On Vacation

Sammy #4

by Robin Hardy

When the going gets tough, the tough . . . go fishing. The daily grind of working for a living starts to wear on Dallas cop Sammy Kidman, so he and wife Marni accept her parents’ invitation to spend a week fishing with them and their pastor on Lake Texoma. But when a runaway hiding in their cabin draws the ire of the county sheriff, Sammy resorts to posing as a Hollywood documentary producer come to film the residents of Bastion, Oklahoma. Just when he thinks everything is under control, a member of his party falls seriously ill and he takes up a bedside vigil in the local hospital. But the sheriff’s bent on petty revenge, so Sammy’s back in the fray.

220 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2005

About the author

I've written a new series! It's a distant sequel to The Annals of Lystra (begun in Chataine's Guardian) and The Latter Annals (begun in Nicole of Prie Mer). This is where it begins:

Thirty-five years after the assassination of Henry, Surchatain of Lystra, the province is no more and its capital Westford a shadow of its medieval greatness. With the fever now ravaging the palace, the army, and the town, a new Surchatain has ascended the throne of Westford, requiring a loyalty oath for all his subjects and soldiers.

Efran, Captain of the Red Regiment of the Army of Westford, is Polonti—a member of the brown-skinned, black-haired race generally regarded with contempt by Southerners on the Continent, including many in Westford. Knowing of the loyalty oath required on pain of death, Efran lays plans to leave once he has recovered from the fever himself.

But Efran is hindered by entanglements with the Surchatain’s two daughters—one who despises him and one who adores him.

He is appointed guardian of one Chataine. When the palace begins crumbling on its foundations, Efran takes his charge and a street urchin to an abandoned fortress south of Westford in the midst of wolf territory. While he gathers more homeless children at the fortress, the other Chataine prepares to lead an army against him for the legendary treasure hidden in the desolate Abbey of St. Benedict on the Sea.

The Stories of the Abbey of St. Benedict on the Sea comprise 36 novellas, each around 50,000 words, that make for one continuous story from the beginning to a definite end. ​To introduce this series, I'm offering free pdf and epub downloads of all the stories. Each pdf includes links, pronunciations, maps, and an illustration with notes.  (The epubs  contain all of the above except maps.)