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Calico Starr: Wild Justice

by Paul E. Harmon

339 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-1971; ISBN 1-4120-1594-4; US$27.50, C$30.50, EUR22.50, £16.00

A young girl, with help from a retired gunfighter and a Comanche Indian, embarks on an adventure to wreak vengeance on the rancher who killed her family. Revenge, Cowgirl-style.

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About the Book      About the Author      Excerpt      Catalogue Information

About the Book

North Texas in 1880 can be brutal, as Callie Mae Starden, a 16-year old farm girl, quickly found out. Her family killed by a land-greedy rancher and she left for dead, Callie is found by a horsetrader. Later, she discovers that he is really the famous gunfighter, Josh McClain, and she begs him to teach her the trade, so she can avenge her family. Josh reluctantly agrees, then sends her through a rigorous training ritual including months of living with a Comanche Indian scout to learn to fight, to hunt and track.

With her new friends, she embarks on a trail of vengeance that takes her to Laredo, to Mexico, on to Tombstone and finally back to the town of Cache Creek, for her reckoning with Price Morgan. Her adventure includes gunfights, Indian attacks, lively entertaining characters, action galore and a tension filled climax. Follow her story, as she becomes a gunfighter, and find out if she gets her revenge on the rancher Price Morgan and his murderous cowhands.

Book Review by Joel Dortch, "Dutch" SASS Cowboy Chronicle, Dec 2003

Calico Starr: Wild Justice By Paul Harmon

"Calico Starr: Wild Justice is the title of an exciting new Western novel by author Paul Harmon. This thrilling and action-filled story is set in the Texas Panhandle range country during the turbulent years following the Civil War. It is a story of greed that led to violence and the near annihilation of an entire pioneer family. Follow the adventures of beautiful young Callie Mae Starden, saved from a near-death experience by an aging gunfighter who becomes her mentor, and helps prepare her for the final showdown and wild justice that will not be denied! This rousing story of romance, adventure and ultimate revenge will keep you completely captivated.

Harmon is a talented storyteller-author in the tradition of Louis L'Amour. He has a knack for getting the details right and keeping the reader interested in learning the rest of the story. If you like westerns, I guarantee you will like this one!"

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About the Author

A love of westerns and writing got Paul Harmon involved with an old west reenactment group. Putting his writing talent to work, he scripted many of the gunfights they performed. He meticulously researched the dialog and history of each gunfight to make them as accurate as possible. His gunfight reenactments have been performed in Tombstone, Arizona, Calico Ghost town, SASS End of Trail and other venues in Southern California. Taking his writing skills a step further, with the inspiration of his daughter and his wife, he wrote his first western novel. The character Calico Starr is in real life his daughter, Kimberly, the 1999 CMSA and 2000 SASS World Champion Cowgirl Mounted Shooter. Calico Starr is Kim's SASS alias.

Paul is retired and lives on a small horse ranch in California. He competes in Cowboy Mounted Shooting events as a Division 2 rider (no where near the level of his daughter) while working on his next novel.

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Excerpts

Excerpt from Chapter 11

Calico was very anxious. A level of fear and excitement she had felt before was growing, and she could feel her heart pounding in her ears. She wanted it over quickly, or to have it not happen at all. She felt that she was not ready for such a major fight, yet her foolishness was forcing it. After all, it was three to one; not fair odds. She wished Josh were still here to lift her from the fire she had created. She got herself into this by demanding he teach her to shoot and kill. Now was her chance and she stood facing three men feeling the urge to run well up inside of her.

"You say I killed your parents," Paco repeated.

She looked at Paco, staring him down. She had not answered another question he had asked. Josh was right, let them talk, let your guns talk for you. Watch their eyes. They talk louder than their voice.

"Perro!!" exclaimed Paco, his eyes narrowing.

Paco lifted the rifle to shoot, but Calico was quick. She saw the look in his eyes and started her move. Her pistol cleared leather faster than Paco could raise his rifle. A bullet hit him in the chest, as he fired. His shot slammed into the tabletop, missing Calico by inches. He fell to the floor writhing in pain, clutching the hole in his chest. She instinctively turned her attention to the Mexican to Paco's right, and shot him in the belly. His pistol was nearly out of his holster and his dying shot went harmlessly into the floor. The third Mexican had cleared his pistol and was cocking it when Calico's third shot hit him in the arm, knocking his pistol from his hand and spinning him around, grasping his wound.

El Jefe applauded his approval. "Bravo," he exclaimed. He was behaving as if he had just seen a theater performance, except that these actors actually died. Slowly, Calico put her gun away and stood staring at what she had wrought. Josh was right; the eyes give you away. In less than a few seconds she had killed two men and wounded a third. She could feel tears welling in her eyes and then a shaking she could not control took over. A quick shot of tequila did not help. It nearly made her gag, as she was feeling sick over the blood pooling on the floor in front of her. She sat down quickly, turning her face away from the bodies. El Jefe motioned to his guard to remove the dead men. The third Mexican still clasping his arm looked at Calico and then his two dead friends. He made a grab for his pistol and El Jefe made short work of him, placing two slugs neatly in his back. "I no like sore loser," he stated, re-holstering his pistol.

Calico looked up, nearly oblivious to the scene. She had forgotten a cardinal rule. Make sure all the players are out of the game before you are finished. Josh had repeated that many times to her, but the emotions of killing someone who had murdered her parents had been overwhelming. She felt sad, angry, sick and excited all mixed into one confusing emotion. She fought back the tears and sat up.

"Josh teach you good. Very good," El Jefe stated. He patted her on the back. She did not like that. She did not want to be touched. "Yeah, real good," she answered impassively. It took a lot of strength to stand, but she did. The room swayed as she steadied herself against the table. The cantina was filling with curious onlookers, some friends of the dead, no doubt, Calico surmised. However, she did not care; she wanted out into the fresh air. She wanted away from the blood, the odor of gunpowder and the smell of death.

El Jefe poured himself a glass of tequila as he watched his men clear the bodies from the cantina. "I think you kill many men." Calico slowly walked around the table, picked up Paco's Winchester and laid it on the table. "Only the ones who deserve it. I am not just a wanton killer. Remember that." She reached over and took the bottle of tequila. "To revenge," she toasted. She drank several mouthfuls and slammed the bottle down. Everyone moved out of her way as she headed out the cantina and to her hut. It had begun.

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Catalogue Information

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