Wild West eMonday - Solstice Westerns

When Solstice Westerns launch soon the books are bound to make an impression among western fans - initially I was involved with the setting up of the imprint but had to step down due to a workload that goes mega in 2011. Indeed I originally bought Snake's Den for the imprint and can confidently sat that it's an excellent tale.

The imprint is now in the capable hands of Nik Morton.

THE SNAKE DEN

Chuck Tyrell

“Sometimes a man’s gotta take a stand.” – Shawn Brodie, aged 14.

Arizona, 1882. Falsely accused of theft, Shawn Brodie is sent to serve three years in the Hellhole called Yuma Territorial Prison. Lamb to the slaughter, maybe?

The Mexican Zapata wants to stick him with a knife, the warden wants him to mend his thieving ways, and the sergeant of the guard wants to get into Shawn’s pants. If he won’t do what Sergeant Tarkington wants, he’ll end up in the Snake Den, a cube of iron straps hung from the ceiling of a dark cave. If he doesn’t do what Zapata says, he’ll end up with a nail sticking out of his eye. If he can’t convince the warden that he’s not a thief, he’ll spend his days tromping Colorado River mud to make adobe bricks.

            Is his young life going to be made up of beatings, rape, and incarceration in the deadly Snake Den? The odds seem stacked against young Shawn ever getting out of Yuma Prison alive.

            The Mexicans hate the whites, the Chinamen and blacks stay out of the way, and the whites fight among themselves. Somehow, Shawn must learn how to defend himself, and chance throws him in with Shoo Lee, a cellmate, an Oriental proficient in the barehanded fighting technique Kara Ti. Perhaps if he becomes Shoo Lee’s disciple he can endure...

“Remarkable. A page turning thriller set in a frontier prison where a boy convict learns about the tough world of survival as he grows into a man. Told with gritty courage and honesty – a surprising blend of East and West, it’s a coming-of-age story like none you’ve ever read.” – Corinne Joy Brown, author of McGregor’s Lantern, Sanctuary Ranch, and Come and Get it!

MEAD’S QUEST

Adam W Wiktorek

Idaho, 1906. Seventeen-year-old Jacob Mead was glad to see his pa buried. He wanted to be free of him and the ranch – but it wasn’t that simple. His past, painful though it was, held an astonishing surprise: an inheritance beyond his wildest dreams. It had something to do with a small leather ledger, the railroad and a family he’d never known. Leaving the ranch might help him locate his roots.

The clues were scant, the trail was cold, but the result of Jacob’s quest would be stunning.

Unfortunately, his sudden wealth attracted Neil Browning and his cousin, Randy, who had plans on relieving Jacob Mead of his money and his life. There will be bloodshed and tears before long.

Jacob’s story weaves movingly through the lives of an intriguing assortment of people, plunging him into danger, terrible anguish and heart-stopping delight as he tracks down members of his family during the awakening of the Twentieth Century.

NEXT - we have a guest blog from Charles Whipple AKA Chuck Tyrell, author of Snake's Den.