Four years ago, his father had handed him a box containing both guns, completely disassembled, and told him he could have them, when and if he could put them back together. It took him a week, but he did it. He didn’t do it to please his father, whom he hated, nor his mother, whom he loved. He did it to prove to himself that he could, and as a result of hours of practice at the back of the property, he rarely missed with either gun, and he could draw and fire the pistol in a split second.

    These are the stories of the Old West written by bestselling Western author Paul L. Thompson. Matt was one of Shorty’s best friends, they had worked on ranches’ together back in their teen years and were as close as any brothers. Shorty told his partner Buffalo he may be gone for months, but will write when he can. That night he cleaned and oiled his guns. As the sun came up the next morning, he was miles closer to Big Spring, Texas in U.S. Marshal U.S. Marshal Shorty Thompson is on the case again when a young English girl and her brother are robbed of their precious family jewels they are trying to safely get to San Francisco. Outlaws abound, all trying to get their hands on the loot, but they have a bit of a surprise when they come face to face with scrappy young Margret, backed up by Shorty. Plenty of bullets are shot both ways, but will the bad guys win? Excitement, shoot-outs, and life or death situations ensue, all over some black pearls and blue diamonds. This is Black Pearls, Blue Diamonds and Bullets from Paul L. Thompson. And in “The Long Trail Nowhere” Ronnie Cox slowly saddled his horse, stowing all of his traveling gear and tying it tightly. Walking to the main house, he knocked on the door. Jack Johnson opened it with a smile. “Come on in, Ronnie.” Ronnie stood with hat in hand. “Mister Johnson, I’s needing to draw my pay, as I’ll be taking up the trail after a bit.” Little did he know, this trail to nowhere was going to lead to a whole lot of trouble, and he was slowly riding that way. These three exciting stories are now together in this new collection from action-packed bestselling Western author Paul L. Thompson. These are three of the most powerful Western adventures in town waiting for your Kindle!

    

    He’s been successful thus far in putting his wild years and the death of his wife behind him. Then he gets news of his granddaughter losing cattle to rustlers. So, in the beginning of a winter that promises to be extra cold, Yancey quits his good winter job on the ranch and sets off for New Mexico to help Cassie, his granddaughter. The old ways come back to Yancey, including the feeling that someone’s following him. That someone is Laredo Dodson, a bounty hunter. Armed with an old wanted dodger, Dodson tries to catch up to Yancey and capture him. Unless Yancey objects, then he’ll kill him. Along the way, Yancey meets up with Nathaniel Landrum, Nate, a young man who doesn’t seem to know much about living in the wild. He’s also running away from something. As they travel, Yancey teaches him things like building a fire that will at least keep him alive. He also finds out Nate is running away from a failed relationship. As they travel, they help out an older man, Brother Alphonse, who invites them to spend the night at the compound where he lives. There, they meet Father Josiah and learn this is not a place they want to stay. As they leave, Yancey sees Walter Graves, a gunfighter. Dodson continues to follow Yancey. And gets into a bit of trouble along the way.

    His early home life, until age 17 where he heads west, to the mountains. His journey is told through his meetings with both bad and good elements of typical westerners of that time, Indians, Mountain Men, and Outlaws. Reaching the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains in the company of seasoned Mountain Men his goal is in sight, Rendezvous. His adventures include encountering grizzly bears, hunting buffalo, and typical arms, weapons, and accessories associated with mountain men and trappers. An encounter with a golden eagle, held sacred by the Crow people, wins favor with a party of Crow warriors returning from Rendezvous. Succeeding as a hunter and a warrior earns an invitation from the Crow warriors to winter over with their small band. While living in the Crow village we follow this band to summer and winter camps, buffalo hunts, horse stealing adventures, and with fighting their mortal enemies, the Blackfoot.

     In 1866, Beautiful archeologist Alison Shaw and her brother, Hammond, arrive in Tucson seeking a guide into Apacheria, where they plan to search for Hohokam artifacts. They try to hire the famous scout Jake Moran as a guide. Jake's not the hero everybody thinks he is, though, and he wants no parts of a trip into Apache country; so Alison enlists the services of suave French rancher Edouard de Lacey, instead. De Lacey is the secret leader of a gang of outlaws, and he suspects that Alison is really looking for treasure. He intends to steal the treasure and return to France to live in luxury. For Alison, he has other plans. De Lacey is also Jake Moran's deadliest enemy. He's been trying to kill Jake for ten years, since Jake led the Vigilance Committee than ran de Lacey out of San Francisco. When Jake learns that Alison and her brother have gone with de Lacey, he has to try and save them. He rescues Alison and her brother, and with the outlaws and Cochise's Apaches hot on their trail, the three of them set out to discover the secret of Dead Man's Canyon.

