The Greatest Western Writer Of The 21st CenturyIn Colorado Territory, Smoke Jensen is trying to live at peace with the big, beautiful world around him. Then a tinhorn named Puddle enters his valley—and unleashes a hellstorm of a range war.Then The Shooting StartedMalcolm Theodore Puddle is a 21-year shipping clerk—from way back East. What is he doing out here? The Mountain Man's former neighbor, Humbolt Puddle, has died and left his crumbling 600-acre ranch to his only living heir, just as a greedy and ruthless cattle baron is circling the Humbolt ranch like a ravenous vulture. Poor, unsuspecting Puddle is walking into a death trap. Smoke is the not the pitying kind. But any enemy of Smoke's neighbor is his enemy, too: kill-crazy hired gunmen are threatening the whole valley and good men are dying. Puddle may not be much, but he's all Smoke has—as a take-no-prisoners mountain man and a timid tinhorn make for an army of two...in one hell... Views: 6
"When the sun goes down on my life, you'll all come apart like ripped balloons."When stingy self-made millionaire and widower Leon Farrell dies, he leaves behind a legacy of family dysfunction—and a missing will. It's soon clear that his three grown children, Edgar, Gunther, and Shirley, don't handle loss well—the possible loss of a fortune, that is. And when Edgar hires a private investigator to track down the will, it's just the beginning of a search that will lead the siblings to re-visit their childhoods, uncover buried secrets, and ultimately learn for themselves what it means to be a family. For as tensions escalate between the brothers—with their peace-keeping sister caught in the middle—an unexpected conflict of interest is brewing that will shock them all—and either bring them closer together or tear them apart for good. . . Views: 6
Sheriff Jake Conrad knew two things. Either the beautiful woman with the killer body and mule-headed nature had to leave town, or he was about to get his heart broken. Occupied with chasing some shifty drug traffickers, he had no time for an affair, and something warned him that with Christine Harper one night would never be enough. But when Chris gets caught up in the middle of his investigation, he has little doubt what the outcome will be. Views: 6
With heightened tensions mounting in the Cold War, President Dwight Eisenhower's request for more accurate intelligence information on the Soviet Union was the spark that ignited the U-2 project. Modified USAF bombers began overflights of the Soviet Union in 1951, but existing lower flying aircraft in the US inventory were vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire and a number of cross-border flights were shot down.
To meet the challenge and improve the survivability, the Lockheed Corporation received approval for their revolutionary design of a new recon aircraft on December 9, 1954. The company began work under a heavy veil of secrecy with only 81 people, including 25 engineers. A test pilot flew the first flight on August 1, 1955, after only eight months of production, a record-breaking result for rollout of a new project, especially one this complex and innovative. A dedicated and inventive group of contractors came together to support the project with partial pressure suits for pilots, high-resolution cameras, and an engine that could carry the aircraft to altitudes of 70,000 feet and higher.
Nicknamed the Dragon Lady, the U-2 has flown over Cuba, Alaska, North and South poles, Vietnam, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, and Afghanistan. The U-2 is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. More recently it flew over the hurricane ravaged US Gulf Coast to collect imagery of the destruction over a 90,000 square mile area.
First-person memoirs of many of the men who supported the early US spy plane project are included in this book. They include pilots, maintenance specialists, a flight surgeon, photographic specialists and some family members. The US also trained U-2 pilots from Taiwan and the UK and some of their photos and memoirs are in this collection.
An example of the entries in the book include one pilot's experience on a flight over the North Pole when he discovered his instrumentation was inaccurate due to the magnetic fields and realized almost too late that he was flying directly toward the Soviet Union. Maintenance technicians recalled working long hours to prepare aircraft for historic flights over Cuba. Photographic specialists remembered the difficult conditions in Vietnam, and the care required to download the exposed film of North Vietnamese targets from the cameras in the aircraft. All of these experiences were achieved under Top Secret security conditions and on a “need to know” basis.
‘Remembering the Dragon Lady’ presents the reader with an impressive collection of U-2 first-person recollections. Views: 6
Jett is a girl passing as a boy, living as a cowboy in the old West as she searches for her long-lost brother. When the book opens, she's just rolled into a new town, where she stops by the saloon. Things are relatively calm, although she suspects there will be Trouble from at least one of the locals. Sure enough, Trouble starts to mosey over, when— The saloon is invaded by zombies. Barely escaping with her life, Jett hightails it out of town and soon falls into the company of Honoria Gibbons, a smart, self-sufficient young woman who also happens to be a fabulous inventor. Together with White Fox, a young man they meet, they set out to discover what's caused the zombie uprising. Turns out these zombies aren't rising from the dead of their own accord... but who would want an undead army? And why? Views: 6
Winds of Destruction is a unique account of one man’s service in the Rhodesian Air Force, spanning a period of twenty-three years from 1957 to 1980—through the politically turbulent years of Federation; the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (U.D.I.) by Ian Smith’s government in 1965 and thirteen years of relentless, uncompromising bush warfare against the never-ending tide of Robert Mugabe’s and Joshua Nkomo’s ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas. In a gruelling conflict that permitted no quarter, the Rhodesian Air Force (Rh.A.F.) fast became one of the Rhodesian Defence Force’s most lethal and effective counter-insurgency organs. In pre-emptive bombing strikes against enemy camps in Mozambique, Zambia and as far afield as Tanzania; in its integral role as a troop-carrier and airborne strike force in ‘fireforce’ operations; in working closely with such specialist units as the Selous Scouts, the S.A.S., the R.L.I. and the R.A.R. the Rhodesian Air Force was never far from the action and in no small way responsible for the astonishing military successes against a vastly numerically superior army. This all in spite of the international sanctions against Rhodesia, which ordinarily would have brought a nation’s armed forces to its knees. However, forced by circumstances, the Rh.A.F. was obliged to maximise usage of its aging fleet of fighter-bombers, transports and helicopters and to resort to innovative techniques in terms of tactics and weapons systems, many of which were later adopted by the South African Air Force in its own counter-insurgency operations in Angola and Namibia in the ’80s. Views: 6
