WOLF CREEK BOOK 1: BLOODY TRAIL--A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE! by Cheryl Pierson

Hi everyone! While I was deciding what to blog about this time, I came upon an OLD blog of mine from October 1 of 2012! Oh wow--nearly TEN YEARS AGO. But hey, I'm still just as proud of this book and my participation in this series as I was then, and if you have not had a chance to read it, and the following books, PLEASE REMEDY THAT QUICKLY! This series was the brainchild of Troy Smith, and he did a fantastic job of putting it all together and "herding the cats" to make it all happen. I sure do miss writing for this series and am so glad to have been a part of it. SO...without further ado, I'm posting this re-run of that blog so many years ago and fondly remembering all the wonderful stories that followed this first one!
Today, I’m proud to introduce five wonderful western writers who I was privileged to

work with on a “new concept” western, the kick-off novel of the Western Fictioneers’ Wolf Creek series.

Western Fictioneers is producing a new series of western novels, under the umbrella title Wolf Creek. The series gets its name from its setting, the fictional 1870s town of Wolf Creek, Kansas. The first installment, Bloody Trail, was released on September 1, with a new volume to follow every three or four months. Under the house pen name Ford Fargo, the six authors who collaborated on the first book of the series, Bloody Trail, are Clay More, James Griffin, L.J. Martin, Troy Smith, James Reasoner, and Cheryl Pierson.

Bill Torrance, Spike Sweeney, Derrick McCain, Charley Blackfeather, G.W. Satterlee, and Logan Munro are common citizens, until the day their small town of Wolf Creek, Kansas, comes under a methodically cruel siege. Led by one of the most brutal men of the post Civil War years, Jim Danby, the outlaw gang that invades Wolf Creek figures they got away clean with murder and bank robbery. But the dwellers of Wolf Creek have secrets of their own, and the posse that goes after Danby and his men are anything but the ordinary people they seemed to be before the attack. They'll go to any lengths to keep their town safe, no matter how long they have to follow the BLOODY TRAIL.

I asked three questions of each of the authors about their character, collaboration, and what’s to come in future editions of the Wolf Creek series. For the sake of space, I’ll post the questions once here at the beginning and number the answers to correlate.

Questions:

1. Wolf Creek is a town filled with secrets, and people "with a past." Tell us a little about your character without giving away all his secrets. What kind of man is he and how does he change in this story?

2. The idea of a collaboration with other authors is sometimes daunting. What did you enjoy most about working with your co-authors under the pen name "FORD FARGO"?

3. Are there any plans for your character to reappear in a future edition of the Wolf Creek stories? If so, what edition will it be?

Let’s start with Clay More’s answers, since his character kicks the story off.

CLAY MORE—Dr. Logan Munro

1. Logan Munro is a Scottish doctor, as am I. Shortly after graduating from

Edinburgh University he served with the British Army Hospital in Scutari in Constantinople during the Crimean War. In 1856, at the end of the war he had the opportunity to go to India. While there he married Helen, a young governess. A year later The Indian Mutiny took place and he was involved in the siege. Sadly, Helen died from malaria. Disillusioned with life, and bereft at losing Helen, Logan sailed for America. Along came the Civil War, during which he served as a surgeon in the Union Army. When the guns ceased and the smoke cleared he settled down in Wolf Creek. He has seen a lot of action in the three wars he served in and he has honed his surgical skills on the battlefields. He is tired of all the killing and he just wants to settle down as a family doctor in a sleepy town.

I don’t think that Logan has really changed in the course of the story. Like all of the decent citizens of Wolf Creek he is sickened by the attack by the Danby gang. When a posse is formed he insists on going, since he feels that he may be needed. His training and his experience mean that he keeps a cool head when he is under pressure.

2. This was indeed a very daunting prospect, since I was working with top names in the western genre, five writers whose prose and imagination I greatly admired. When Troy gave me the task of opening the story I was naturally anxious in case I failed to engage the reader in those first two chapters, which would result in the whole project collapsing. Troy had worked out an outline for us all to work to and everyone had the opportunity to chip in until we had the plot mapped out. Then each writer told the story through the viewpoint of their character. I think Troy was inspired to come up with the whole concept. We wrote the book sequentially, so I had to write mine quickly and hand it on to Jim Griffin, who then wrote his story and handed it on to Troy. Then Larry took up the reins and handed it on to James. And of course, Cheryl had to finish it off, which she did beautifully.

It was a lot of fun, but each writer had his or her own pressure to keep the story moving. I really enjoyed working with all of the writers and seeing just how the story panned out. I have to say that Troy, who ramrodded the whole thing, did a fantastic job in taking the whole manuscript and blending it seamlessly together. I think the result is a book that has turned out to be greater than the sum of its parts.

