October 4, 2023
October is here! Cooler weather, falling leaves, Halloween…and Christmas is less than three months away!
Even without Christmas, who doesn’t love to curl up with a good book on a chilly afternoon?
If you have friends or relatives on your gift list who enjoy reading, why not gift them a book for Christmas? Or even a book series? Books are often an inexpensive option that will be deeply appreciated by those who love to read, especially if the book is well written, exciting, and has great reviews. In other words…a page-turner.
I have 22 books like that in three series, most of them priced under $20 for paperbacks (they are also available as e-books). Over the next three months, I will feature some of these novels for your consideration. Don’t be afraid to shop early, and remember, if you already have something more expensive in mind for your loved ones, books make great stocking-stuffers.
Today’s featured title: Bounty Hunter at Binary Flats
When Colonial Senator Gil Prater of Alpha Centauri 2 receives a wanted poster with his name on it, he calls in Nick Walker, U.F. Marshal. Nick travels 2000 miles to investigate the threat and walks into a whirlwind of conflicting characters and agendas. Within hours of his arrival he finds himself at odds with the local police chief, a pair of small-time thugs, a Rukranian mercenary…and even the Senator himself seems a little flaky.
Aided by beautiful journalist Cybele Gannon, Nick tries to make sense of a baffling case: Who wants the Senator dead, and why? Or is the whole thing just a giant hoax?
Nick quickly realizes he can trust no one, then learns the stakes are even bigger than he ever imagined. The only person he can truly count on is his fiancée Suzanne, but she’s back home in Trimmer Springs. He’s called for backup, but backup is always late.
This time he’s on his own.
Here’s an excerpt:
Nick glanced toward the newcomer, a woman in her mid-twenties. She was a pretty brunette, curvy, with long hair the color of dark chocolate. Her clothing was country casual, but expensive—tight jeans and a halter top. She was staring at him with a little smile.
“Well, well, well,” she said slowly, “look what the mattababe dragged in.”
Nick stared at her in confusion.
“The what?”
“The mattababe.”
“What…what’s a mattababe?”
She cocked an eyebrow and smiled. “Nothing, babe, what’s a matta with you?”
The clerk burst into laughter, guffawing loudly, tears forming in his eyes. He leaned over the counter and slammed it with his palm.
“Goddamn! I never thought you’d fall for that one!”
Feeling foolish, Nick grinned and shook his head.
“I never heard it before. Guess I walked straight into it.”
“Like a spinning propeller,” the girl said, her dark eyes sparkling. She extended her hand. “You must be Marshal Walker. I’m Cybele Gannon. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
***
Nick walked back out to his car and disconnected the fuel stanchion. Cybele Gannon was on his heels.
“How did you know I’d be here?” he asked as he secured the fuel hatch.
“Anyone coming in from Camarrell is going to need gas,” she said smugly. “This is always the first place they stop.”
“The only fuel depot in town?”
“No, but it’s the first one people see, and the grocery outlet helps. They’re usually hungry by the time they get here.”
She watched him with a little smile, as if waiting to see what he thought of her deductive brilliance. Nick held both hands out away from his body.
“I didn’t buy any food.”
“But you did stop for gas.”
“Yes I did. How can I help you?”
She smiled and slid her hand along the side of his hovercar, her dark eyes never leaving his. The breeze came from behind her, and Nick picked up a tantalizing whiff of perfume.
“I know you’re here on business,” Cybele Gannon said, “but I was hoping you could carve out an hour for me. I’m a stringer for a news network, and I’d love to do a story on you.”
His eyes narrowed. “A reporter?”
“A journalist.”
“I didn’t realize Centauri Springs had a holonews station.”
“We don’t, but holonews isn’t the only kind of news there is. I write a feature for the local V-news page, and now and then I’m lucky enough to sell something to AlphaNet. They have a station in Camarrell.”
“How often is that?”
“Not often enough. Not too much happens around here.”
He cocked his head. “Exactly what kind of story were you planning on doing?”
“You were all over the networks a few months back when you broke up that illegal arms thing. But nobody ever did a feature on you, lucky for me.”
“A feature.”
“Right. Everyone was talking about what you did, but nobody ever did anything on Nick Walker the man. What’s he like, what makes him tick, what he likes to eat…things like that.”
“You want to write about the food I like?”
“Human interest.” She held up both hands as if framing a headline. “The Cowboy Marshal—that’s my working title—a former Star Marine who single-handedly ended the cult rebellion back in thirty-six, then went on to become a U.F. Marshal. Broke up a human slavery operation on Sirius 1, then returned to the very town on Alpha Centauri where he ended the war and prevented the cults from starting a second rebellion—”
“Where the hell did you get all that?”
“Background stuff.” She smiled. “I did my homework. All I need is a couple of hours of your time to put a face on the man himself. So what do you say?”
Nick activated the car door; the clamshell popped open. He removed his hat and tossed it onto the seat.
“It was nice meeting you, Miss Gannon. But I’m here on assignment, and I need to get moving.”
