Books and Stories By Dusty Richards

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Montana Revenge

Second in the new Western series featuring sheriff Herschel Baker.

When vigilantes hang a cowboy for stealing horses, Yellowstone County, Montana's sheriff, Herschel Baker, refuses to look the other way. Someone's going to pay-even if all he has to go on is a dead body, a misspelled note, and a wounded horse.

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Comanche Moon - Part 2, an Amazon Short

Hamp Burns is a young man who is forced into heroics by the tough conditions facing folks in west Texas after the Civil War, when the Indians raided the isolated settlers. A host of worthless lawbreakers stayed beyond the arm of the law in the region terrorizing the gentle people as badly as the red men. Hamp's sacrifices and losses were a part of the lifestyle in that time period. No shinny cowboy riding a fancy horse with silver head gear strumming a guitar—Hamp Burns was the real thing. So when the full moons of autumn brought the Comanche in war paint on dancing ponies off the Illano Etstacado in search of booty and captives, residents lived in the arms of terror—except for the protection of a thin force called rangers.

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Comanche Moon - Part I, an Amazon Short

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"There Comes a Time", an Amazon Short

Martie McCallie's mother wanted her son to finish the eighth grade but her Nebraska homestead was forty miles from the nearest school. So Martie stayed with a family who lived near the Strawberry School house, did chores and broke horse for his keep and attended classes. When a local bully came to the festive monthly dance and pot luck, he smothered all the fun out of the event. Martie made the difference.

1,944 words, 9 pages

WINNER OF THE 2007 SPUR AWARD

FOR BEST ORIGINAL PAPERBACK

First in a new Western series featuring a rancher with a score to settle. Horse Creek, Montana, is under siege by a ruthless cattle baron with both sides of the law in his pocket. But when Herschel Baker's friend is murdered in cold blood-and the sheriff refuses to investigate-Baker must make a stand.

NOW AVAILABLE!

The ranchers of Frio Springs are praying that veteran cowpuncher Sam Ketchum will succeed in driving their cattle to the rich markets of Nebraska. But ghosts still haunt Sam from his last drive-and the road has only become tougher. Comanches, cattle, and notorious gunslingers wait to strike along the way. To make matters worse, Sam finds himself caught up in a deadly family feud that he may have to settle before his own trail comes to an end.

When the hardened Apache scout called Deuces is court-martialed for cold-blooded murder, he's sentenced to hang. But an appeal saves him from the noose -- and he manages to escape on his way to prison in Texas. Relentless U.S. Marshal Burt Green is charged with finding the killer. Riding with a one-eyed Apache tracker, Burt hunts the elusive fugitive from Texas to the deep Southwest, where Deuces takes control of a band of renegade Apache and launches a reign of terror throughout the territory. Against an enemy as deadly as he is cunning, outgunned in the middle of a hellish land, Burt Green must face down Deuces in a war between the lawful and the lawless. A war from which only one man can walk away....

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Book Review of Waltzing With Tumbleweeds
By Debbie Haskins

Those who love tales of the Old West have something to look forward to when they open the cover of Waltzing With Tumble-weeds. Writer Dusty Richards, sweeps his readers back to early days on the untamed frontier time and time again in this varied collection of twenty original short stories, many of which have received awards or been previously published in respected periodicals. With his carefully cratted words and extensive research, Mr. Richards delivers a distinct view into the sorrows, triumphs, and hearts of the men and women who once inhabited a part of America that continues to captivate the attention of each new generation.With a western backdrop, so vividly described that the reader can see it, each story introduces new and interesting characters with whom to become intrigued and involved. He gives a fair share of attention to the experiences of cowboys, outlaws, Native American men and women, soldiers, women of bravery and even those of questionable reputation. This writer paints a convincing picture of what life was like for these people and provides readers with fascinating settings and exciting situations. The pages of Waltzing With Tumbleweeds pulse with goodness, evil, romance, violence, passion, heart-break and other characteristics true to the human condition. His experience as author of over 60 published Western novels is evident in the way he has created such engaging and unique plots. Mr. Dusty Richards knows how to weave a tale that keeps readers turning pages and coming back for more.

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A RALPH COMPTON NOVEL

BY DUSTY RICHARDS

Clint's wild streak will be the death of Hamp. But a good man stands behind his friend-and steps up when the bullets start flying.