3. Yes, I am happy to say that Logan returns in Book 4 - The Taylor County War. In fact, I am working on it right now.

LARRY MARTIN—Angus “Spike” Sweeney

Angus “Spike” Sweeney is the town blacksmith.

He wears a butternut wool Confederate Kepi with a Davis Guard Medal pinned above the eye shade and invites comments, which might just be met with an iron bender’s grip on the throat and a pounding left to the proboscis. Considered a hero of the Davis Guards and the defense of Sabine Pass. He is usually unarmed, but is deadly within twenty feet with his hammer, and can split hairs at fifteen with his hatchet or Arkansas toothpick. A decent and deliberate shot with both a sidearm and long gun.

Spike was born in New Orleans and was a sailor (both in trading vessels in the Gulf of Mexico and on the Mississippi) and on-board smithy, where he acquired some skill as a gunsmith as well. He keeps a garden in the rear of the shop with both vegetables and flowers, and is teased about the flowers. He is bashful around women and wouldn’t swear in front of one if a beer wagon ran over his moccasin clad foot, but is on the prod for a woman who can put up with his (in his eyes) questionable looks, and long hours in front of a hot forge.

Spike’s silent partner at the forge is Emory Charleston, an ex-slave -the two men make an incongruous, but mutually loyal, pair. Em’s biggest complaint about Spike is the Confederate cap he insists on wearing.

JIM GRIFFIN—Bill Torrance

1. My character is Bill Torrance, the owner of the Wolf Creek Livery stable. He’s a

man who seems to care only for horses, and little else. He’s never even been known to carry a gun. In modern-day terms, he’d be considered a “wimp”. However, Bill Torrance is not his real name, and his background is far from the picture he presents to the citizens of Wolf Creek. This becomes clear when the town is attacked by the Danby gang.

2. First, it was an honor to be asked to participate in this project, with authors far more well-known than I, all of whom I admire. What I found most amazing and enjoyable was the complete cooperation among all the authors, and the complete lack of egos. Everyone was willing to bend to let the storyline mesh together cleanly. All of the authors were allowed to use the other authors’ characters in their chapters, as long as they didn’t change the character “owner’s” concept of his or her character. Again, everyone was fine with that. By everyone working together and setting aside our natural instincts to not want anyone else using “our” characters, we were able to avoid transition and storyline problems.

3. Yes, Bill Torrance, now using his real name, will be appearing in a future Wolf Creek book. I believe Volume 6. In that book, we’ll learn more about him, plus he’ll be interacting with Edith Pettigrew, widow of one of the founders of Wolf Creek. Bill had a confrontation with her in Bloody Trail, so when they meet again the sparks will once more be flying.


TROY SMITH—Charley Blackfeather

1. Charley Blackfeather’s father was an escaped slave, and his mother was Seminole –he

was raised as a member of that tribe, and as a very young man fought against the U.S. military in the Seminole Wars. Later, during the Civil War, he served in the same blue uniform he had once fought against… now (1871) he serves as a cavalry scout, making use of his vast knowledge of Kansas and Indian Territory.

Charley is an adept tracker and hunter. He bears a lot of pain from the losses he has suffered in the various wars, but carries it stoically. He can be pretty intimidating if you don’t know him well –but if he is comfortable with you he can display a wry sense of humor. In the course of our first episode, Charley is visited by ghosts from his past that re-awaken his grief and rage. He also begins to develop new friendships, with people he would not have expected he would ever trust.

2. As editor of the series, I admit I did have some trepidation about trying to coordinate this kind of complex project, and about dealing with so many different authors. I feared it would end up being an exercise in herding cats, and that I would have a lot of stubborn, narcissistic, recalcitrant people to deal with (in other words, writers.) But I was pleasantly surprised. This book, and the ones that are set to come after, were joys to work on. Everyone cooperated wonderfully- it really did feel like a team from the outset. And the rich, vibrant characters everyone created came alive immediately.

3. Well, that’s kind of a trick question in my case. As editor, I will be writing a section in every book, to help pull the various other parts together. I have two characters –one for stories that take place mostly in town (Marshal Sam Gardner) and one for stories that take place largely outside of town (Charley Blackfeather.)

JAMES REASONER—Sheriff G.W. Satterlee

1. My character, Sheriff G.W. Satterlee, is a former buffalo hunter and army scout who

drifted into packing a badge, and in the process he discovered that he's an instinctive politician who enjoys the power of his position. He's not the morally upright lawman hero so often found in Western fiction, but neither is he the corrupt official out to line his own pockets. Rather, he's somewhere in between . . . which means that he's capable of either inspiring us or disappointing us, depending on the situation in which he finds himself and his reaction to it. In BLOODY TRAIL, he discovers that maybe he has a little more of a conscience than he thought he did. As with most things about G.W. Satterlee, whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, we just don't know yet . . . and probably neither does he.

