Delta Rose papeback available now

The Ballad of Delta Rose by Jack Martin

Paperback out 1st August 2012

Find it HERE

The Ballad of Delta Rose Trade Paperback cover image

I'm, once again, over the moon with the cover image selected for the large print edition of my novel, The Ballad of Delta Rose. I've been pleased with all the covers used for the Linford Large Print library editions of my books and this one is no exception.

Stunning.

The real Jack Martin

To celebrate the forthcoming release of my new western Wild Bill Williams - published this October by Robert Hale LTD and available for pre-order NOW, I thought I'd post a little something about the man who gave me my pen name.

And so I present the real Jack Martin

Jack Martin. The man whom I looked up to as a kid, he seemed ten feet tall, and the man whose name I use for my western fiction.

Jack Martin was a coal miner in the South Wales coal fields - indeed it was the dust from this environment that eventually killed him - pneumoconiosis, black lung disease,was common among a certain age group in the village I was raised in and the sound of chesty coughs often accompanied the dawn chorus.

The original

 Coal mining with the then primitive conditions was a  arduous job and in those days there was only basic safety equipment. Lives were often lost in explosions and one time the level where my grandfather was working flooded and over 20 men were drowned. That was all before and I learned much of this from my grandmother and Gramps never really talked about it.

I was born in 1965 and Gramps had retired by the time I was five so I can't really remember him working. He was a tall man, always dressed immaculately, even when doing the garden he wore a shirt and tie, as people of his generation did. He grew the best tomatoes around and my first ever paid job was collecting horse manure from the mountain for his garden. I think he gave me something like 10p a bucket which was good money in those far off days when the world was black and white and the sun always shone.

My Grandmother often referred to him as Father Christmas and although they would argue as people did in those days, about anything really - leaving the door open, not wiping your feet and trampling garden over the mat, their relationship was a strong and loving one. They both spoiled me rotten and I always got the latest comics and would go on the annual British Legion day trip to Porthcawl with them. Though often only me and my nan went. Gramps stayed home and probably went for a sneaky pint down the legion. He did so like a sneaky pint or two.

Hey, sorry about the ancient history but I feel almost old enough to remember black and white radio.
Gramps loved the westerns and was always reading a western novel. When there was a western on TV I would watch it with him and he would tell me stories of when he was in the wild west (completely invented, of course. The furthest West he ever went was Tonypandy) and in these stories he would be teamed up with John Wayne or Gary Cooper but never Clint Eastwood - he never really liked him and would refer to him as an unshaven hooligan. As a young boy I believed every word of these wild stories.

Jack Martin MK 2

Gramps was a natural storyteller.

Jack Martin - it was his  love of westerns was passed onto me and apart from the fact that Eastwood is my all time fave, our tastes are very much the same - John Wayne is still the ultimate man's man, and the cowboy creed is  a design for life.

When I published my first western novel, Tarnished Star with Robert Hale LTD I was proud that it contained the byline - by Jack Martin. When trying to decide on a pen name to keep my western fiction separate from my other stuff it was only natural to use Gramp's name.

He's been gone now for close on thirty years and I still miss him but I guess he's still here, inside me - his ideals, his ways, his humour and when Tarnished Star by Jack Martin finally sees print it is as much his work as mine. For without him I would never have developed my interest and love for the American West.

So saddle up and check out Jack Martin's western page HERE

Amazon Black Horse western charts

As always supplied by Black Horse Express:

My current western, The Ballad of Delta Rose (ranked no 2) is available now and both Tarnished Star (ranked no 4)  and Arkansas Smith are still available at all the usual outlets. Alternatively request a Jack Martin western at your local library - the ones the f**cking Tories haven't closed down, of course.

1. The Snake River Bounty by Bill Shields (Hardcover - 28 Feb 2011)
From £8.71

2. The Ballad of Delta Rose by Jack Martin (Hardcover - 29 Jul 2011)
From £9.11

3. The Black Horse Westerns: Collection No. 1 by Abe Dancer, Dean Edwards, Tyler Hatch and Scott Connor (Kindle Edition - 1 Jan 2011)
Buy: £6.86