He no longer believed in anything.But she believed in him.J.T. Douchett has returned home to shut out the world and escape the memories from his final mission as a Marine that haunt him. When he reluctantly agrees to provide security for a town event, the last thing he expects is to experience unbidden feelings for Irish movie star Mary Joyce.Mary has surprised everyone—including herself—by accepting an invitation to a film festival in Shelter Bay. The Oregon coastal town immediately charms her, and an even larger surprise is encountering the stoic man who could be everything she's dreamed of.As J.T. struggles to keep Mary at arm’s length, Mary reminds herself that she’s never been attracted to the strong, silent type. And having known so much sorrow, he’s wary of getting close to anyone. But in Shelter Bay, even the most strongly guarded heart is no match for love. Views: 6
The children of Tigris have extraordinary telekinetic gifts—but are these special powers a blessing or a curse?On Tigris, children develop telekinesis beginning at the age of five. By the time they're pre-teens, though, their special abilities peak, then slip away as they reach maturity. Being able to "teek" gives them power—even over most adults—until they gradually become regular teenagers, no longer special, no longer with authority and status. Some handle the Transition better than others.Lisa Duncan always thought she'd mature gracefully, but at age fourteen, and close to losing her abilities, she's confused and uncertain about what the future will bring. That is, until she gets drawn into the experimental plan of Dr. Matthew Jarvis, whose scientific discovery may alter Tigrin society forever. . . . Views: 6
Cassie Carlisle is on the run -- and wanted for murder. When she hides in the back of a pickup truck, it's just her luck that the truck belongs to a cowboy-turned-sheriff.Jess Logan, with his dark eyes and bruised heart, just wants to to win a few more saddle bronc competitions and then go home alone to his cabin in the woods. But he can't resist his sexy blonde stowaway, secrets and all. Could this be love -- or just a recipe for disaster?EXCLUSIVE EXCERPTJess pulled off at an empty rest area and let Harry have a romp in the grass. Then he whistled for the dog, propped open the back of the camper, and heaved himself over the tailgate. He’d get a good sleep tonight. Jess flopped onto the mattress, stretched out--And realized he was not alone.Jess didn’t stop to ask questions. He tackled the shadowy figure, pinning the intruder’s arms against the quilt. Harry leapt into the pickup bed and, barking frantically, threw himself into the fray.In spite of the chaos, Jess quickly realized one crucial and unexpected fact: his trespasser was female. He knew for three simple reasons. First, in the tangle of limbs and flying fur, his hands encountered a pair of round, soft, very womanly breasts. Secondly, the resulting shriek of mingled outrage was too high-pitched for a man. And, finally, Jess’s nose was suddenly buried in a great deal of satiny hair, hair that smelled vaguely tropical. Kind of like rain and orchids.She must use one of those botanical shampoos, he thought. Nice. Real nice.Then reason reasserted itself, and he shouted for Harry to quit his racket. With one hand, he groped for the dog’s collar and hauled Harry away from the cowering woman. Harry backed up into a far corner of the camper, still growling low in his throat, while Jess rolled to the left and dug for the flashlight he kept in his toolbox. He clicked it on and aimed the full beam at the woman’s face.Her eyes drew into slits against the sudden onslaught of light. She scrambled away from him and landed with a thud in the narrow space between the wheel well and the edge of the mattress, out of the flashlight’s beam. Still, Jess had seen enough.He recognized that honey-colored hair. Ditto the frightened gray eyes, curvaceous figure, and livid bruise.Faced with the woman he’d fantasized about for the last hundred or so miles, Jess found himself at a loss for words. Of course, he’d never been blessed with the gift of gab. He was the kind of a guy who said things straight out, without a lot of fancy talk. But now he couldn’t even manage that.She spoke right up, though. No hesitation. “Hey,” she sputtered angrily. “What are you doing in my bed?”Jess’s jaw dropped at the utter absurdity of her question. He frowned down at her until he finally found his tongue. “Your bed? Excuse me, ma’am, but I’d have to say this was my bed, last I checked.”Confusion flitted across her even features. She wrinkled a cute little snub of a nose that turned up just a tad at the end. Then, as if she’d just remembered something, dawning horror replaced the confusion. “Oh. Oh, dear.” She broke off and pursed her lips into a kissable bow. “Are we still in the City?”“San Francisco? Nope. About a hundred, hundred twenty miles north.”To Jess’s surprise, she smiled. “Oh, that’s just perfect.” She squirmed in a way that stimulated every nerve ending in Jess’s body. “Um, could you lend a hand? I think I’m stuck.”Sure enough, she was wedged tight between the wheel and the bed. Jess chuckled and reached for her hand. Damn, but her fingers were soft. He gave her a good tug, and she popped out like a cork from a bottle. “Thanks bunches,” she said in a perky but faintly breathless voice. “Really. Thank you. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll just be going. Bye, now.”Struck speechless again, Jess could only stare as she inched nervously past the still-tense Harry, swung one shapely leg over the tailgate, balanced precariously for an instant, then hopped out of his truck. Views: 6
Susanna Hunter once ignored Captain Fergus Lamont's warnings not marry a fortune hunter—a decision she lived to regret. Three years later and since widowed, she's surprised by his unexpected invitation to spend Christmas with him in the Highlands. But even more shocking is Fergus's new proposition: that she pretend to be his fiancée, with all the accompanying pleasures…. Views: 6