"Ralph Compton left us with a legacy of western story-telling that was comparable only to Louis L'Amour, and there is no one more qualified to continue the raw style and vivid characterization than Dusty Richards."—Steven Law, ReadWest Online Magazine (www.readwest.com)

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A RALPH COMPTON NOVEL

BY DUSTY RICHARDS

With eight hundred head of cattle to drive north, Ben McCullough is relying on the help of his ex-sergeant, Hap. But nature's worst elements are nothing compared to the threat that awaits them-a gang of outlaws determined to rustle the herd...

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"Anyone who ever dreamed of being a cowboy should read this book." Danny Newland, Seven-Time Announcer, International Finals Rodeo.

Selected as the fiction book of the year by the Oklahoma Writers Federation.

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Paperback - 320 pages (June 2002)
Signet; ISBN: 0451206118

"Some thirty-five years ago, we sat in front of the silver screen on Saturday afternoons, and watched Robert Mitchum and trusty sidekick, Arthur Hunnicut star in the rodeo movie The Lusty Men. Bull-rider Bob gets gored at the end, and as Susan Hayward holds him in her arms, Arthur’s in the background sadly shaking his head. Trite, predictable, and just like every other attempt to capture the cowboy. Didn’t like those movies, books, or any other printed matter about the world of the supposed ‘real cowboy’ as a kid, and always wondered if any author could ever capture the magic of what it was really all about. No need to wonder any longer.. .I’ve found him. Dusty Richards is the guy.

     Dusty’s The Natural is the story of Brad Turner, former top-hand turned rodeo announcer, and young phenom, Shoat Krammer, and the story is as real as the Oklahoma he writes about. For those who share their lives with horses, cattle, ropes and kindred spirits called cowboys, this book is really about their world. Nothing corny, nothing cute, just life, just about real life and why they do what they do.

     Along the way, we meet nefarious characters still hanging around because of Shoat’s bad choices, and old loves that cause us to remember our own. Hope springs eternal however, even in the breast of older cowboy Brad, in the form of Zola, a woman who is not only believable, but someone you would like to meet. And when Brad’s ex-wife requests a visit for her son, he goes, just as only a cowboy would. In this portion of the book, Richard’s written words soar high above the place where most novelists reside.

     Elmer Kelton’s characters cause us to want to call or write to see how they are coming along years after we read his books. Richard’s characters in The Natural affect the reader in precisely the same way. Long after the novel is put aside, we hope the wind is always at their back, that the Lord hold them in the palm of His hand, and may Boy, the big palomino, never come up lame."--Michael Johnson

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#3 in the Territorial Marshal series is set in Arizona's turbulent 1880's.

Paperback - 272 pages (July 2001)
St Martins Mass Market Paper; ISBN: 0312979703

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#2 in the Territorial Marshal series is set in Arizona's turbulent 1880's. Major Bowen hires a new man to the force, John Wesley Michaels, to track down the psychopathic hired gun, who calls himself the Coyote Kid.

Mass Market Paperback - 272 pages (December 2000)
St Martins Mass Market Paper; ISBN: 0312976879

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In 1880, Arizona Territory was an outlaw's paradise. The gunmen rode hard along the border, raping, stealing, murdering and burning their way to plunder and wealth. Guided by a powerful landowner and his vicious outlaw captain, the Border Gang was organized, mean, and armed to the teeth. In Prescott, the governor knew Arizona's sheriffs couldn't stop the killing--and statehood was in peril. Then a military man named Bowen stepped in with a plan: find a few good men, call them marshals, and send them after the Border Gang.

Mass Market Paperback - 264 pages (May 2000)
St Martins Mass Market Paper; ISBN: 0312974108 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.76 x 6.77 x 4.16

In this irresistible follow-up to From Hell to Breakfast, a wild run to a mining town, a thwarted stage robbery, and a shoot-out outside the church following her wedding is just about all Stout Rice can handle.

Mass Market Paperback - 212 pages (January 1995)
Pocket Books; ISBN: 0671872427 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.64 x 6.78 x 4.17

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From Hell to Breakfast

"A funny, told-around-the-campfire-style tale that readers will long remember."--Suzann Ledbetter. Dusty Richards introduces the Rice sisters--cowgirls, tomboys, and great dancers--in a humorous, rollicking Western sure to be a welcome addition to readers' bookshelves.

Mass Market Paperback (April 1994)
Pocket Books; ISBN: 0671872419 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.70 x 6.74 x 4.22

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