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....

    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.

    Only this family’s past is darker than most18-year-old Clara is trapped in an abusive life by her Pa who is hiding a dark secret. Home schooled and with no outside social contact – constantly on the move – she wishes him dead.After they move to a small town, local youths vie for her attention against his wishes. When her Pa is found murdered by the town sheriff, the circumstances point firmly to Clara as the guilty party. Assigned to the case, a personal conflict causes Detective Alana Bossé to dig deeper. As her suspect list grows, it looks as though there is a slim chance that Clara could be innocent.But is everything as it seems? Or should they lock Clara up and throw away the key?

    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

    On top of that, fans glory in her sweet yet sensual stories that are praised for their "cleaner than usual" language--and old-fashioned values galore.     ...So if you've loved the past writings of 'The 3Ms'--Debbie Macomber, Susan Mallery, Ava Miles--but find that you're clamoring for something fresh, fun and exciting, turn to the books penned by award-winning author Barbara Catlin. Fall in love with the captivating heroes and heroines, with all the endearing characters, of tiny Bitterpill, Texas 78020! THE COWGIRL TAKES HER MAN:  Could she live with Cam . . . but without his love?Struggling to operate her ranch, Terra Lee Bradford realizes the full extent of the Glory B's dire financial straits. Cameron Stoner's neighboring ranch, on the other hand, is thriving. Yet he's overwhelmed with problems trying to tame his three motherless children--not to mention his libido.. . . Concocted as an instant solution to everyone's woes, their marriage of convenience soon turns into a lusty battle of wills. He'll be damned if he'll give her his heart, and she refuses to settle for less!

    When that peace is threatened by a corrupt sheriff, and the ruthless drug dealers he’s protecting, they’ll have to stand together with their friends and some unlikely allies if they hope to survive. Jake Dillon has come to Misty Hill looking for answers about his missing brother; who’s been working undercover for the DEA. He finds the Sanders standing alone against the people connected to his brother’s disappearance. He also finds the family that he’s always wanted, and the love he’s never had. The odds are stacked against them surviving, but Laura and her family won’t back down, and Jake won’t back off, until he finds his brother and his new friends are safe. In the Great Smoky Mountains, people have their own brand of justice. It’s been passed down from generation to generation. It’s called a reckoning, and it’s coming to Misty Hill.

    The station is in a quiet area, and the company commander thinks this will be a good opportunity for Lt. Tom Conroy ("K Company") to exercise his first independent command. Tom worries about whether his men, hard cases like Link Hayward, will obey him. Then Indians attack the station, and Tom's worries get a whole lot more serious.

    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.

    His father, Maxwell Creek provided him with his namesake of the town, Ridge. At thirteen taken on to work in the general store of a retired western gunfighter and lawman, Ridge Creek learned the tricks of his future trade. At sixteen he rides off on the trail to Austin to join the Texas Rangers. The rest is history. The whole story of Captain Ridge Creek. The year was 1848, and the young Ranger was posted in Laredo, Texas. This is the story of his battles with Iron Jacket and Lopez the Outlaw among other tales of this man the Comanche call 'With Dead Eyes'. Captain Creek’s first five years in the Texas Rangers. This is the dawn of his younger years.

    Sarah Caysum, a middle aged woman suffering from Munchhausen Syndrome by Proxy (and perhaps something else far more sinister), leaves her four year old daughter Casey trapped in a car to die one summer afternoon in Phoenix, Arizona on a day when temperatures are expected to reach a record breaking 125 degrees.

     It’s into this white-gloved arena that Clarissa Stamos, a reclusive, midlife romance writer is thrust when she decides to write a country-western romance. The only problem is—she’s never been on a horse. Clarissa signs up for riding lessons and finds relief from her troubled marriage and her darkest secrets in the company of horses who offer an intoxicating sense of freedom and daring. Before long, she impulsively buys an ex-rodeo horse who spurs her to take charge of her own destiny—or wind up in the dust. Complicating matters is an intriguing, Argentinian dressage trainer with secrets of his own. One part romance novel, one part literary fiction, one part love-affair-with-horses, Ephemeral is told from the viewpoint of a quirky, old cow horse who not only invites you into his world, but also shares his sensible and soulful outlook on human hearts and the meaning of true horsemanship.

    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.

    Saved by his sister in a terrible bargain struck with their leader, Wyn dedicates his life to finding her. He becomes a legend in a time when the country was wild and free, and full of bad men as well as pioneer spirit. As the lonely cowboy metes out justice to the men responsible for changing the course of his life, he meets a girl, and begins to ponder over a life which might have been. Filled with beauty and complexity, with plenty of action for western fans, The Wild Country is a rip-roaring tale in the best tradition of legends told over a campfire.

    More specifically, she sees ghosts as a private investigator, working alongside the Chicago Police Department to put away killers and put troubled spirits to rest.When the daughter of one of Chicago's wealthiest families turns up dead, Samantha and her assistant Mark team up with homicide detective Lance MacDowell to get to the bottom of the crime.Allison Allen is tall, blonde, beautiful-and very much dead. As Samantha interviews the girl, who doesn't remember anything about the circumstances of her own murder, it's clear that there's more going on behind the walls of this manicured home than anyone wants to let on-and that Samantha has her work cut out for her this time.Juggling her own love life, tracking down troubled spirits, and evading attempts to thwart her investigation keeps Samantha on her toes. Good thing Samantha knows how to keep her eyes open, her wits about her, and her sense of humor.

     Lee Barnes, James’ best friend and neighbour, is awaiting the imminent release of his wife, Lydia, who has served six years for infanticide. But he’s not as prepared as he thought. In a last ditch effort to make things as perfect as possible his already troubled life takes a nose dive. Geraldine and James combine their wits to investigate several historical, unsolved murders for James’ latest book. James is impressed by her keen eye and instincts. However, because of her inability to keep her mouth shut, Geri, once again, finds herself the target of a crazed and vengeful killer.