The Defiance

Part of the Shawnee series:

Editions:ebook, Paperback

Where law is scarce and betrayal runs deep, courage is the only currency.

In the lawless hills of California’s gold country, survival is a daily gamble and trust is a rare commodity. Victor Garand, a weary teacher turned fortune-seeker, stumbles into the sunbaked settlement of Colinas de Oro with nothing but hope and desperation. When a chance encounter with the enigmatic Zoltan Hirsch offers him a partnership in a secret gold mine, Victor is thrust into a world of ambition, betrayal, and violence. As the mine’s riches are revealed, so too are the darker sides of human nature—greed, paranoia, and the thirst for power.

Meanwhile, Pinkerton agent Rhiann Swayze and reformed outlaw Lon Pearce chase their own redemption across the rugged frontier, only to be swept into a deadly web of kidnapping, forced labor, and rebellion. With lives hanging in the balance and justice nowhere in sight, alliances are forged and broken in the shadow of The Defiance mine.

Will courage and love be enough to overcome the brutality of men driven mad by gold? Or will the hills claim more souls before the dust settles?

Gritty, authentic, and pulse-pounding, The Defiance is a classic Western tale of survival, vengeance, and the unbreakable spirit of those who dare to stand against the odds.

Published: December 23, 2025

Publisher: Hat Creek

Genres:

Historical, Western

Tags:

About the Author

Bob Giel

Bob Giel was born in New York City and now lives in New Jersey. Throughout his life, he has spent time in the East and Midwest, but has never resided in any area that could be termed the West, a bit strange for someone who writes Westerns. However, having loved the Western Genre since he was a kid, he has absorbed so much of the period through books, movies and TV that he feels as if he has been there. The colors, sounds and images stay vividly enough in his mind that he can believe he has experienced them.

The grit and the determination of the people who carved a way of life out of the frontier have helped shape the way Bob lives his life. Because of that era, he keeps his word, he finishes what he starts and he is a true friend. While he was always interested in writing, life got in the way, that is, until he retired. With the decks cleared, he began writing and never looked back.

Other Books By Bob Giel

Stand-Alone Books

Sorted First to Last

A Crow to Pluck

Series: Shawnee

Sorted First to Last

Forgotten Fayetteville and More Hidden Histories from Washington County

Washington County has nearly two centuries of stories to tell, and many of them have been forgotten.
In this follow-up to Forgotten Fayetteville, local historians J. B. Hogan and Susan Parks-Spencer uncover more of the people, places, and events that shaped Fayetteville and the surrounding county. Explore the violent early years of Evansville, revisit the shocking murder that led to the execution of the Burnett family, and discover what made April 1864 one of the deadliest months in Washington County history. You’ll meet John Rollin Ridge, the first Native American novelist, learn the story of Rebecca Brown Tollett’s life in slavery, and examine the tragic lynching of Reverend Anthony Bewley.
From vanished towns and frontier churches to forgotten cemeteries, pioneering families, and overlooked chapters of Native American, Black, and immigrant history, these stories reveal a richer and more complex past than many realize. Woven together, they form a portrait of the lives, triumphs, and tragedies that shaped this corner of the Ozarks and the communities that call it home.
Whether you’re a lifelong resident, a newcomer, or simply a student of Arkansas history, Forgotten Fayetteville and More Hidden Histories from Washington County invites you to look beyond familiar landmarks and rediscover the people and events that helped shape the Ozarks.

Owl Dreams

SARAH BIBLE HAS spent most of her life cleaning up after her mother, Marie. College in faraway New Mexico was supposed to be her escape.
When her boyfriend is sent to prison back in Oklahoma, Marie spirals and is committed to a psychiatric hospital. But before Sarah can bring her home, she is abducted by a mysterious Choctaw psychiatrist named Hashilli, a man rumored to be a shapeshifting witch who can steal your face as easily as your identity.
The police dismiss Sarah’s fears. Every lead disappears into a maze of false names, missing records, and dead ends. And the deeper Sarah digs into southeastern Oklahoma, the stranger the world becomes.
Her only allies in this quest are an imprisoned ex-con, a schizophrenic patient who may know more than anyone realizes, and Big Shorty, an enigmatic cemetery caretaker locals whisper about like he’s already dead himself.
To save her mother, Sarah must orchestrate an impossible breakout, unravel a web of kidnapping, murder, and identity theft, and hunt a predator who hides behind borrowed lives.
From the backroads of Choctaw country to the wild Kiamichi Mountains, Owl Dreams is a haunting supernatural thriller filled with danger, dark humor, folklore, and desperate people fighting for one last chance at redemption.

Almost the End of the World

The Apocalypse Called. It Wants a Do Over.
Seventeen-year-old Corey Walker was fully prepared to die. An asteroid the size of Texas—Perses—was supposed to wipe out everything. No college apps, no student loans, no awkward graduation speeches. Just… boom.
Then the last-minute save actually works. Earth survives. So does Corey.
Yay?
Turns out, staring down extinction leaves scars. The government’s toast, the economy’s in a coma, and nobody knows what to do next. Turns out, staring down extinction leaves scars. The government’s toast, the economy’s in a coma, and nobody knows what to do next. Corey returns to Augustus Boarding School at the insistence of his mother and finds a weird new student cult—The Refuge—targeting the most scared and vulnerable on campus, including those closest to him.
When Corey meets the fiery Paige, he finds himself with an ally against The Refuge. She’s the first person who makes him feel awake again. Together, they start pushing back. That’s when things get messy. Fast.
Now, Corey’s a reluctant leader, with enemies, followers, and a target on his back. Whether he likes it or not, he’s being forced to answer the question everyone’s been avoiding:
If the world didn’t end… what now?

Roan & Weatherford