The fast-paced, action-packed, Western adventures of Texas Jack have recently expanded across four novels!
All posts by Mark
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.
Diving Mary Celestia
The island of Bermuda is a wreck dive paradise. The island is surrounded by ship wrecks of all types. The ‘Mary Celestia’ is one of the more famous wrecks. The ship was a steam powered side paddle boat and was sunk in 1864. This is a photo of Pam next to what’s left of one of the paddle wheels. The ship was running guns for the Confederacy during the Civil War. The Confederates would trade cotton with the English for guns and then run the blockade back to the south. She was a victim of the many reefs around the island.
You can interact with a 360º 3D model at Bermuda100.
Diving in Roatán
On a shark dive in Roatan I was in the water with about thirty sharks… mostly small in the 4-5 ft. range but there were a few like this one in the 6-8 ft. range. Lots of close up shots!
We encountered this large grouper near the ship wreck of El Aguila (The Eagle) in Roatán, at a depth of 100 ft. The ship is 210′ long but in 1998 when hurricane Mitch came through it broke into three pieces… even down 100 feet!
Rowell Ranch Rodeo
Mark and Rocky attended the Rowell Ranch Rodeo. We were there to sign copies of ‘Rocky the Rodeo Pony‘ and to make a donation to the ‘Tough Enough to Wear Pink‘ fight against breast cancer. Raffle tickets and book sales raised over $6000 that night!
Pineapple Mojito
Here’s a drink recipe I learned about while in Bora Bora. It was very popular there as it is in many other tropical places. It’s a very refreshing drink for the heat of the South Pacific.
PINEAPPLE MOJITO
Ingredients
- 3 oz. White Rum
- 1 oz. Triple Sec
- 1 oz. Pineapple Juice
- Two slices pineapple
- Four or five lime wedges
- Six to eight mint leaves
- One mint sprig for garnish
Preparation
Muddle the pineapple, lime and mint leaves in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker with ice and add the other ingredients (the liquor), shake well and strain into a highball glass. Add the mint sprig for garnish. Enjoy!
Memories of Catalina
Reprinted from the Catalina Islander October 14, 2016
It was many years ago when I first met Artelle. She was an elderly lady who ran the Credit Union where I had an account. She was over eighty years old at that time and I wondered why she was still working at her age. As I got to know her, I found that her husband had died and she had an adult son, still at home, who had some problems. The money she earned helped but it seemed equally important for her to be connected and involved in the world around her. She always took the time to converse with the customers and showed an interest in their lives.
One day prior to a holiday period she asked if I had vacation plans. I mentioned I was going to spend the holidays at my home on Catalina. It was as if a light went on in her eyes. “Catalina! I grew up in Southern California and used to go to Catalina all the time,” she proclaimed. She then asked me to come into her office and she told me about her remembrances of the island.
When she was in her late teens/ early twenties, Artelle and her girlfriends used to catch the ferryboat, the S.S. Catalina, in Wilmington and go to Catalina for the weekend. It was the late 1930’s and the main attraction was the big bands playing at the casino ballroom. There was no TV at that time but the music was broadcast on the radio all over the country. The boats also featured bands, dancing and entertainment on the passage over. Back then, the boats weren’t as fast as the express boats of today and the trip took about two and a half hours. She and her friends got “all dolled up” as she put it. “The ladies all wore fancy dresses and the men wore suits and ties and we danced on the boat all the way to the island,” Artelle stated. Then she mentioned with a sly grin that she and the girls sometimes had a few cocktails on the boat ride over.
When they arrived at the island there was always great excitement. It was like you arrived in a foreign country. Today we are used to a boat arriving almost hourly but back then it was just a couple of times a day and it was a big deal. Speedboats would jump over the boat wake as it approached, people came to the dock to sing and kids would dive for the coins passengers would throw overboard as the “Great White Steamer” docked.
Then it was off to the Casino to dance all weekend long. She could still remember all the big bands she saw. It was clear to me that sharing these memories allowed her to step back to a time and place she remembered with great fondness. I felt privileged to have heard a bit of Catalina history from someone who lived it. Artelle passed away a few years ago but I can’t help to think of her every time I go to the New Year’s Eve event at the Casino… it always seems like I just stepped back into the 1930’s.
Mark Marchetti-Author and Catalina resident