4. The Tarnished Star by Jack Martin (Hardcover - 30 Jun 2009)
From £4.00

5. Revenge for a Hanging by Richard Smith (Hardcover - 29 Jul 2011)
From £9.11

6. Drive to Redemption by Mike Deane (Hardcover - 31 May 2011)
From £8.71

7. Showdown at Snakebite Creek by Thomas McNulty (Hardcover - 29 Jul 2011)
From £9.12

8. The Shadow of Iron Eyes by Rory Black (Hardcover - 31 Oct 2011)
Buy new: £13.25

9. Scar County Showdown by Elliot Long (Hardcover - 28 Feb 2011)
From £9.07

10. Ace High in Wilderness by Rob Hill (Hardcover - 30 Jun 2011)
From £8.73

Black Horse Western Amazon charts

Charts as always courtesy of Black Horse Express and it's great to see my Ballad of Delta Rose holding the top spot.

1. The Ballad of Delta Rose by Jack Martin (Hardcover - 29 Jul 2011)
From £10.94

2. Revenge for a Hanging by Richard Smith (Hardcover - 29 Jul 2011)
From £10.20

3. Drive to Redemption by Mike Deane (Hardcover - 31 May 2011)
From £8.42

4. The Black Horse Westerns: Collection No. 1 by Abe Dancer, Dean Edwards, Tyler Hatch and Scott Connor (Kindle Edition - 1 Jan 2011)
Buy: £6.86

5. Showdown at Snakebite Creek by Thomas McNulty (Hardcover - 29 Jul 2011)
From £10.28

6. The Snake River Bounty by Bill Shields (Hardcover - 28 Feb 2011)
From £8.82

7. The Shadow of Iron Eyes by Rory Black (Hardcover - 31 Oct 2011)
Buy new: £13.25

8. All Guns Blazing by Douglas Thorne (Hardcover - 30 Nov 2008)
From £0.01

9. Scar County Showdown by Elliot Long (Hardcover - 28 Feb 2011)
From £8.92

10. Iron Eyes is Dead by Rory Black (Hardcover - 30 Nov 2010)
From £9.12

Amazon bestselling Black Horse Westerns

 Charts as always thanks to Black Horse Express

1. Revenge for a Hanging by Richard Smith (Hardcover - 29 Jul 2011)
From £10.20

2. The Ballad of Delta Rose by Jack Martin (Hardcover - 29 Jul 2011)
From £11.93

3. The Black Horse Westerns: Collection No. 1 by Abe Dancer, Dean Edwards, Tyler Hatch and Scott Connor (Kindle Edition - 1 Jan 2011)
Buy: £6.86

4. Barbary Coast Gundown by James Gordon White (Hardcover - 29 Sep 2006)
From £0.01

5. Hanging Party by James Gordon White (Hardcover - 31 May 2006)
From £0.01

6. Ambush in Purgatory by Daniel Rockfern (Hardcover - 31 Aug 2005)
From £0.01

7. Showdown at Snakebite Creek by Thomas McNulty (Hardcover - 29 Jul 2011)
From £10.28

8. The Iron Roads by Caleb Rand (Hardcover - 31 May 2007)
5 used from £0.05

9. Drive to Redemption by Mike Deane (Hardcover - 31 May 2011)
From £8.48

10. The Goose Moon by Caleb Rand (Hardcover - 29 Apr 2005)
From £0.01

The Ballad of Delta Rose - Price Comparison

Thinking of buying my novel, The Ballad of Delta Rose, and I do hope you are, here is a handy price comparison tool.

 

Compare prices

Please enter a location

Relevance	Seller rating	Condition	Delivery	Total price	Base price
Book Depository	489 seller ratings	New	Free delivery	£11.43	£11.43
Lovereading UK	2 seller ratings	New	£2.49	£14.42	£11.93
Sainsbury's Entertainment	No rating	New	Free delivery	£11.99	£11.99
base.com	7 seller ratings	New	Free delivery	£15.99	£15.99
BulkBuyBooks	No rating	New	£3.50	£14.76	£11.26
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SprintBooks Discount Book...	No rating	New	£3.50	£14.49	£10.99
Langton Info	No rating	New	£2.80	£17.21	£14.41
BookFellas	No rating	New	Free delivery	£13.25	£13.25
The Book Shop Online	1 seller rating	New			£12.43
PriceMinister UK	No rating	New	Free delivery	£12.04	£12.04
eBay	No rating	New	Free delivery	£17.94	£17.94

In honour of Jack Martin

 The Ballad of Delta Rose is the third Jack Martin western, and so in honour of the man whose name I have adopted for my western fiction I thought I'd repost the following, which originality appeared prior to the publication of my first western all the way back in 2009.