2. I really got a kick out of the passion and enthusiasm the other authors brought to the project. Everyone tried to make this the very best novel it could be.

3. Since G.W. Satterlee is the county sheriff, headquartered in Wolf Creek, he's bound to make plenty of return appearances, ranging from brief cameos to leading roles in some books. I believe he's supposed to be featured again in the fourth book in the series.

My blog can be found at http://jamesreasoner.blogspot.com

CHERYL PIERSON—Derrick McCain

1. I have two characters in this story, Derrick McCain, who has come back to Wolf

Creek after many years of "drifting" after the war. He's uneasy with himself and his past--he did some things that he regrets both during and after the war. But he has a personal stake in joining the posse to go after the gang that attacked Wolf Creek...he's seeking revenge of his own. My other character is Carson Ridge, a member of the Cherokee Lighthorse law enforcement. He makes a brief appearance but will be back in future editions of Wolf Creek.


2. I truly loved working on this project. Getting to read the other parts first really helped me in my decision as to how to end it properly, since I wrote the last two chapters. It was important to "get it right" because the ending has to leave the reader wanting more. But every chapter built on the one that came before it, and Clay, Jim, Troy, Larry and James really made my job a lot easier than it might have been otherwise. This was Troy's idea, and he has been organized and kept the ball rolling all along. So for me, the entire experience was really a good one--and nothing like I'd ever done before.

3. Derrick McCain will appear in book 5, Showdown at Demon's Drop. I also have a couple of short stories planned for his character in future anthologies. Carson Ridge may also appear in book 5--I'm not certain yet, but I know he will turn up again in the future somewhere!

NEW RELEASE—AND HOW I CAME TO WRITE A SERIES by J.L. Guin

My new novel, Lawman's Gun was released by Sundown Press on May l. Lawman's Gun is Volume 2 of the James P. Stone series. Volume 1, Pushed Too Far, was released January 23. Volume 3, Bounty Poachers, will be available in August of this year. It is planned as a four-volume series. I am currently writing the final volume.

I never really had the idea of writing a series in my mind—one day, it just came about.

I always liked a good challenge. When I first began writing westerns, I had it mind to just write short stories. After doing over three dozen “shortys”, I felt that I was ready to do more, so I challenged myself to step up to the next level. I wrote a couple of novellas, then further challenged myself to write novels. I'd have to say that writing a series has been at the top of my list.

When I first began writing this tale, I didn't want to do another fast gunman story; so, I came up with an ordinary guy (James P. Stone), a freight driver, running his freight between Missouri to various points in Texas. In a night-time camp, out on the prairie, in the Indian Territory, Stone awakens in time to witness an intruder shoot his partner. He is able to hear the name 'Laird' spoken, by a second intruder, just before being knocked unconscious. The next morning, Stone awakens to find his mentor partner Eldon Greyson murdered; their wagons, mules and the entire camp has been cleaned out of anything of value.

GET IT HERE: https://www.amazon.com/Pushed-Too-Far-J-Guin/dp/1983689211/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1522958270&sr=8-3&keywords=Pushed+Too+Far


Stone does the best he can to bury his friend, then walks fifty miles to Denison, Texas, to report the crimes. When he learns that the local authorities have no jurisdiction to chase after someone in the Indian Territory, he swears a vendetta to find Laird, the killer, and exact his own justice. Volume one is the beginning of Stone's quest for vengeance.

When I was fifty thousand words into the story, I could have had Stone somehow locate his nemesis and, in a cloud of gun smoke, end the tale. But, I didn’t want to have my hero find the man so quickly. I felt so strongly about the story that I decided to continue with a second book. I ended the first story by having Stone, while serving as a temporary deputy county sheriff, meet with Deputy U.S. Marshal Jackson Millet. The federal lawman suggests that when Stone’s tenure as a county deputy is completed, he might give consideration to becoming a fellow deputy U.S. marshal. He gives Stone an address to contact him.

In the sequel, Stone meets with Jackson Millet at his Dodge City office. Stone is sworn in as a deputy U.S. marshal, as well. Both men agree that locating Laird will be on their mind while doing their deputy duties.

GET IT HERE:


A second book made more sense to me than stretching the original into a ninety-thousand-word tome.

By the time I was near the end of Lawman's Gun, volume two, I saw the opportunity to turn Stone's hunt for Laird into a mini-series, so volume two's ending was written as the lead-in to number three.

