Bøker av Darrel Sparkman

Immerse yourself in this riveting collection of Western stories, spanning rugged landscapes from the Missouri breaks to Texas.In "Holy Sabbath Morning," County Sheriff Jim Schmidt navigates alliances amid a politically charged town. Under the mystical "Comanche Moon," one man's rescue of a spirited Texas woman unfolds against the backdrop of destiny's intricate plans. "Stage to Abilene" follows Matthew Bodine as he faces eccentric passengers, an old flame, and the vengeful Kiowa renegade.During "Last Warrant," Marshal Luke Randall stumbles upon a murder and finds himself in a deadly pursuit. Exploring the lighter side of law enforcement in "Bennett's County," a sheriff works to dispel accusations of witchcraft in post-Civil War rural Arkansas. "Who Shot Jesus?" follows a jaded Confederate soldier embarking on a quest for a new home. In "Tyler's Road," young Johnny Tyler seeks vengeance for his brother's death while managing a west Texas ranch and navigating the complexities of a young lady's affections.No matter the tale, Tyler's Road embodies the spirit of the untamed West-where every adventure leads to a road as wild as the frontier itself.

Sean MacLeod lost his family to renegades. In his quest for retribution he nearly forfeits his soul. Searching for redemption, he follows the Spirit Trail down the Missouri River leaving the Blackfoot nation and northern territories behind for the rugged frontier of the Ozark Mountains. Sean's plans to rebuild his life take an unexpected turn when a local girl is taken hostage by the Osage. Haunted by the ghosts of his past, his choice is a painful one. Should he turn away and do nothing or get involved and risk losing everything once more?

1879 was a year of endless summer. In the wind-swept grasslands of eastern Kansas, dust storms moved more dirt than German farmers. Quinlan Barrett called himself lucky. Unscathed from a gunfight with rustlers, he was ready to call it quits and try something new. Falling under the spell of beautiful ranch girl Consuela Pinder was a start, but then she was abducted by the madman Macrae, which uncovered a group of slavers selling women into old Mexico. Since leaving the hills of northern Arkansas, Quinlan Barrett always wore a badge. Deputy US Marshal, in Indian Territory, railroad detective on the KATY, and then livestock inspector out of the Kansas City Stockyards. He still carried a badge, but it was deep in his pocket. Aided by the scout Kiowa Smith, Exoduster Zeke Fontenot, and a few remnants of the old Cherokee Brigade, Quin sets out to do the one thing he was good at. There was killing to do and promises to keep.

Stoneface is a fundamentalist Shawnee patterned after Black Hoof, a brother of the moderate Tecumseh. Their hatred included whites and Christians, especially any Indian who took up white man ways. In the aftermath of the seven-year Creek war, he and his followers move south toward a land called Oklahoma. Sean MacLeod is returning home to Jones Mill from a two-week journey to find a new place to live. Surviving a sudden attack from two Mohawk renegades, the next day he finds a gruesome massacre. Over the body of a young boy, he vows to find the killers and punish them. His troubles continue when he arrives at Jones Mill. He considers Ellen Mackey his wife. When one of the officers of the army detachment challenges him for her hand, once again he fights for his life. Fighting he can handle, but affairs of the heart? Not so much. All he wants to do is move away and find peace, but the bodies are piling up. Beth Mackey is the daughter of Ellen and considers Sean MacLeod her father. Big and strong for her age and due to their hostile environment, she has been trained by her two heroes. The famed Ghostrider (Sean) trained her in the ways of the English Longbow and fighting knives, and the equally notorious adopted grandfather, Buffalo Shield taught her the ways of the forest. The headstrong young girl reluctantly agreed to be sent to Saint Louis for safety. Beginning that trip, her grandfather is killed by the renegades, and already excepting her own death, she takes revenge. Captured by Stoneface, and then allowed to escape, she punishes the renegades in such a way that the word Mishipeshu is on their lips-the only way they can explain a girl getting the upper hand on them. Night Panther is a story than entwines the cultures of Native American and European settlers on the frontier borderland between Arkansas and Missouri in 1821. Sean MacLeod and Ellen struggle through circumstances beyond their control and come out at the end stronger and united. That would not have happened without their own Mishipeshu, Beth Mackey.