Jack Martin. The man whom I looked up to as a kid, he seemed ten feet tall, and the man whose name I use for my western fiction.

Jack Martin was a coal miner in the South Wales fields - indeed it was the dust from this environment that eventually killed him. A arduous job and in those days there was only basic safety equipment. Lives were often lost in explosions and one time the entire mine shaft flooded and over 20 men were drowned before they could get out. But all that was before I knew him.

I was born in 1965 and Gramps had retired by the time I was five so I can't really remember him working. He was a tall man, always dressed immaculately, even when doing the garden he wore a shirt and tie. He grew the best tomatoes around and my first ever paid job was collecting horse manure from the mountain for his garden. I think he gave me something like 10p a bucket which was good money in those far off days when the world was black and white and the sun always shone.

My Grandmother often referred to him as Father Christmas and although they often argued as people did in those days, about anything really - leaving the door open, not wiping your feet and trampling garden over the mat. Their relationship was a strong and loving one. They both spoiled me rotten and I always got the latest comics and would go on the annual British Legion day trip to Porthcawl with them. Though often only me and my nan went and gramps stayed home and probably went for a sneaky pint down the legion.

Hey, sorry about the ancient history but I feel almost old enough to remember black and white radio.

Gramps loved the westerns and was always reading a western novel. When there was a western on TV I would watch it with him and he would tell me stories of when he was in the wild west (completely invented, of course. The furthest West he ever went was Tonypandy) and in these stories he would be teamed up with John Wayne or Gary Cooper but never Clint Eastwood - he never really liked him and would refer to him as an unshaven hooligan. As a young boy I believed every word of these wild stories. Gramps was a natural storyteller.

Jack Martin -  his love of westerns was passed onto me and apart from the fact that Eastwood is my all time fave, our tastes are the same.

When I published my first western novel, Tarnished Star with John Hale LTD I was proud that it contained the byline - by Jack Martin. When trying to decide on a pen name to keep my western fiction separate from my other stuff it was only natural to use Gramp's name.

He's been dead now for close on thirty years and I still miss him but I guess he's still here, inside me - his ideals, his ways, his humour and when The Ballad of Delta Rose  sees print this month it is as much his work as mine. For without him I would never have developed my interest and love for the American West. .

THE BALLAD OF DELTA ROSE - AVAILABLE NOW

The official publication date is the 29th of this month but it's already out there - least if you order from Amazon who have now obtained stock of the book and are promising immediate delivery. It's a five star rated western on Amazon's system and can be ordered HERE

Amazon customer review from Raymond Foster: The Ballad of Delta Rose (Black Horse Western) (Hardcover) Jack Martin goes from strength to strength will a well plotted novel. Good strong cast of characters keep the readers interest going.

Exclusive extract HERE

Washed out British Summertime, Delta Rose and it's the Wild West, boyo

PLANKING

What a week it's been - it should have been a pleasure. Mid Summer and a week spent on location at the British seaside. What happened? In short - rain happened. Ahh, a wash out? Ah well on the brighter side the first review of my novel, The Ballad of Delta Rose appeared online HERE

"Once again Jack Martin takes his ingredients and turns them into a tasty treat. Incident piles upon incident that gathers speed until justice is seen to be done.
If you haven't read Jack Martin then you have missed a treat."  Broken Trails 


My local newspaper, this week carried a feature on the forthcoming movie, LawMaster which is an adaptation of my novel The Tarnished Star. You can find details of the article HERE at Black Horse Express.

I returned home this evening to good news - Robert Hale have bought, Wild Bill Williams - it'll be my next Black Horse title and will see print sometime next year. The letter from Managing Director, Gill Jackson went - We have now had the opportunity to read Wild Bill Williams by Jack Martin which is an excellent western we would very much like to publish in our Black Horse series.  Obviously I have accepted the offer and Wild Bill Williams will see print in 2012.

It's the story of a Welsh cowboy, boyo.


 And so it's back to reality and full speed ahead for The Tainted Archive- next weekend we will celebrate Wild West eMonday (more news on this later) and this Sunday we're back with our Sunday Comics but for now...I'm gonna sleep.

HOW I CAME TO WRITE THIS BOOK

 Check out Pattinase for another article in the series, How I wrote this book. This particular post is from a certain Jack Martin and a little book called, The Ballad of Delta Rose.


