In the classic western movie The Searchers Jeffrey Hunter plays a young man with a mission in his heart and a chip on his shoulder. The character might well have been modeled on eighteen-year-old Lee Thompson, a trail-hand on a mission of his own—to save his dad, Diehard Thompson, the aging sheriff of Wolf River, Montana. Old Diehard’s lost control of his town, and it seems every outcast and outlaw west of the Mississippi is on the prowl in Wolf River. Now Lee’s come all the way from Texas to stand up for his father, a man who hasn’t seen him since he was a boy and who doesn’t know him from Adam. Lee’s plan is a dangerous one–mix in with the desperadoes and risk death at their hand Under the Diehard Brand. But sometimes, the only way to restore the rule of law is to break it. Most of the Westerns published in the all-fiction magazines of the first half of the twentieth century were written by authors more familiar with the streets of New York than the cattle trails of Texas. Hubbard bucked the trend, and in the process changed the face of the Western adventure. He grew up in a time and a place where the Old West, though fading, still lived. His unique knowledge of the frontier, of its ways and its people, made him an authentic voice of this unique American experience. Also includes the Western adventures, Hoss Tamer, in which a circus horse trainer turned bronco buster has to figure a way to tame a gang of outlaws, and The Ghost Town Gun Ghost, the story of an old prospector who seems to have lost his wits; but is he crazy . . . or crazy like a fox? “Rife with action and adventure and laced with melodramatic undertones.” —Library Journal

High atop a Los Angeles skyscraper, an office Christmas party turns into a deadly cage-match between a lone New York City cop and a gang of international terrorists. Every action fan knows it could only be the explosive big-screen blockbuster Die Hard. But before Bruce Willis blew away audiences as unstoppable hero John McClane, author Roderick Thorp knocked out thriller readers with the bestseller that started it all. A dozen heavily armed terrorists have taken hostages, issued demands, and promised bloodshed — all according to plan. But they haven’t counted on a death-defying, one-man cavalry with no shoes, no backup, and no intention of going down easily. As hot-headed cops swarm outside, and cold-blooded killers wield machine guns and rocket launchers inside, the stage is set for the ultimate showdown between anti-hero and uber-villains. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good fight... to the death. Ho ho ho!

He’s handsome. He’s charming. He’s a total gentleman . . . and he’s totally outgunned and outnumbered. He’s Michael Patrick Obañon—a role that has Antonio Banderas written all over it. Obañon’s lost his inheritance—a 100,000-acre New Mexico spread—and he could lose his life if he’s not careful. A ruthless band of renegades have seized his land, and he’s determined to get it back.. Obañon’s got one secret weapon: his fierce intelligence. He can’t outshoot the outlaws, so he’ll have to find a way to outwit them. . . . Part Irish, part Mexican, Michael Patrick Obañon is as American as they come—crafty, confident, and cool under fire. It may be one man against the world, but before he’s done the world will know how the West will be won. In the 1930s a radio program, Writers and Readers, hosted by Bob de Haven, delivered news of the hottest authors of the day—interviewing the writers behind the stories. Here’s how he promoted an upcoming broadcast with L. Ron Hubbard: “He has placed in print a million and a half words. He is a quantity producer, well paid and in constant demand. He has outlined some valuable information on his lead novelette . . . Six-Gun Caballero.” It is an introduction to Hubbard that is as pertinent now as it was then. “Hubbard uses the traditional Western form to tell a challenging and unpredictable story, where the hero outwits his attackers instead of merely having to outshoot them. . . . so intelligent and suspenseful.” —SomebodyDies.com

Take the law into your own hands, and you risk losing your grip on everything else—including your life. Lee Weston—a young Paul Newman with a Colt revolver at his hip—is as good-looking as he is quick tempered, and he’s got a lot to be angry about. His father murdered, his family ranch torched, he goes gunning for Harvey Dodge—the man who he’s convinced is the killer—and it’s Lee who ends up on the wrong side of the law. Shot in a gunfight, on the run and running out of time, he holes up in a mountain hideout and waits for death to come find him. But he wakes up in the arms of a beautiful woman who has beat death to his door and nursed him back to life. She’s the first and only woman he has ever fallen for, and her name is Ellen Dodge—Harvey’s daughter. Can a great loss lead to a great love? Can the search for revenge lead to redemption? The answers lie in the wild heart of the Wild West—in Branded Outlaw. L. Ron Hubbard was so prolific, and his stories so much in demand, he occasionally had to publish under a pseudonym to ensure that his name wouldn’t appear twice in a single issue of a magazine. Thus did Branded Outlaw originally appear as being written by a writer named Barry Randolph. But as is clear from the action and authenticity of the story, it was Hubbard behind the curtain pulling the levers. This is one of sixteen westerns Hubbard wrote in 1938—all influenced by a foray into New Mexico to round out his research. His unsurpassed knowledge of the West originated in his years growing up—and riding on—the range. “Packs a ton of action and some priceless shootout scenes.” —EZReader.com

Long before Captain Jack Sparrow raised hell with the Pirates of the Caribbean, Tom Bristol sailed to hell and back Under the Black Ensign. That’s where the real adventure begins. Bristol’s had plenty of bad luck in his life. Press-ganged into serving aboard a British vessel, he’s felt the cruel captain’s lash on his back. Then, freed from his servitude by pirates, his good fortune immediately takes a bad turn . . . as the pirates accuse him of murder—and leave him to die on a deserted island. Now all he has left are a few drops of water, a gun, and just enough bullets to put himself out of his misery. But Bristol’s luck is about to change. Finding himself in the unexpected company of a fiery woman and a crafty crew, he unsheathes his sword, raises a pirate flag of his own, and sets off to make love and war on the open seas. In his early twenties, Hubbard led the two-and-a-half-month, five-thousand-mile Caribbean Motion Picture Expedition. He followed that with the West Indies Mineralogical Expedition near San Juan, Puerto Rico, in which he completed the island’s first mineralogical survey as an American territory. It was during these two journeys that Hubbard became an expert on the Caribbean’s colorful history—an expertise he drew on to write stories like Under the Black Ensign. “A riveting tale of sailing ships, piracy and the high seas.” —Midwest Book Review * A National Indie Excellence Award Winner

Experience Die Hard in a fresh and creative way with this authorized tie-in coloring and activity book featuring favorite scenes and quotes from the beloved classic movie. Die Hard diehards can savor their favorite scenes and quotes in this official Die Hard coloring and activity book. Here are some of the movie’s best moments, recreated in detailed black-and-white line drawings, including: Hans Gruber and his posse crash the Christmas party at Nakatomi and take the tower hostage; John McClane’s limo ride with Argyle; The tension-filled crawl through the building vents; John’s morbid message delivery to Hans (written on the corpse of one of Hans’ men); The famous bloody footprints; And of course, John leaping off the Nakatomi tower. With so many memorable scenes to color in, as well as entertaining activities and the most quoted lines from the movie, fans will be shouting "yippee-ki-yay!"

Bill Trevillian is as handsome as he is brave. Kip Lee is as beautiful as she is fearless. And they're both test pilots for rival companies. Put them together and sparks are bound to fly. With war raging in Europe, and both out to sell their planes to the Allies, the competition between Bill and Kip is fierce. But there's a new element in the mix: a deadly saboteur. People say all's fair in love and war, but the path from heated rivalry to heated romance could lead Bill and Kip to crash and burn.