I contacted Cheryl and Livia at Sundown Press to see if they might have an interest. Fortunately, for me, they agreed to take a look at my presentation. Sundown Press, headed up by Cheryl Pierson and Livia Washburn Reasoner, does exceptional work. They were very helpful in everything from editing to the cover of the book. The ladies are hardworking, supportive, tolerant, understanding, and very professional in their presentations. I am very pleased to be included in the Sundown Press line up.

How about you? Do you plan a series out before you begin your story? Or, like in my case, take advantage of the opportunity to turn the tale into a series as the story progresses?

Wolf Creek #17: Comanchero Trail

Troy D. Smith

The newest Wolf Creek book is here -and it is intense.

Abby Potter and several of her soiled doves are traveling by wagon to the Breedlove ranch -to help the hands enjoy a barn dance -but they never make it. Kiowa war chief Stone Knife is back in Kansas, and he takes the girls captive, also killing several settlers along the way. Stone Knife takes the women southwest to the Llano Estacado to trade them to Comancheros.

A small rescue party from Wolf Creek goes after them: Ben Tolliver, Charley Blackhorse, Derrick McCain, Rev. Obadiah Stone, Jimmy Spotted Owl... and young cowboy Billy Below, whose true love Brandy is among the captives. Along the way they meet new allies: a Texas Ranger troop that includes Rangers Jake Blackwell and Jim Blawcyzk (from western series by Troy D. Smith and James J. Griffin). They also meet an enigmatic farmer, Tom Sallee, who is looking for the Comancheros for reasons of his own.

As I said at the outset, this volume is intense. In order to be true to the historical period and to demonstrate the stakes faced by women taken captive at that time, there are a couple of scenes that might be disturbing to some readers. The authors taking part, however, believe we have produced a powerful story.

Those writers are Jacquie Rogers, James J. Griffin, Chuck Tyrell, myself (Troy D. Smith), and John Neely Davis, in his first Wolf Creek appearance. If you are unfamiliar with our series, it is a Western Fictioneers production in which at this point almost thirty WF members have created their own unique characters who interact in collaborative novels. They appear under the house name "Ford Fargo." We have as much fun writing them as you do reading them.

Another Wolf Creek volume is coming along soon -in November -a short story anthology titled Hunter's Moon. It will feature events that will change the lives of several Wolf Creek citizens... watch for it.

Buy Comanchero Trail HERE

Wolf Creek 11: Stand Proud

After a brief hiatus, we are ready now to return to the rough-and-ready fictional cowtown of Wolf Creek, Kansas. For those unfamiliar with this series published by Western Fictioneers, you're missing out -it's almost as fun to read as it is to write.

Each of our writers -there are currently over two dozen -creates one or two unique characters to be citizens of our little community. Our books are either short story anthologies, in which the authors delve more deeply into their characters, or collaborative novels in which each chapter is written by a different writer, from their character's POV.

We have two such novels to present now (we'll tell you about the second one tomorrow.) They are closely connected, in that each of them continues the mini-saga of Wolf Creek's citizens resisting the threat of evil cattle baron Andrew Rogers, who wants to take over the whole county as part of a grandiose plan to advance his political and financial ambitions.

In this volume, STAND PROUD, Rogers has two targets- the Norwood Dairy, run by Gib Norwood (and his two octaroon half-brothers, sons of his father's slave Glory), and the nearby hamlet of Matthias- a town founded by ex-slaves trying to make new lives for themselves in the West. Without giving too much away, Rogers's small army of hired killers attack both places and the Wolf Creek forces are divided. Only a small and hardy group is on hand to face the horde of gunmen attacking Matthias, in hopes of holding them off until the main posse arrives. The Matthias defenders are led by newly deputized leather-worker (and an ex-slave himself) George Alberts.

We're going to leave you with a brief excerpt:

George took a deep breath and turned his attention to those who were willing to join him. “Thank you, gentlemen. Raise your right hands, and I’ll try to remember how this posse oath goes.” He thought a moment. “Do you solemnly swear to do your duty?” They all answered in the affirmative.

“That’s close enough for me,” George said. “I hereby declare us a posse. Let’s ride.”

Charley leaned forward in his saddle. “One more thing,” he said. “I don’t live in this town, I just drink here sometimes, so I reckon I’m free to speak my mind. All the rest of y’all can go to hell.”

Some of the townspeople flinched at being spoken to in such a way by a Negro. Or by an Indian. Or by whatever Charley Blackfeather was. But no one said a word, because whatever Charley Blackfeather was, it could often be very scary.

“All right,” George said, and scanned over his first official posse. Emory Charleston and Charley Blackfeather. Asa Pepper. A farmer, a lawyer, a schoolteacher, and a gangly youth who worked at the general store.

