men hunted wolves or mountain lions. The bounties he collected were simply payments rendered to a workman, and he was a man good at his work. Under Eli’s flint-hard exterior, that was merciless to outlaws, ran a wide streak of kindness that showed itself the day he picked up a starving orphan in Dodge City and took him along. He soon learned that the twelve-year-old Rob Slater harbored a common intent with him – to run down the elusive Parson gang. He for the $10,000 reward, and Rob, because Jude Parson had murdered his folks. Rob asked Eli to teach him the trade so one day he could look Jude Parson in the eye and square things with the killer. Under Eli’s tutorage the two came to turn the outlaw world on its ear until the day Eli honored his brother’s dying request and took his young daughter into his care touching off a series of unexpected changes that would forever mold their futures.