Dive into a standalone Western novelette featuring one unforgettable summer from the first book of the full length Ballad of Shannon Dumas series.
This a frontier tale set amidst 1860's Comancheria on the mercilessly rugged Texas frontier. It was a clash of civilizations with settlers hoping to build a new life while the native tribes fought to protect their ancient lands.
Shannon Dumas never thought he'd leave New Orleans for Texas, or join the rangers.
A.K. Vyas gave early promise of being nothing special whatsoever. He was born in the small New England village best known for the witch trials, then banished to Texas at a tender age. Being annoyingly well-read for a Texan and exceptionally stubborn as a child, the smart money predicted a brief but clumsy career as a rodeo clown, while others foresaw an early death.
To everyone’s intense disbelief, U.C. Berkeley made the mistake of admitting him, and he squeaked out a degree or two while doing silly, acrobatic, things in small planes. The Navy eventually decided it was safer for all parties involved (including the enemy) if he didn’t fly jets. Like most wayward souls he ended up on Wall Street, a lifestyle interrupted from time to time by an occasional date, unless of course it was NCAA football season. (You can take a boy out of Texas, but you can't take Texas out of the boy.)
To date, his young family has survived two Category 5 hurricanes, and an infatuation with TexMex cast iron skillet recipes. Europe is currently home, and for unknown reasons, people on the street everywhere always ask him for directions. The Eagle Feather is his debut attempt at the ancient art of storytelling, and was written for his beautiful, perfect, athletic, and wonderful son.