SOMBER AND HOPEFUL-OUR BASIC INSTINCT TO SURVIVE IS EXEMPLIFIED IN THIS APOCALYPTIC AND ACTION-PACKED TALE. John Trent survived the hordes of mankind pouring out of cities-looking for food, clean water, and any other dream that made sense-and the starvation and disease that followed.Now in the aftermath, a small community in the Ozarks is trying to rebuild, despite Raiders trying to kill them off and hungry movers wanting to take over. So, when John reports to his Army commander and is tasked with saving this small town, he jumps at the opportunity to set flame to evil for good.In a constant fight for survival, battle-hardened John learns to care again. He learns to love again. But first... he must defeat a ruthless adversary whose treachery knows no bounds and secure the survival of a town that represents one of the last few hopes of survival.

"AN APOCALYPTIC THRILLER THAT FOLLOWS A HEART-RENDERING TRANSFORMATION. Colt Blaine had it all-a great job in scenic Springfield, Missouri, a new house in suburbia, a beautiful wife, and two wonderful kids. And then, in the blink of an eye, it all vanished. With nothing to barter with for food, a downed power grid, and depleted fuel supplies in the Midwest, an apocalyptic nightmare has begun. Law enforcement and the National Guard are crumbling before organized gangs, and everywhere Colt looks, there are funeral pyres of desperate, starving people with no hope, nowhere to go, and nothing left to do-but fight for survival. Still alive, Colt must traverse through gangs, sickness, betrayal, and death while finding love and loyalty in unexpected places and emerging an entirely changed man. But what will become of his journey from despair to triumph in a dangerous new world...and who will he evolve into to get there?"--

"FULL OF DESPAIR, THIS APOCALYPTIC THRILLER STARTS FAST AND HURDLES TOWARD THE END IN AN ACTION-PACKED FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE. Mason Law works for the Army, specializing in rescuing people from far-away places. When he walks out of the jungle with his latest charges in tow, he is greeted with the news that his wife has died of a strange illness. Immediately transported back to Springfield, Missouri, he finds the world as he knew it unraveling. With no fuel for transport, no electricity, and-most importantly-very little food, he witnesses society coming apart at the seams. Despondent and looking for a will to live, Mason barely has time to get his wits about him when General Slade requests he extract his daughter and take her to Sanctuary-a safe house built on Lake Stockton. And since Mason owes the General big time, he accepts the mission. Pitting himself against rogue military units and hordes of starving people out of their minds with fear in a trek through the collapse of society, Mason resolves to complete his task...or die trying"--

"A POST-APOCALYPTIC THRILLER FULL OF CONFLICT, HEARTBREAK, AND FAST-PACED ACTION. Jim Lane doesn't like the direction the world is headed. Everyone he knows-including his resident-assassin girlfriend-is telling him to withdraw from conflict. He's too jaded, too prone to violence, they say. But everywhere Jim looks people are angry and afraid. And they're starting to take it out on one another with frightening regularity. With world conflicts breaking out, terrorists streaming through borders, prices going up, and fuel and food shortages growing by the day...things aren't looking promising. Finally retreating to his secluded ranch near Stockton Lake to take care of his own, Jim is hellbent on finding peace. But when he's caught off guard by a rabid motorcycle gang who wants the area for their own, Jim begins to wonder if good exists anymore. How can this shepherd rest when predators are constantly running rampant?"--

"Jim Lane is a man with a haunted past. And while a storm is brewing in a country pushing toward the last tick of the doomsday clock, all Jim wants is to be left alone to live out his life on beautiful Lake Stockton and fill his freezer with fish. But when he happens upon a young girl picking up donations at a store--her father in a coma, beaten by a member of a local drug gang--he can't help but get involved"--