Trafford Publishing: The Outlaw Badge

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The Outlaw Badge

by Michael J. Bryant

136 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #02-0973; ISBN 1-55395-259-6; US$16.50, C$19.89, EUR13.00, £9.50

Survival on the western frontier in 1865 was dangerous at best. Along with growing conflicts between the Indians and the new settlements, the land was full of outlaws and gun slingers. By the misfortune of another, one such outlaw gets a chance to ride on the side of the law for a time.

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about the book      about the author      sample excerpts or Table of Contents      catalogue info

About the Book

The Outlaw Badge portrays a very wild era in American history. Because of the Civil War, the US Army was unable to supply enough troops to safely control the new territories opening up for settlement in the West.

Buffalo Soldiers were sent out to try to prevent the many Indian raids on farms and towns. These soldiers were also there to man the many forts and territorial prisons, enforcing the law on what was often a lawless land.

I've put a lot of research into this book, in order to make the setting as realistic as possible. When compared with actual events of the times, the Outlaw Badge doesn't seem very fictional!

The year is 1865, and when the Civil War comes to an end, Indian conflicts will explode across the West...

~Michael J. Bryant, author, The Outlaw Badge

About the Author

Michael J. Bryant grew up in the Mojave Desert in California, having a desire and a love for writing and drawing. Soon after High School he went into the Marine Corps for six years, then started working for Lockheed Air-craft Company in 1978 and is still working there at present in South Carolina. He is a husband, and a father of two sons, one daugh-ter, and three step sons.
Michael has many different interests when it comes to writing, such as westerns, fantasy, aircraft and sea adventures, and an all time favorite, American History. Michael is always striving to produce well written and exciting stories that will keep the reader turn-ing the pages.

News
Michael J. Bryant will be attending Family Fest in Greer, South Carolina, on May 9 & 10th, 2003. Along with other local authors, he'll be signing copies of his book at The Paperback Exchange's booth during the Fest. The Paperback Exchange is a local bookstore owned by Bev Garrison.
For more information, contact
The Paperback Exchange
105 N. Main Street
Greer, SC 29650-1921
(864) 801-8282
The Paperback Exchange, at luv2readbooks@msn.com
Michael will also be in Cherokee, North Carolina for the gourd festival on May 16 and 17, and will be having a book signing there. Look for the booth displaying gourd art created by his wife and a few other artists.

Reviews
Spotlight on Michael Bryant: A Mechanic by Day, An Author by Night
Here at Lockheed, we have a co-worker who is a very talented author and is having a book published. The employee is Michael J. Bryant. Many of you know Michael from the C-9 program. Michael is a hard worker during the day and a writer by night. He is a husband, and a father of two sons, one daughter, and three stepsons. Michael is the author of a book entitled The Outlaw Badge. Michael writes books on many different themes and topics, such as westerns, fantasy, aircraft, sea adventures, and an all time favorite, American history. Although Outlaw Badge is Michael's first published novel, he has written several other novels that will be released in the near future. These novels include, The Jeanne Blue, The Exuma Sound, A Season for Change, and The Beaming Light. Be sure to look for these exciting novels from this incredibly gifted author. We are sure that you will enjoy having each of these titles, as well as Outlaw Badge, in your collection. Let's all give Michael a hand, and wish him the best of luck on his writings.
from the Lougheed Martin internal paper
I read the book today. Very good. I have a question for Michael [ SPOILER ALERT - please skip to the next review if you don't want a hint about what happens in the book! ] - does Nevada Mike come back for Elizabeth or after he rides on to Los Angeles does he stay with Nancy? :) Looking forward to Michael's next book! Valerie Williamson, Florida
The Outlaw Badge is not just a story about the west, it is a love story. A story for the love of life and of people. It is written to keep one interested and longing to know what was going to happen on the next page.
Barbara Crawford Mike, you know I enjoy reading a good book. I really felt like the book had a lot of action. It made me really wonder a few times if your hero was going to get out of the scrapes he had gotten himself into....Keep up the good writing, Marshal Creek.
Alice Hanna
It was a good quick read. Didn't want to put it down, wanted to see what would happen on the next page. Could see some of that happening in the Old West. Good story of life and surviving to get the one you want.
MK
Hi Jeanne and Michael,
I've been meaning to get online to tell you two that I read The Outlaw Badge and LOVED IT! I think Michael should get someone to make a short film out of it, I think it's that good, that others would love to see it in short movie mode! I don't know how to go about that, of course, and imagine just getting it printed as a book was difficult enough. But, if it was made into a movie and shown somewhere like the Sundance Film Festival, I think that would be cool, too! I look forward to Michael's future books!
Karen
THAT'S GOOD MICHEAL.........KEEP ON KEEPING ON...I HAD JUST FORWARDED YOUR AMAZON BOOK WEBSITE TO SEVERAL OF MY EMAIL BUDDIES ALONG WITH A NOTE ABOUT HOW MUCH I ENJOYED YOUR BOOK. CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN. LOVE AND SUCCESS, MOTHER PATTY :)

