[Wyrd West Chronicles 01] • Showdown

~ Nominee for the Virtual Fantasy Con 2017 Awards for Best Fantasy Steampunk Novel and Best Fantasy Dystopian Novel. ~

From "Showdown":

The Desperado spat. “You ain’t goin’ to start something you can’t finish, are you, boy?” he sneered in a cold rasping baritone. His eyes were darker than coal-black. No apprentice then; this man had sold his soul to Hell and leased it back at compound interest. “You’re so wet behind the ears I don’t reckon you can sprout a beard yet.”

Graeme turned his head just slightly so that the Desperado could get a glimpse of the pointed ear sticking out of his hair under his hat brim.

The Desperado’s eyes narrowed. “Fuckin’ faeries,” he growled, almost under his breath. “Well, guess I got no real idea how old you are. But you smell like children to me. Why don’t you go back to your farm and leave the grown-ups to do their business?”

Graeme thought about the Gunslinger this man had cut down. He could still hear the gurgle and wheeze of her struggle to breathe. He could smell the iron of her blood seeping into the dust.

“I don’t think so.”

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In Queenstown, an untried youth is the only one who can face down a notorious Desperado. But Graeme Walsh is not a Gunslinger: not yet. Will his training and his secret sorcerer's powers be enough to get the drop on the Outlaw, before the Outlaw gets the drop on him?

Welcome to the Wyrd West, the world next door, where Western meets high fantasy, apocalyptica and a dash of steampunk. This novelette serial will be published bimonthly in e-format, with collections published in print format once a year.