"I’d been reading a lot of hardboiled writers and I was conscious that my own writing style was going in that direction. I like the minimalist style of writing, because when it’s done well it’s tremendously effective at creating mood. And the question of whether a western, my genre of choice, can be noir is an interesting one. I think the answer is a resounding, “YES”. The western is a genre flexible enough to be anything you want it to be."
Full article

Delta Rose arrives

The official publication date is July 29th, but I just received my package of complimentary copies from my publisher this morning. As with all of their titles, Delta Rose is a fine looking little hardcover. I'm especially pleased with the cover painting to this one - the ageing figure, a thoughtful look on his face, in the image perfectly represents the feel of what is a contemplative western.

As I say it's officially published on the 29th but Amazon and other book sellers usually ship the books a week or so early, so pre-order now and you'll be reading the book in no time.

THE BALLAD OF DELTA ROSE: After more than twenty years of living a life on the road, Delta Rose returns to the ranch he once owned with his fiancee, Etta James. A bullet wedged close to his heart has dealt Delta the dead man's hand. He soon discovers Etta has a secret: they have a son who, by now a young man, is in trouble. He is charged with both robbery and murder. Can Delta redeem himself for a past ill spent and save the life of the son he never knew he had?

D Day for Delta

From the website of Jack Martin

Where do you get your ideas?

That question is asked of all writers at one time or another, and the answer is never really simple. Ideas come from anywhere and at any time, but with my July hardback, The Ballad of Delta Rose I can trace the genesis of the idea back more than thirty years. I'm not saying I've carried the idea around with me all this time (thought it could have been stewing at the back of my mind, alongside my desires for Angelina Jolie, all that time. Who can say?) but the thing that influenced the most important aspect of the novel was a story in a comic book I used to read as a kid. That story was called D-Day Dawson and it told of a character called Steve Dawson who was injured on the 6th June 1944 during the Normandy Beach Landings. Dawson survived the injury but was left with a bullet lodged too close to his heart to be removed and, knowing that one day the bullet will kill him, he vows to keep his injury secret and fight on.


And fight on he did, taking more and more outlandish risks to keep the men who fought alongside him safe. Dawson was forever getting dizzy turns or temporary paralysis as the bullet inside him shifted yet closer to the heart, but he always managed to pull himself together in order to save the day. In one story from October 1975 Dawson thinks, "I've had another warning today that I'm not coming out of this war alive." In another story Dawson, convinced that he only has moments to lives, storms a German machine gun nest single handily. He did however live to fight on for another few dozen or so issues.

There was something heroic about this man who had nothing to lose that appealed to us schoolkids. He was the ultimate soldier since he didn't fear death and was in many ways already dead.

The story was a favourite of mine and it ran originally between March 1975 and May 1976 and then returned for a final series between August 1976 and January 1977. Dawson did eventually die but not from the actual bullet but by an extreme act of self sacrifice that saved his comrades. It was a bleak, downbeat ending to a reader favourite but then Battle Picture Weekly was always unpredicatable.

"He had to die,' said Eric Hebden, the writer who eventually killed Dawson. "It was a chronological story, we couldn't prolong it any further. Once he reached Berlin it had to end."


I remember being upset at the time, as were other Battle readers. In fact one reader, Derek O'Byrne of Dublin even wrote a poem and had it printed in the Comic's 5th November 1977 issue.

At the time schoolkids all across Britain went into mourning, for just as grown men where shocked into mourning when Sherlock Holmes supposedly died after his battle with Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls, we too were deeply affected by the loss of our hero.

Now I've a collection of Battle comics that I'd kept since I was a kid and a couple of years back when rereading some of these old issues, I suddenly thought the idea of a man doomed by a bullet lodged close to his heart had some mileage. And thus the idea for my third Black Horse Western, The Ballad of Delta Rose was born.



Like Dawson, Delta Rose has a bullet lodged inside him, one that can't be removed and will eventually kill him, but it is there that all similarity and debt to D Day Dawson ends. I approached fellow western writer, Dr Keith Souter and asked him about the effects a bullet lodged inside a human body, checking if it was feasible and indeed possible. I was told it was and was also given some documented evidence of this actually happening. And the novel grew from there. What's more I think it's the best thing I've ever written - the style is much more hardboiled than anything I've ever done and perhaps because I always had this beloved comic strip at the back of my mind, I managed to create something much larger than life, but at the same time keep it credible and grounded in a kind of fictional reality.