Sample Excerpts or Table of Contents

     Early the next morning, Marshal Creek was saddling up his horse for the long ride ahead of him. Of course he didn't want to mention the fact that his official business in Carson City was his friend Elizabeth. But Rhonda didn't need to know about that anyway. What he did tell her was that after he takes care of some unfinished business there, depending on how things panned out for him, he would seriously consider returning and help her run things here.
     Looking up the dirt trail from the porch, Rhonda shouted "Hey marshal, here comes the stage."
     Looking in the direction she was speaking of, he commented, "Aren't they a bit early?"
     As they watched the stage approaching though, they also saw horse riders following the stage. But something was terribly wrong with this picture. Marshal Creek quickly recognized the horse riders as being Indians, and they appeared to be trying to catch the stagecoach.
     Now hearing guns being fired, the marshal warned, "Those are Indians shooting at the stage. Take cover, Rhonda."
     "Oh my God", she replied in horror, running into the house.
     The stage quickly rolled up into the station while the marshal laid down cover fire. The stagecoach guard also started firing his rifle at the oncoming Indian raiding party. None of the passengers on the stage tried getting out. But there were two hands sticking out of the windows firing their weapons as well.
     The stage driver hopped down and ran over to the marshal, saying, "We've got several Indians chasing us down, and there's a whole bunch more Indians behind these guys."
     After shooting a warrior from his horse, Marshal Creek ordered, "Get Rhonda out of the house, and take her with you. I'll try holding off the Indians so you can get a good head start."
     "What about you, marshal?" the driver asked.
     While the two men took pot shots at the passing Indians, the marshal replied, "There isn't any time to discuss this. Get Rhonda, and take the stagecoach to the fort. I'll try meeting you there."
     "Yes sir," the driver responded, while he hurried towards the house.
     There appeared to be a raiding party of about 6 braves. Three of them were now dead, and the other three were riding like thunder from side to side in front of the station house. The Indians were very quick and it was hard to get a good aim. The driver of the stagecoach pulled the unwilling Rhonda out of the house. She was shouting at the marshal to go with them.
     "I'll do my best to meet you at Fort Lyon", the marshal shouted, "Now get out of here before we all get killed."
     Everyone, including Rhonda, knew how swift and merciless the Indian attacks were. These fierce warriors would attack without warning and ravage stages, covered wagons, settlements, and ranches. It was also a well-known fact that captives were often tortured with slow fire by the Indians. Scalping and mutilation would also take place, stripping the corpses and using them for target practice. Sometimes the Indians would take women and children as captives, and from what everyone always said, this was often a fate worse than death.
     One of the shooters inside of the stagecoach managed to shoot another Indian from his horse. Rhonda was quickly loaded into the coach, and then once the driver was back on top, the stagecoach rolled out of the station in a hurry. The two remaining warriors didn't give chase. They appeared to be more interested in getting the marshal. While the marshal believed that the rolling stagecoach would act as a decoy to the attacking Indians, he quickly jumped to his feet and started running towards his awaiting horse.
     One of the Indians saw what was going on and put his horse at full charge towards the running marshal. The other Indian was now shooting burning arrows at the station house. Just before the marshal was able to climb onto his horse, the charging brave leaped from his horse onto the back of the marshal. The station house started to burn while the marshal and the other warrior tumbled into the dirt.

Catalogue Information