Cybele Gannon didn’t try to hide her disappointment. Her shoulders slumped and she frowned.
“How long are you going to be in town? Maybe we can get together before you leave.”
“I have no idea. I don’t even know why I’m here yet.”
He climbed into the pilot’s seat and closed the door. The window was still open as he fired the turbines. Cybele Gannon leaned in.
“At least give me something! Why do you wear cowboy clothes?”
Nick gazed at her a moment, then grinned.
“They make me look sexy.”
He spun up the window and goosed his lifters. The car began to rise and drift toward the street. Cybele Gannon stared after him as he disappeared down the block.
“Yeah,” she muttered, “they do. You bastard.”
For a little more action, one more excerpt:
When he reached the street he looked in both directions; it was after midnight and cold—Alpha 2’s only moon was high in the sky, casting a silver glow across the town. He saw a Ruke standing at the end of the block peering down a side street, but in the other direction the sidewalk was clear. He started to trot that way, but his boots made a clatter against the wooden boards. He leaped for the gutter to reduce the noise, but was too late—a laser bolt blistered past him just a foot to his left, and he spun to see the Ruke at the intersection drawing down on him. The Ruke fired again and Nick ducked as a flash of light spanged off a lamp post beside him.
He had no choice. To keep the noise down he needed his laser pistol, but if he took time to switch weapons the Ruke would get him for sure. Nick’s right hand snapped up and the .45 roared in the still night. The Ruke dropped. Nick turned to run, but had made only ten yards when he heard a door swing open behind him and the blast of a shotgun deafened him; the buckshot passed inches above his head.
“Freeze, Marshal! The next one hits center body mass.”
Nick stopped dead still and turned, the .45 still in his right hand. Goldie stood in front of her diner with a four-barreled shotgun pointed at his chest, six feet from where he stood.
“Put it down, Marshal.”
“Goldie…I thought you were a reluctant participant in all this. You want to be a party to murdering a Federation officer? Who’s the damn fool now?”
“It isn’t about what I want, Marshal. I just don’t have any choice. I can’t afford to piss them off.”
“Why? You can find G-men anywhere. What do you need them for?”
Goldie inclined her head to indicate the shops up and down the street.
“You were curious about all this. You were wondering how we could be so independent without the Federation or the Colonial government. Well, now you have your answer. Everything we have, every commodity, every good that comes in, comes from them. If we had to import from any other source, we couldn’t afford it, but they give us rock bottom prices.”
“Then they must be losing money. What’s in it for them?”
“A base of operations.”
“What operations?”
“I don’t know and I don’t ask. I’m just looking out for my people, and the agreement with Beta Centauri is all we have. I can’t do anything to jeopardize that.”
“Does Harold Reed work for you?”
“No.”
“Do you work for him?”
She shook her head. “I only met him a couple of weeks ago. He’s a friend of the BCs, and whatever they’re up to has nothing to do with me. I just want him out of my town so things can get back to normal.”
Nick stared at her a moment, feeling his racing heart begin to settle. He lowered his hands to his sides, still holding the .45.
“I could kill you, Goldie. I really ought to kill you.”
She shook her head again. “Do you really think so? All I have to do is pull this trigger. I’ve already got you lined up.”
“Ah, but when I shoot, I will be diving to one side or the other. I figure I have a fifty-fifty chance that you won’t be able to guess which way that is. And whether you hit me or not, one thing you can count on is that I will get you. That’s a hundred percent guarantee.”
Goldie hesitated. Nick heard running footsteps and turned to see a fourth man, another Ruke, racing toward him from the next block. He glanced at Goldie again, but she hadn’t moved. He shrugged minutely.
“They can’t hold you responsible for how many I kill before you stop me. Can they?”
Goldie’s tongue traced across her lips as her only answer. Nick spun and fired at the fourth Ruke, who was now only ten yards away. The heavy .45 slug stopped him dead in his tracks and he dropped into the street. Sweating now, Nick looked at Goldie again. Her eyes seemed to glitter in the moonlight.
“I still have four rounds left,” he said. “If you’re smart, you never saw me.”
She stood there panting, a hundred and ten pounds of sinewy woman, the heavy shotgun still in her hands. Nick took a step back, and then another. Goldie didn’t move. He took a third step, now halfway into the street, and she lowered the shotgun.
“I owe you one, Goldie,” he said, then turned and raced down the street to the other side, where he disappeared into the shadows. A few seconds after he was gone, Goldie pointed her shotgun into the air and fired her three remaining rounds.
“Damn!” she muttered. “Missed.”
If you haven’t tried Nick Walker yet, you don’t know what you’re missing. He’s a great guy, an ordinary dude who likes adventure and hates injustice. My kind of guy, and I’m betting he’s yours as well. Fighting crime on the Final Frontier.
Order your paperbacks now, direct from Amazon:
Or use this link: Bounty Hunter at Binary Flats
Until next time.
Born Novelist 
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