Delta Rose will be published on the 29th of July 2011 by Robert Hale LTD on its Black Horse Western imprint. The Black Horse Titles are primarily intended for the library trade and as such have limited print runs. My past titles have sold out quickly and Delta Rose is currently topping the pre-order western charts at Amazon .

Pre-ordering means you are guaranteed a copy and no money will be taken from accounts until the book is ready to be shipped in July.
Order it HERE
Check out The Ballad of Jack Martin HERE

It's a way to die

THIS JULY

Order now

THE BALLAD OF JACK MARTIN

But for all its cynicism it is ultimately an optimistic story, and I like that. After all, no matter how black things seem, something bright is always to be found. Maybe because the character of Delta is doomed, that there is no escape from his fate, he is the ultimate optimist. And his desire to right the wrongs of the past is purely selfless, because he knows there will be no consequences for himself in this life and he’s not too sure there is a next one. He has already faced all the consequences he is ever going to face. This is not about himself. This is about those he leaves behind. READ THE BALLAD OF JACK MARTIN HERE

I really do feel this book is the best I’ve written – a tale which comes from a mixture of influences including the noir genre, the comic books I read as a kid, and pretty much every western I’ve ever read or seen, is a benchmark for me as a writer. It is, I feel, my most assured use of a style I’ve developed over my previous novels. I think I’ve gained a lot from writing it and hope that I give readers a story that touches them on every level. It has a sadness that I hope will pass from the page to the reader’s heart, but it also has that optimistic, life-affirming vibe.

THIS MONTH - THE BALLAD BEGINS...

It's July 1st.

This month the ballad begins
 
 Published July 29th 2011
Check out, The Ballad of Jack Martin - HERE for a recent interview regarding Delta Rose.


Pre-order your copy:
here 
or
here
or
here

The Ballad of Delta Rose

Jack Martin
Format: Hardback
Pages: 160
Category: Westerns
Publisher: Robert Hale Ltd
ISBN: 9780709091882
ISBN-10: 0709091885

After more than twenty years of living a life on the road, Delta Rose returns to the ranch he once owned with his fiancee, Etta James. A bullet wedged close to his heart has dealt Delta the dead man's hand.

The Ballad of Delta Rose exclusive extract

There is now a little over a month to go before the publication of my third Black Horse Western title, The Ballad of Delta Rose.

I've already given several interviews regarding the book and you can find many of these by doing a web search using the books title and author as the search term.

The Black Horse titles are primarily intended for the library trade and as such are produced in limited print runs. They often sell out within days of publication and so the most sure fire way to secure a copy is to pre-order the book now from Amazon, The Book Depository or even Robert Hale themselves.

It's my most hard-boiled western - a story of redemption. It is the story of a man who has no future and must reclaim his past.

Below find an exclusive extract from The Ballad of Delta Rose by Jack Martin.

Shouting followed by gunfire.

The sound of gunfire can be quite distinct. The roar of a Colt, for instance, is nothing like the crack of a Remington. Similarly a Henry sounds nothing like a Derringer, and whilst it is true that to the untrained ear, a gunshot is a gunshot with no variations in cadence, Delta knew that he was being awakened by the very fierce shout of a Colt.

Delta went from a state of complete sleep to total awareness, within the blink of an eye. He got to his feet and stood there in the darkened corner, body rigid, hands hanging by his side, ready to draw iron.

His eyes narrowed to slits, he looked around the room.

There was a man on the floor; he rolled about sobbing and clutching his arm. Delta could see blood seeping through the man’s fingers where he held his arm. Someone had winged him and that someone must have been the young man – man, more a kid really – standing with a smoking Colt in his hand. 

The kid’s eyes travelled to the gloomy corner and looked directly at Delta.

‘I got no argument with you, mister,’ the kid said.

‘Suits me, fine,’ Delta replied but he held the kid’s stare. Both of them were oblivious to the man on the floor with the shot up arm. The winged man looked from one to the other, spittle and snot over his face, and then went back to his whimpering.

‘He drew first,’ the kid said, pointing down to the whimpering man at his feet. The man rolled over and tried to scuttle out of harms way but he collapsed, yelling out his pain.