“Robert,” George said to young Gallagher. “I know you said you’re healed up, and I know how much sand you got. That’s why I need you for somethin’ else. Somebody needs to ride hard, and I mean hard as hell, to the Norwood Dairy and fetch the other posse. Tell ʼem to come join us at Matthias—sounds like we’re gonna be way outgunned, but if we can get there before the Rogers bunch, we will hold ʼem off till Sheriff Satterlee and the others can reinforce us.”

“If you’re outnumbered, you’ll need me,” Gallagher protested.

“You right,” George said, “but I ain’t sure I can trust any of these people stayin’ behind to fetch the sheriff as quick as I think you would. It’s the most important job, it could mean all our lives.”

“All right,” Gallagher said, reluctantly.

George nodded to the youth, who was already in the saddle, and Gallagher sped away in a cloud of dust.

“Now,” George said. “Let’s ride.”

The books are released under the house name Ford Fargo- but here are the writers in this volume, and the characters they write for:

Jory Sherman - Roman Hatchett, mountain man

Robert J. Randisi - Dave Benteen, gunsmith

Jerry Guin - Deputy Marshal Quint Croy

Jacquie Rogers - Gib Norwood, dairy owner

Troy D. Smith - Charley Blackfeather, black Seminole scout

Check it out today- and if you haven't read the first ten, shoot, find 'em and see just how much fun they are!

AMAZON

SMASHWORDS

WOLF CREEK 6: HELL ON THE PRAIRIE

Our Wolf Creek series has slowly been finding its audience for the past several months -and in the last few weeks has started really taking off. And what great timing, because as of today we have a new volume ready for our readers: Hell on the Prairie.

Most visitors to our blog are familiar with the concept by now, but for those who are not -the Wolf Creek books are a series of collaborative novels, centered on the citizens of a fictional 1870s Kansas town. About twenty or so Western Fictioneers members are involved in the project, and each of them has created a unique character (sometimes two) whose point of view they write from. Each novel has half-a-dozen authors, working collectively as "Ford Fargo" -all writing one or two chapters of an overarching narrative. There have been collaborative novels in the past, and "shared universe" series in which multiple writers contribute a short story or entire novel using the same characters, but I can't think of any series that has ever done both at once.

In this, our sixth visit to Wolf Creek, we are doing something a little different. Rather than the collaborative novel we usually put out, this one actually is an anthology of stand-alone short stories. We plan to do this every once in awhile -another one, with a holiday theme, is due out for Christmas, and it will probably be a year or so after that before we do it again. Most of our Wolf Creek books will continue to be full-length novels, but the occasional anthology will give the creators an opportunity to delve more deeply into their regular characters, and take them in unexpected directions. And take it from me, there are a couple of real surprises in this one!

Here are the stories, in the order they appear.

"Hell on the Prairie" by Troy D. Smith.  Marshal Sam Gardner is very annoyed, to say the least, to find his town and his own job performance criticized in newspapers throughout the region. As he tries to figure out how to curb the town's growing reputation for wild violence, one of the most notorious gunfighters in the West shows up in Wolf Creek, looking for the marshal...

"Drag Rider" by Chuck Tyrell. In this story we learn about the past life of young cowboy Billy Below... how he became a cowboy, and why, and how he got his name.

"The Oath" by Clay More. Wolf Creek's doctor, Logan Munro, must deal with several troubling cases... and a deadly ghost from the past.

"It Takes a Man" by Cheryl Pierson. Derrick McCain returns to the Cherokee Nation, and his relatives there, to confront the recently-discovered secrets of his family.

"Asa Pepper's Place" by Jerry Guin. Deputy marshal Quint Croy has developed a friendship with ex-slave-turned-saloonkeeper Asa Pepper... but Quint's duty may place a strain on it.

"Muleskinners: Judge Not" by Jacquie Rogers. Elsie Parry and her father were only passing through Wolf Creek -but they did so right in the middle of the outlaw raid portrayed in Book 1: Bloody Trail. A raid that has a lot more to do with them than they knew...

"New Beginnings" by James J. Griffin. Former lawman turned livery owner Ben Tolliver gets the surprise of his life. Then he gets another one.

Check it out now!

KINDLE

SMASHWORDS

BARNES & NOBLE (coming soon)

Paperback, CREATESPACE

Wolf Creek 5: Showdown at Demon's Drop

The lead is flying in Wolf Creek Kansas once again!

