Got our limits… four Canadian Geese per hunter!
All posts by Mark
Fly Fishing Salmon River
We were fishing near Clayton, Idaho… Pop. 7!
High elevation and wild weather, snow, heavy rain, wind, sunny and warm, all in a week’s time.
How to wrangle a Horn Shark
These sharks lay on the bottom and mind their own business… until someone like me comes along. They have two very sharp needle-like spines at the dorsal fins and they will hurt! Trust me, I know. They also have several rows of teeth and a crushing bite.
DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!
Continue reading How to wrangle a Horn SharkTexas Jack: The Bank Robbers
The fast-paced, action-packed third Western adventure in the new “Texas Jack Western” series from Mark Marchetti!
Phineas Todd was a strange little man. He arrived in Filo, Texas many years before the Civil War and was a familiar fixture in Filo since he was the president of the only bank in town. Even when he was young, for some reason he just seemed to be older than his years. He was known in town simply as ‘Old Finny’ and was loved by the townspeople, in spite of his quirky ways.
For many of the town’s people and ranchers in the area, it was ‘Old Finny’ who had helped them navigate the hard times during the war and after. He was the wealthiest man in town yet lived like a pauper, his only interest being the welfare of the town. Receiving the love and respect of the town’s people was the only thing he believed was of value. Unknown to the town’s people was the secret of his past in the days before he came to Filo.
When four bank robbers arrive in town, led by the notorious gunman Russell Blye, the world of ‘Old Finny’ and the town gets turned upside down. The former Sheriff, Tommy Vee, comes out of retirement and recruits ‘Texas Jack’ McKenna to track down the robbers and bring them to justice.
As a longtime friend of ‘Old Finny’, Jack knows his secret… and doesn’t want it revealed. As they set out to hunt down the outlaws, Jack and Sheriff Vee discover they each have a different vision of how justice should be served… the legal way and the ‘Texas Jack’ way.
Grab your copy today! Texas Jack – Bank Robbers
Texas Jack: The Robber Baron
The fast-paced, action-packed fourth Western adventure in the new “Texas Jack Western” series from Mark Marchetti!
The old Gillman ranch had been vacant for several years and Michael McGiven wanted the property. He planned to buy it in auction when the taxes weren’t paid, but mysteriously, the taxes on the ranch were paid every year, preventing him from acquiring it. McGiven was a shrewd, self-absorbed little man who saw himself becoming a Texas cattle baron and making his ‘Bar X’ brand one of the biggest in Texas. The Gillman ranch was located between his and the ‘Circle J’ ranch, owned by Jack and Josie McKenna. McGiven had stolen several smaller ranches in the area by driving owners out… stealing their cattle or burning their crops. He was careful, always keeping his hands clean… hiring others to do his dirty work. McGiven firmly believed ‘Texas Jack’ McKenna was the person standing in his way of obtaining the Gillman ranch.
To complicate matters, one day the new owners, Claire and Robert LaClief, move into the old Gillman ranch. Claire LaClief… formerly, Claire Gillman, the daughter of Clayton Gillman, is well aware that ‘Texas Jack’ was responsible for the killing of her father and brothers. As the only living heir to Clayton Gillman, she and her husband arrive in Filo to take possession of the ranch.
If his quest to become a Texas cattle baron is to move forward, Michael McGiven will have to come up with a new plan to remove both the LaClief’s and ‘Texas Jack’ from his path. With his resident outlaw thugs and hired gunman, Luke Madsen, he just might succeed… but he’ll have to cross ‘Texas Jack’ in the process.
The residents of Filo, Texas know a showdown is coming between Michael McGiven, Luke Madsen and ‘Texas Jack’ McKenna. They’re all waiting to see what happens… because, ‘Texas Jack’ is coming to town!
Grab your copy today! Texas Jack – Robber Baron
Texas Jack series
The fast-paced, action-packed, Western adventures of Texas Jack have recently expanded across four novels!
