The Legend Begins

A boy becomes a man before his time... Maxwell Beck is no average boy. Thanks to his pa's insistence, he's a sharpshooter, sleight of hand artist, acrobat, and cardsharp. These are handy, yet highly unusual skills for the son of a traveling salesman. Even so, Max thinks he's living a normal life, until one fateful day when he inadvertently sets a chain of events into motion. Just days after his ma dies, Max accidentally shoots his pa. It's then that Max learns a secret about his past that will change his life forever, and maybe even chase him to the ends of the earth. Max's pa might be dying, but he's insistent that they reach the Old West town of Deadwood before he leaves this earth. Max does as he asks only to find himself face to face with an uncle he never knew existed. Uncle Chase "Turtle" Beck, the sheriff of Deadwood, is not pleased to see his dying "no good" brother, or his brother's son. Turtle's displeasure lingers even after Max's pa dies. However, as Max rides out of Deadwood, his uncle intercepts him and offers him a job at his ranch. It isn't clear what Turtle's intentions are -- Max saved him from being shot in the back by two outlaw brothers shortly after riding into Deadwood, or maybe it's because he's kin -- but Max decides to give ranch life a try. His uncle has only one request: that Max keeps his special skills set to himself. It's an easy adjustment for Max. He enjoys the company of the other cowboys, and meets Patience, a sassy-mouthed blonde who he believes is destined to be his wife. It turns out this happy time in Max's life is only the quiet before the storm. When an outlaw gang savagely attacks Turtle and threatens to strip Max of all he holds dear, he is forced to break his promise to his uncle. As Max sets out to stop the evil that has the power to destroy all he loves, he tries to put the events his birth mother predicted for him out of his mind -- even as they come true, one by one. The ensuing battle of good against evil gives birth to a legend for the ages: the legend of The Jailer's Son.

S. A. Ferkey’s love affair with history and its legends began as a child and continues today. With a background in research, S. A. enjoys traveling to distant locales to discover factual and fanciful tidbits for future books.