Volume 5 is brought to you by (alphabetically):

Bill Crider
Wayne Dundee
L. J. Martin
Cheryl Pierson
Robert J. Randisi
Troy D. Smith

This one is a sequel of sorts to Wolf Creek 1: Bloody Trail.  Here's the blurb:

The brutal Danby gang paid dearly for their raid on Wolf Creek. But some of them escaped, and their new leader Clark Davis is hungry for revenge -on the town, and on the man that he believes betrayed the gang, Derrick McCain. Seminole scout Charley Blackfeather, meanwhile, wants his own revenge on Davis for his actions in the war...at the Centralia Massacre.

Blood is going to flow..

WC 5 is available for kindle at AMAZON, and for virtually all other digital platforms at SMASHWORDS.COM  [NOTE: if the Amazon link is not live yet -they're slower than usual this time around for some reason -smashwords sells ebooks for both the Kindle and the Nook] ...it'll be at B&N soon, and will be in paperback in a couple of weeks or so (we'll keep you posted.)

Here's a preview, courtesy of Bill Crider:

People had been a bit suspicious of Cora Sloane when she’d arrived in Wolf Creek to take over the job of teaching school after the death of the previous teacher, and Cora couldn’t have that. She didn’t want anybody looking into her background too closely.  So she’d done what she could to fit in and become a part of the community. 

Was someone ill? Cora would take some fried chicken to the family. Was there a death in the house? Chicken again, and maybe some fresh-baked bread.

And Cora was in church every Sunday, which had led her to become a part of the quilting group that met on Tuesday evenings in a little room just off the narthex of the church. Cora had learned to quilt from her mother, and she was so good at it that the other women accepted her into the group immediately and were glad to have her.

One of the women that Cora liked best was the preacher’s wife, Kathleen Hyder. She was tall and pretty, kind and compassionate, and Cora thought it was a shame that she was married to Pastor Hyder, who was, to Cora’s way of thinking, a real prig.

Each Tuesday, Kathleen stayed after the others had left to clean up and put the little quilting room back in order. Cora had begun staying to help her, as it gave them a chance to talk. This evening Ruthie Mae Simkins, a sweet, matronly woman who’d taken a liking to Cora, had also stayed.

As they tidied up, Cora watched Kathleen, who hadn’t seemed herself the whole time. She was usually calm and cheerful, but this evening she’d been jittery, twitching at little noises, her eyes darting to the window and the door.

Ruthie Mae had noticed it, too, and she was the one who asked about it.

“Kathleen, dear, you seem nervous tonight.  Is anything wrong?”

Kathleen placed a quilt on a frame.  The quilt was a red-on-white Irish chain pattern, and Kathleen smoothed it with one slender hand.  “I’m not sure,” she said.

“Not sure?” Cora said.  “Is Pastor Hyder all right?”

Kathleen smiled for the first time that evening.  It wasn’t a happy smile.

“He’s always doing just fine,” she said.

“Then what is it?” Cora asked.

“I wish I knew.  I’ve had an odd feeling about things for more than a week.  It’s as if someone’s been watching me.  Sometimes I feel as if a bug is crawling over my skin.  I’ve never seen anyone watching, but now and then out of the corner of my eye I get just a glimpse of someone moving away around a corner. I just can’t shake off the feeling that something strange is going on.”

“Oh, my,” Ruthie Mae said.

Cora walked to Kathleen and put a hand on her arm.  “Have you told Pastor Hyder about this?”

Another sad smile.  “Oh, yes, I’ve told him.  We have no secrets, the pastor and I.  He just smiled and quoted scripture to me.”

“Scripture?”

Kathleen nodded.  “From one of the psalms.  ‘He will not let your foot slip. He who watches over you will not slumber.’  That was supposed to be a comfort to me, that God is watching us all the time. But I don’t believe it’s God who’s been watching.”

“Then who could it possibly be?” Ruthie Mae asked.

Kathleen shook her head.  “It felt more like the devil than God, but it’s probably no one.  I told Derrick about it, too, and he just laughed at me. He said I was spooked by the bank robbery.”

Cora had met Derrick, Kathleen’s brother, but that was the extent of their contact.  He seemed much nicer than Kathleen’s husband, that was for sure.

“We were all spooked by the robbery,” Ruthie Mae said, “but I don’t feel like I’ve been watched.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Kathleen told her.  “I’m just being silly. I’m sorry I mentioned it.”

Ruthie Mae came over and patted her arm.  “You don’t have to worry about anyone watching tonight.  It’s just the three of us here, and there’s no one peeking in the windows.”

Cora wasn’t so sure that there was nothing in what Kathleen had said. Cora had some experience with being watched, and she knew the feeling all too well. That was why her embroidered cotton workbag, which contained the usual needles and thread and scissors, also held something that not too many women carried with them when they went quilting: a heavy cap-and-ball revolver. And it was loaded.

