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U.S. Marshal Ethan Davis is just one of the lawmen sent to Colorado to maintain order along a violence-threatened railroad line during the turbulent times of the Railroad Workers and Coal Miner’s strikes of 1894. As the train pulls into the small mining town of New Castle, the U.S. Marshals are confronted by an angry mob. While the lawmen gained control of the situation that day, Marshal Davis lost his heart to the beautiful Renee McCoy, the daughter of a slain shop owner. For the promise of a mere kiss from her, he vows to hunt down her father’s Dead or alive. When Marshal Davis’s investigation into the gruesome murder deepens, his suspicions immediately turn to one the McCoy’s most beloved and trusted friends. And his jealousy-clouded judgement nearly costs him everything.
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Inspiration for novel: |
Having lived in New Castle for several years, I was familiar with its rich mining history. So, while on a hike along Mount Medaris, I stopped and looked down onto the town and decided, then and there, to write a novel, using its mining past as just a back drop. I began my research and found an incredible old newspaper article in the New Castle News, of a bridge burning and a tense standoff between striking coal miners of New Castle and a couple dozen U.S. Marshals on the 4th of July 1894. |
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| Fun Fact: | The Marshal Schneider I mention in my book was the real town Marshal at the time of my story. According to official Town of New Castle records, he was reprimanded more than once, for drinking and gambling while on duty. | ||
| Fun Fact: | The Mr. Fecctig I mention in my book was the real Midland Railroad Depot Agent at the time of my story. According to the July 7, 1894 issue of the New Castle News, it was reported that he, his wife, and several ladies from a nearby dance house, were the ones who doused the fire at the bridge. | ||
| Funny Fact: | In 2003 I submitted this story's synopsis and sample chapters to Avalon Books and received a favorable response. I was told that my manuscript "appeared to be a book suited to their needs." All I had to do was lengthen it by a few thousand words and resubmit, but crazily, I never took advantage of that opportunity. | ||
| Trivia: | According to a 1894 Real Estate and Insurance Map, the Colorado River was referred to as the Grand River. New Castle had dozens of businesses of every type; including an Opera House, a dozen liveries and stables, over ten saloons and a handful of ice houses. | ||
| Trivia: | In the 1890s dust was such a problem that the town paid the fire department to sprinkle the dirt streets with water. | ||
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Her Knight with a Shining Star: copyright 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
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