Texas Jack Rides Again…
Texas Jack rides again… and again… and one more time! Texas Jack, was originally released under Lizard Key books but last year I signed a contract with Outlaws Publishing to do five books under the Texas Jack story line. I’m sad to report that Outlaws has unexpectedly closed their operation. The closure came quickly and left not just myself, but several other authors without a publisher. No explanation was given but as of that time I was released from my contract. At the time, Texas Jack and Scalp Hunters, had been released in both paperback and Kindle versions. The week they closed down, The Bank Robbers, kindle version had been released.
The good news is, within a week of my contract release, I was signed by a division of ONCO Corporation, DUSTY SADDLE PUBLISHING. They have taken all three of the books, done new covers, and released the first two immediately. The Bank Robbers, the third book of the series has now also been released. So, as of now, all my western books will be released through AMAZON and DUSTY SADDLE PUBLISHING.
In addition, a boxed set of the first three books has now been released AND… the fourth book in the Texas Jack story line… ‘The Robber Baron’ is to be released very soon. Buy your box set now: Texas Jack Three-Book Series
All my other books, Lizard Key, Black Bart’s Treasure, Face the Lion and The Story of Rocky the Rodeo Pony are still available through AMAZON under LIZARD KEY PUBLISHING. I am currently working the third book in the Lizard Key series.
COVID-19 has kept most of us indoors and close to home. It’s provided me with more time to read and write books… less time for fishing, hunting and golf, but things are slowly starting to open up and we’ve recently made a few fishing trips. We’re beginning to get outdoors a little more now although some restrictions and common sense apply… we hope things get better before hunting season!
We’re also updating the website to make it easier to access photos, prior newspaper stories, drink recipes, camping, fishing, diving and travels.
Stay safe.
Mark Marchetti
Texas Jack: Scalp Hunters
The fast-paced, action-packed second Western adventure in the new “Texas Jack Western” series from Mark Marchetti!
The Texas-Mexican border was a dangerous place in 1875. Outlaws and Indians crossed the border with ease keeping the law… what little of it there was, at bay. Of all the outlaws and bandits, the one known as ‘El Diablo’ was the worst. He made his living robbing, killing, stealing cattle, taking hostages and scalp hunting. He was a psychopath in every sense of the word and a man to be feared.
Ten years after the Civil War ended, Jack McKenna returned home. He had been a famous hero in the war, known as ‘Texas Jack’. Mystery surrounded him in the years before he returned home to Filo, Texas, a small border town. It was rumored he had been a train robber, a gunman, a hired killer… and while some of that might have been true, the fact was most believed he was dead.
When he does return and tries to settle back into the peaceful life of a rancher, trouble comes calling in the form of ‘El Diablo’. When ‘El Diablo’ takes his former commander and father-in-law, Colonel Clayborn hostage, the U. S. Calvary and the Texas Rangers can’t cross the border to rescue him. It’s up to ‘Texas Jack’ and his friends to come to his aid.
In the process, Jack relies on his friendship with the Apaches and a convicted horse thief for help. He also learns the secret of who ‘El Diablo’ really is, why Colonel Clayborn was the target and who is paying him to collect scalps.
Grad your copy today: Texas Jack – Scalp Hunters
Lobster Man
We were diving off a small, remote island called Mayaguana, the easternmost island in the district of the Bahamas. The diving there wasn’t that good. There’s about 30 local residents and not much in the way of services. They have medical folks who show up about once a month. I’m swimming along and there’s a good size Caribbean Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) walking across the sand so I grabbed him. He didn’t make it to the dinner table, I let him go.
Diving the Hermes
The wreck of the ‘Hermes‘ is also a popular Bermuda wreck site. There was a large Lion Fish waiting for me when I arrived. Shortly after that he was speared and later met me for lunch. Lion fish are delicious! The ‘Hermes’ was a U.S. Coast Guard WWII buoy tender that was sunk as an artificial reef in 1985.
Fore more information about Lion Fish in Bermuda, check out the Lion Fish Task Force.