Cora looked across the room to where the workbag sat on a chair near the door.  The colorful embroidered flowers of red and yellow comforted her. Or maybe it was the thought of what was inside the bag that did the trick.

“We should finish here,” Kathleen said. “We’ve already stayed later than usual.”

There wasn’t much more to be done, and as they turned to straighten the chairs and pick up a few remnants of cloth, they heard the outer door of the church creak open.

“That’s probably Dill,” Kathleen said, “come to walk me home.”

If it was the preacher, Cora thought, it would be the first time he’d come for his wife. Maybe her feeling had meant something to him, after all.

“I’ll get the door for him,” Ruthie Mae said, starting in that direction.

She didn’t have a chance.  The door opened hard and slammed into her.  She staggered back, knocking over a quilting frame, as two men crowded through the doorway and into the room. One was tall.  The other was stocky. Both held pistols in their hands. Cora saw other men out in the narthex.  She didn’t know how many.  One of them looked very young.

The taller of the two inside the room said, “Goddammit, Davis, there’s three of them.”

The stocky man pointed to Kathleen with his pistol. “She’s the one we want.”

Ruthie Mae stepped in front of Kathleen. “You can’t have her.”

Davis covered the short distance between them in three steps and clubbed Ruthie Mae on the side of her head with his pistol barrel. Her eyes rolled up and she hit the floor like a sack of feed.

Kathleen screamed as Davis grabbed her arm. She tried to jerk free without success. 

The taller man said, “Keep quiet or you’ll get hit, too.”

Neither man was looking at Cora, so she moved quickly to her workbag and pulled out the big revolver.  She held the pistol in both hands and cocked the hammer with her right thumb.

But she didn’t fire. She was afraid she might hit Kathleen, who was still struggling with the two men.

“Run, Cora!” Kathleen cried.  “Get help!”

Cora didn’t know how she could get past the men in the narthex, but she decided to try.  She turned to the doorway, but they’d seen her get the gun.  They had their own guns out and they were pointed at Cora.

Cora wasn’t afraid. She’d had guns pointed at her before, and now that there was no danger of hitting Kathleen, she pulled the trigger.

C'mon... you've GOTTA find out what happens next!

Better read it now, Book 6 will be out in one short month...

SIX SENTENCE SATURDAY--KANE'S PROMISE by CHERYL PIERSON

Several months ago, I started to write a short story for a western anthology that I wanted to submit to. I had an idea that wouldn’t let me go, no matter how hard I tried to shake it off. But this story was to be a western, with no romance involved. My “what if” concerned the long reaching effects of an Indian massacre and kidnapping on a young white boy, Will Green.

To tell a story like that, I was going to have to be inside the boy’s head. So the story would have to be told from the first person POV—something I just never do. It’s always been a temptation of mine to write something in first person. But could I pull it off? First person, a boy, a child. I had to try, because there was just no other way to do it.

Once I began to write KANE’S REDEMPTION, I could see that the “short story” was not going to remain “short.” The word count limit for stories for the anthology was 5,000 per story. When I stopped to count, I was already at double that amount. I laid the story aside and started another shorter story in order to finish it in time to submit. But when I came back to KANE’S REDEMPTION, I was free to make it as long as it needed to be.

By the time the story ended at around 25,000 words, I knew that it truly wasn’t finished, even then. So much had happened to young Will and Jacobi Kane, the man who rescued him from the Apache, that I knew this was going to be a series of novellas. In the first book, Will and Jacobi forged quite a relationship, first of necessity and then of a father/son bond. But that relationship was only just beginning.

I wrote KANE’S PROMISE, the second story in the series, that carries them on into the next year of Will’s life. When a posse comes calling to ask Jacobi Kane to help them track the Apache, will he go? He’s made a promise to his first wife to avenge her, as she lay dying in his arms, but now he has other responsibilities.

Ten-year-old Will is torn between staying with his pregnant stepmother and following Jacobi. He must make a gut-wrenching decision. But they are a family now, and family helps one another, no matter what. Knowing firsthand what it's like to be at the mercy of this particularly brutal band of Apache, Will know what he must do. Though Jacobi might not want him along, Will knows that's where he belongs.

BLURB:

Kane's Promise, the second in a series of three, is the continuation of Kane's Redemption, the story of Will Green, a young boy whose family was murdered by the Apache, and Jacobi Kane, the man who rescued Will from the Indians.

In Kane's Promise, Jacobi Kane must lead a band of lawmen in their mission to find and annihilate the remnants of the Apache renegades who were responsible for killing Will's parents and Kane's wife and children.

But Will knows he belongs at Jacobi Kane's side—not left behind in the safety of the cabin. Once they find the Apaches, all hell breaks loose.