‘Shut up,’ the kid said, his eyes briefly glancing at the wounded man. He returned Delta’s gaze and even though his dander was up he felt hesitant. He sure enough didn’t want to fight this stranger. ‘He drew first,’ the kid repeated.

‘Ain’t none of my business,’ Delta replied without taking his eyes off the kid. ‘Less you want to make it so.’

The kid shook his head.

At that moment the bat-wings swung open and a man entered. The man was in his mid fifties but lean and powerful looking. A shock of silver hair curled under the brim of his hat and he had the bluest eyes imaginable. He wore the badge of the sheriff’s office and his rig was hung low on his hip.

            ‘What happened here?’ he asked.

            Delta relaxed and sat back down. He reached for his beer and took a sip. It had gone flat, but that didn’t bother him none.

            ‘He drew first,’ the kid said yet again. ‘I could have killed him but I didn’t.’

            ‘Then put that iron back in leather,’ the sheriff said, pointing with the eye of his own Colt.

            ‘Sure thing, Sheriff Masters.’ The kid slid the colt back into its holster and adjusted his belt. He stood there, looking at the sheriff.

            The sheriff looked at the man on the floor, then at the kid. ‘Harvey,’ he shouted and the barkeep yelped from his position behind the counter. ‘Is it like the kid says.’

‘Sure is, Sheriff Masters,’ the barkeep, evidently called Harvey answered. ‘I don’t know what went on outside but they came in here arguing. Billings went for his gun first and the kid put one in his shooting arm. Quick as a flash he was.’

            ‘Someone get the doc,’ the sheriff took a look around the saloon and for a brief moment his eyes fell on Delta. He frowned and turned back to the kid. ‘You’ll have to come with me.’

            ‘Why?’ the kid protested. ‘You heard how it was. I did nothing wrong.’

            ‘That maybe so, but I’ll have to take a statement from you.’

            ‘I ain’t under arrest?’

            ‘No,’ the sheriff said, wearily. ‘You ain’t under arrest.’

            The bat-wings swung open again and a small balding man, the doc, Delta guessed, came into the saloon and looked at the man on the floor. He clucked his tongue on the roof of his mouth and then bent to the man, and proceeded to administer to his needs. After a moment he stood back up.

            ‘Someone get him over to my place,’ the doctor said. ‘He can be moved. He’s not in any danger of death but I’ll have to get that bullet out.’

            The sheriff nodded and two men lifted the semi-conscious man from the floor, and dragged him out of the saloon.

The doctor followed behind them.

            The sheriff looked at the kid and smiled. ‘Wait there,’ he said and walked over to the corner and stood before Delta’s table. ‘You’ll have to come along too.’

            ‘I’m nothing to do with this.’ Delta snapped. There was firmness to his voice and hard edge to his eyes.

‘You witnessed it.’

‘I was asleep. I saw nothing more than you.’

‘Asleep?’

‘Yeah, I’ve been riding some. I was tired and the gunshot woke me.’

‘Nevertheless, I’ll need to talk to you.’

‘What for?’

‘You’re a stranger in Hayes,’ the sheriff said. ‘That makes you being here my business. Hayes is a quiet town, we don’t allow transients and I like to know what’s going on with any newcomers.’

‘Friendly little town you got here.’

 ‘I just need to talk to you is all.’

            Delta looked across at the kid who was now leaning against a table, watching the exchange with the sheriff.

            ‘Like him,’ Delta said, pointing to the kid. ‘I ain’t under arrest.’

            ‘You ain’t under arrest,’ the sheriff agreed.

The Ballad Begins - This July

The Ballad of Delta Rose, my third Black Horse title is to be published July 29th by Robert Hale. You can pre-order a copy NOW, or request your local library carry the book. That’s of you feel inclined to try the western genre, and I do hope you do. There’s a lot to be said for its pulp origins and sheer entertainment value.

July
the western goes hardboiled
The Ballad of Delta Rose by Jack Martin
After more than twenty years of living a life on the road, Delta Rose returns to the ranch he once owned with his fiancee, Etta James. A bullet wedged close to his heart has dealt Delta the dead man’s hand.Can Delta redeem himself for a past ill spent and save the life of the son he never knew he had?

This July - The Ballad begins

101 days and counting

My new novel, The Ballad of Delta Rose is now available for pre-order from The Book Depository - this includes free worldwide delivery.

Find it HERE