Part of Series
Welcome to Dead Broke, Colorado. Where all that glitters is not gold—it’s silver. Where miners and grifters get rich or go broke. And where the money flows like blood . . . JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. COLORADO OR BUST. The town got its unusual name when a pair of brokedown prospectors accidentally dropped a stick of dynamite in the Rockies—and unwittingly unearthed a massive vein of silver. One of the two men dropped dead from excitement. The other one named the place “Dead Broke” in honor of his dead broke companion and declared himself mayor of a brand-new mining town. Mayor Allane Auchenleck—better known as Nugget—put Dead Broke on the map. But when the silver market takes an unexpected nosedive, the bustling boomtown goes bust . . . And all hell breaks loose. Almost overnight, Dead Broke turns into a lawless hotbed of angry out-of-work miners and out-for-blood merchants. In desperation, Mayor Nugget considers a few hairbrained schemes like bringing in mail-order brides, building ice castles to attract tourists, even planting other minerals in the mines to fool investors. But Dead Broke needs law and order, so Nugget sends for top gun Mick MacMicking. Of course, a notorious gambler named Connor Boyle has other plans—and with his band of hired guns he plans to blow Dead Broke off the map to get what he wants. For this town to survive, Nugget, Mick, a drunken lawman, and a woman gambler will have to put the dead back in Dead Broke . . . and some cool-hand killers in the ground. Live Free. Read Hard. williamjohnstone.net
Authors
William Wallace Johnstone was a prolific American author, mostly of western, horror and survivalist novels. Born and raised in southern Missouri, Johnstone was the youngest of four children. His father was a minister and his mother a school teacher. He quit school when he was fifteen and worked in a carnival and as a deputy sheriff. He later served in the Army and, upon returning to civilian life, worked in radio broadcasting for 16 years. Johnstone started his writing career in 1970, but did not have any works published until 1979 (The Devil's Kiss) and became a full-time writer in 1980. He wrote close to two hundred books in numerous genres, including suspense and horror. His main publication series were Mountain Man, The First Mountain Man, Ashes and Eagles and his own personal favorite novel was The Last of the Dog Team (1980). He also authored two novels under the pseudonym William Mason. Johnstone had lived for many years in Shreveport, Louisiana, yet died in Knoxville, TN, at the age of 65. J. A. Johnstone is continuing William W. Johnstone's series.