Can Kane protect Will and see this battle to a final end?

DISCLAIMER: I know it's SIX Sentence Saturday, but it's late and I am filling in for Matt Pizzolato who had to attend a funeral and wasn't able to make it today. So please forgive the longer excerpt.


EXCERPT SET UP:

Will and Jacobi are getting ready to leave Colbert’s Ferry Station when Marshal Eddington, one of Jacobi’s old nemeses, causes trouble. He has just insulted Jacobi in front of everyone, and Will, unable to stand Jacobi’s silence, jumps down from his horse and attacks the unsuspecting marshal. Jacobi pulls Will off, but Eddington draws Jacobi into the fight. Here’s what happens:

“I ought to kill you!” Eddington’s eyes were murderous, and now that I had regained my senses, it dawned on me I had made us an enemy for life by making him look foolish in front of the other men. He looked back and forth at me and Jacobi, so I wasn’t certain who he meant to kill, but I was pretty sure he meant me.

Jacobi turned to look at Eddington, rising swiftly to close the few steps between him and the marshal. “If you ever lay a hand on him, Oscar, you’ll answer to me.”

Eddington was busy wiping the blood off his face but he looked up at Jacobi, his thick lips twisting in a sneer. “Go on. Tell me you know a hundred ways to kill me, and all of ’em would make me wish I’d never come into the world at all!”

“You said it, Eddington. Not me.”

Eddington took a final disgusted swipe with his dirty bandana at the trail of blood that kept trickling from his nose.

“I believe ’em, Kane,” he spat. “All those rumors about you bein’ part Injun your own self. You’re no better’n Laughing Wind hisself. A murderin’—”

Jacobi jumped for Eddington, who had quickly gone for his knife. Jacobi landed squarely atop the marshal’s belly and delivered a hammering blow to his jaw at the same time. He easily knocked the marshal’s blade out of his hand as if it were child’s play. Eddington let out a loud “oomph” when Jacobi’s fist connected with his belly.

But Eddington had learned a few tricks of his own, and he was surprisingly quick to be as fat as he was. I’d always felt sorry for his horse, having to tote him all over creation, as heavy as he had to be.

Jacobi knew what Eddington’s next move would be before he made it, it seemed like. I’d only seen Jacobi fight twice before. The first time was when Red Eagle found us and tried to jump us. I could tell both Jacobi and Red Eagle knew they were fighting for their lives, but I couldn’t see much, bein’ as how it was in the middle of the night. The fight Jacobi and Laughing Wind had had was just as serious—a fight to the death, for Laughing Wind. But, in the heat of the battle that had been going on around me, I hadn’t absorbed the skill Jacobi had. The way he rolled and punched and parried Eddington’s blows was like some kind of a dance.

After a few seconds, it was all over. I knew it wouldn’t take Jacobi long to end what he’d started.
Eddington had stopped trying to fight and was covering his head, instead. He was making the little girl noises again. Jacobi had sure beat the hell out of him, and it made my heart glad. I reckoned Jacobi understood just how I’d felt only a few minutes ago. I knew there wouldn’t be one word of lecture from him about me tearing in to Marshal Eddington, when he’d gone and done the same thing his own self. He rolled away from Eddington and came to his feet, breathing hard and just looking at the marshal for a few seconds. Then, he reached down and picked up his hat, dusting it off.

The other men had all gathered around, and even Mrs. Colbert and her daughters had come outside and stood watching. Marshal Eddington began to holler like a wild man when he saw everyone watching him.
“I’ve got witnesses! Kane, you’re going to pay, one way or another! You and that whelp of yours—”
Jacobi took a step forward, planting his foot squarely on Eddington’s wounded thigh, directly over the bullet hole.

“Son of a bitch!” Eddington screamed. He tried to roll, but Jacobi dropped to his knees, grabbing Eddington’s arm and twisting as he kept his weight on the wound.

“Don’t threaten me, Eddington. Never, ever threaten my family, or me.” He leaned close and spoke so softly no one else but me and Marshal Eddington could hear. “Don’t force me to pick one of those ‘hundred ways’, Marshal. I promise you, I will do it.”
****
Today I’m giving away a copy of KANE’S PROMISE to one lucky commenter. Please leave a comment along with your contact info to be entered—easy, huh?

You can find KANE’S PROMISE as well as KANE’S REDEMPTION and the thrilling conclusion of the Kane stories, KANE'S DESTINY here at my Amazon site:
Cheryl's Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/cherylpierson
Kane’s Redemption,Kane’s Promise, and Kane's Destiny are available at Barnes and Noble for Nook, as well.

Don’t forget to leave a comment to enter the drawing for a copy of KANE’S PROMISE.