COLDIRON

by F.M. Parker

HE WAS HAIR-TRIGGERED FOR TROUBLE IN A LAND WHERE YOU LIVED OR DIED BY YOUR GUNS

JUDGE AND EXECUTIONER—HARD MAN IN A HARD LAND

In a trackless territory where a man had to be as hard as cold-forged steel to survive, Luke Coldiron was harder than any man who tried to stand in his path. His strength, nerve, and guns had carved him a sprawling horse-breeding ranch out of the wilderness, and made him master of all he surveyed.

But now from south of the border came a Mexican leading a private army of hand-picked killers to loot Coldiron’s kingdom. And out of Coldiron’s past came a beautiful woman with a blood score to settle.

It had been a long time since Coldiron had to kill to live—but some things a man doesn't forget...

373 pages, Paperback

Published June 9, 2020

About the author

As a boy F. M. Parker hitchhiked around the country working as a sheepherder in Montana, a bellhop in Colorado, and a logger in Ohio. He received a B. S. in Geology from the University of Dayton, and did graduate work in Geology at Ohio State University. He worked in the factories of GM and Chrysler at night to put himself through college. After that he went into the U. S. Navy for 5 « years with service in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans aboard the Timbalier, AVP 54, a seaplane tender.

After the navy he was employed as a geologist in the oil fields of Kansas, and as an exploration geologist in the uranium mines of Utah. After four years as a geologist, Parker became a manager in the Bureau of Land Management, part of the Department of Interior. He worked in several western states and Washington, DC, then progressed up through the ranks to become District Manager of the Vale District in Oregon, which is as much as 5 million acres. He was responsible for the management of the multiple resources of the land and its environmental protection. He was responsible for hundreds of grazing permits, several herds of wild horses, wild rivers, wildlife, recreation, timber, fire fighting and other factors regarding such a large land area.

Doubleday published his first book in 1981. The title was Skinner and there was an interesting story behind that title. The chairman of the grazing advisory board was named Skinner and the Skinner of Parker's novel was a drunkard and a pistoleer, while the real Skinner was a rancher and a straight arrow. Parker wasn't sure how the real Skinner would take the use of his name, but he laughed and thought it was a good story.