    Marshals follow a stolen herd of cattle all the way to Kansas City. The adventure ends in a shoot out. Hunt returns to Denver and is bushwhacked by a man running an illegal still. While Hunt recovers from his wounds the other lawmen search for a missing U.S. Marshal. Hunt falls in love with the nurse that helps him recover and ends up getting married. Hunt finds gold on his land, and buys 5,000 acres that adjoins his land and begins a herd of magnificent beef cattle.

    An old friend needs Jack to find her son, who was last seen at the Redwing Saloon. The manager is a wanted man with a hefty bounty on his head, but no one is brave enough to try and collect it. Except Jack.But there's more going on than meets the eye, and if Jack can't sort out the good guys from the bad guys, he's going to end up going home in a pine box.This 15,800 word novelette is loaded with traditional western action and can be read in one sitting.

    

    

    Running away from heartache and scandal, Tessa flees Cornwall to London in search of anonymity and freedom. Sleeping rough, scared and suicidal, she contemplates throwing herself in the river. Then she discovers the Samaritans and a volunteer, Dorothy, who patiently listens as Tessa pours out a lifetime of troubles. Inspired by Dorothy, Tessa tries to turn her life around. And when she meets Paul, she feels she has at last found a soulmate. But Paul is not the man he seems.   When a tragedy at home calls Tessa back to the countryside she grew up in, her past and present collide. Can she finally find the strength to fulfil her destiny? And who will be waiting to help her begin her journey?

    The town hall in Waco, Texas was alive with activity. Nearly every citizen, except for the sheriff, the bartenders and the men who preferred whiskey to politics, turned out to hear Senator Rodney P. Morgan discuss his plans for building a university of higher learning just outside of town. This was a big-ticket item for the people of Waco and they had high hopes for the new school. Good schools were few and far between out here, especially universities. The good ones, like Harvard and a few others, were all back east and very expensive. Henry Lowe, owner and pharmacist of the Corner Drugstore, set up a table near the front of the town hall where he handed out free bottles of his newly invented soda pop. He was still working on a name for it, but claimed it was a real pepper upper. The new drink was a big hit with the women and children, along with a few of the men. Not many, but a few. Most of the men preferred beer or whiskey, or even coffee to this sweet tasting non-alcoholic beverage. Two of the men who tried it said they enjoyed buttermilk over the sweet soda. Undaunted, Henry declared it a big success. Being a widower, Henry was also a big hit with many of the widow ladies in Waco and proclaimed his new soda drink would make him rich and famous. Senator Rodney P. Morgan, a large man in his fifties with a strong jaw, steel blue eyes, and mutton chop whiskers, stood on the stage looking out across the room filled with people. He had no doubt the idea of a university of higher learning would garner him the votes he needed to help get him elected for a second term. Whether he could actually raise the money, or build the school was of no consequence. If he could make them believe this was of a prime interest to him and he was trying to do as he promised, he was guaranteed to win their votes and that was why he was here. That’s what political campaigns were all about, winning votes, not actually getting anything done. If he’d learned anything during his first term, it was to make the voters believe you were looking after them and their interests. And, if he did actually get something passed that was important to them, they would say, “He did exactly what he promised to do and you can’t ask more than that.” BACK COVER The newspapers called him, "The Chameleon," because during each assassination the killer looks incredibly like someone that everyone knows, including the Governor of the state of Texas. When Clay Brentwood gets on his trail, he has to wonder if those around him are what they seem. Even, Clay's boss, Bill McDaniel, head of the Texas Rangers - has been acting strangely and Clay can't be sure he is the same man he has known all these years. For Clay, the problem is obvious - how does he stop a madman with no known identity?

    

     A loose lipped, opportunistic, man from the past, seeks to profit from his knowledge of a ruthless gang of outlaws. He ignites a firestorm of events that lead to death and destruction. Ride along with Deke and the Ferguson gang as they face bounty hunters, and the threat of a rogue company of vigilantes calling themselves ‘Rangers’. A new enemy emerges, bent on revenge, challenging their strength, and testing the mettle of an ally. They fight to overcome the odds against them, as well as those within themselves. The gang considers turning over a new leaf, but will the circumstances let them? Deke is faced with the love of a pretty girl, and a past event that could chase her away. He learns that not every question is answered by how you pull your guns. New ways, and even new life, enters the Ferguson Ranch. Deke even learns the meaning of standing behind a lawman’s badge.