Mariana’s Knight

 

The Revenge of Henry Fountain

W. Michael Farmer
COMING SOON
Book Cover: Mariana's Knight
Part of the Legends of the Desert series:
  • Mariana’s Knight
Editions:ebook, Paperback

A father and son vanish. A legend is born.

On February 1, 1896, Albert Fountain-prominent attorney, lawmaker, and fearless militia leader-set out across the desolate Tularosa Basin with his eight-year-old son, Henry. Despite threats against his life, Albert was determined to see justice served, returning home after securing indictments against powerful cattle thieves. His wife, Mariana, believing no one would harm a man traveling with a child, had urged him to take Henry along. Before they departed, she entrusted Henry with a small ivory horsehead fob-a symbol of his promise to protect his father.

They never made it home.

Their wagon was found abandoned in the vast desert, the horses missing, and a patch of blood-soaked sand glistening in the sun. Though their bodies were never recovered, whispers of vengeance and survival grew into legend-some say Henry lived to avenge his father's murder. Others claim the truth was swallowed by the shifting desert winds.

Rich in historical detail, Mariana's Knight brings to life a true unsolved mystery of the American Southwest-a tale of tragedy, resilience, and the undying bond between a mother and her son.

About the Author

W. Michael Farmer

W. Michael Farmer combines ten-plus years of research into nineteenth-century Apache history and culture with Southwest-living experience to fill his stories with a genuine sense of time and place. A retired Ph.D. physicist, his scientific research has included measurement of atmospheric aerosols with laser-based instruments, and he has published a two-volume reference book on atmospheric effects on remote sensing. He has also written short stories for anthologies and award-winning essays. His first novel, Hombrecito's War, won a Western Writers of America Spur Finalist Award for Best First Novel in 2006. His novels telling the story of the Mescalero Apaches  Killer of Witches, The Life and Times of Yellow Boy, Mescalero Apache, Book 1 and Blood of the Devil, Book 2 won Will Rogers Medallion Awards and were New Mexico–Arizona Book Awards Finalists in 2016 and 2018. Mariana’s Knight, The Revenge of Henry Fountain won the 2017 New Mexico–Arizona Book Award for Historical Fiction and Blood of the Devil, Book 2 was a finalist. Apacheria, True Stories of Apache Culture, 1860-1920 won the 2018 New Mexico–Arizona Book Award for History-Other and was recognized as the 2018 New Mexico Book of the Year and as a top twenty book about the southwest by the Pima County Library system. In 2019 Knight’s Odyssey, Knight of the Tiger, and Apacheria won Will Rogers Gold Medallion Awards.

Other Books By W. Michael Farmer

Stand-Alone Books

Series: Chato's Chiricahua Apache Legacy

Series: Legends of the Desert

COMING SOON
Book Cover: Mariana's Knight
Mariana's Knight

Series: The Apache Kid Chronicles

COMING SOON
Book Cover: The Apache Kid
The Apache Kid

Series: The Life and Times of Yellow Boy, Mescalero Apache

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Mariana’s Knight

A father and son vanish. A legend is born.

On February 1, 1896, Albert Fountain-prominent attorney, lawmaker, and fearless militia leader-set out across the desolate Tularosa Basin with his eight-year-old son, Henry. Despite threats against his life, Albert was determined to see justice served, returning home after securing indictments against powerful cattle thieves. His wife, Mariana, believing no one would harm a man traveling with a child, had urged him to take Henry along. Before they departed, she entrusted Henry with a small ivory horsehead fob-a symbol of his promise to protect his father.

They never made it home.

Their wagon was found abandoned in the vast desert, the horses missing, and a patch of blood-soaked sand glistening in the sun. Though their bodies were never recovered, whispers of vengeance and survival grew into legend-some say Henry lived to avenge his father’s murder. Others claim the truth was swallowed by the shifting desert winds.

Rich in historical detail, Mariana’s Knight brings to life a true unsolved mystery of the American Southwest-a tale of tragedy, resilience, and the undying bond between a mother and her son.

 

Bobby Robot

In a world run by machines, one boy must prove the heart still matters.
Sixteen-year-old Bobby is the last human on a planet full of robots. His only shot at survival—and maybe restarting the entire human race—is to pass the Programming: brutal training designed to erase emotion and turn him into a flawless, logic-driven mind.
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The Crow Fly wasn’t just a brothel. To the women who live and work there, it’s shelter. Hard-won. Held together by grit and necessity, for better or worse. With Big Andy gone and the law circling just as surely as the crows, they can’t wait for protection or permission. They take the reins. Old Peg, Kate Dawson, Molly Brewster, and Cocheta band together to keep the brothel running—because when the world turns its back, women turn to each other. Emily Augusta, the local dressmaker who found Andy’s body, steps in to manage the books.
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