The Desert King

Jack’s first big adventure

Get lost in the desert!

The Desert King hat iconIt’s 1985, and Jack Trexlor is fresh out of the Arizona state mental hospital. He’d like to simply tend bar, paint pictures, and lay low for a while, but his old friend Macy Barnes turns up, and things quickly spiral out of control. Macy introduces him to an enigmatic Navajo man named John Lupo and the high-adrenaline world of the desert. Thrilled by adventure, Jack accepts their invitation to a weekend fishing trip. By the cool water of the Verde River, deep in the heart of the desert, he thinks he just may find something he’s been missing. What he finds instead is trouble. The group grows to include John’s girlfriend and Macy’s wife, and snakes, scorpions, and the ghosts of Jack’s own past keep everybody on their toes. And when some poachers slink out of the sagebrush, things go from bad to worse. As their quiet fishing trip decays into a desperate ordeal of survival, Jack slowly comes to realize that, even if John Lupo can lead them out of the desert, nothing will ever be the same.

Tonto National Forest is a vast wilderness preserve northeast of Phoenix, Arizona. Imagine being lost there. Imagine being hunted there. That’s The Desert King.

Get It Now

The Desert King—First Print EditionThe sleek publishing arrangement of Provocative Press allows The Desert King to be available in a variety of formats and locations. Get it now from these fine sources …

  • Trade Paperback: Available best signed from the Author Direct, but also available (unsigned) in the U.S. through Amazon and worldwide via Lulu.com
  • Hardcover: Exclusively at Lulu.com
  • PDF E-Book: Available at Lulu.com

… or read on for more information.

Previews

Like to read before you buy? You’re in the right place with this book. Between the the preludes and postlude, excerpts and extras, you can spend quite some time browsing the literature. Enjoy.

Excerpts

The excerpts present material from the book, exactly as it appears.

Foreword
A note by the author about the incredible journey this book took to get into the world. All true.
Prologue
All the Trexlor books have a prologue to set the mood for the story.
Chapter One
Quite an action-packed introduction, full of memorable violence and bad smells.
Thorns And Miles
An excerpt from the middle of the book, when the predicament becomes clear.

Preludes

I wrote quite a fair number of little vignettes showing Jack’s life leading up to his adventures in The Desert King. In them, a reader will gain insight into Jack’s state of mind going into his adventures, as well as an appreciation of Jack’s apartment and work life, which are never really explored in the book. The stories are listed here in chronological order. Getting Out takes place in August of the year before the adventure, and the stories progress until Home Is Where The Art Is, which is about two weeks before the start of The Desert King.

If you like the book, you’ll like these. And if you like these, you’ll like the book.

Getting Out
At the end of a yet-unwritten prequel, Jack leaves the hospital.
A Place Of Destiny
Jack finds employment at Gridlock.
Return Of The Car
Just when Jack begins to feel as though he’s building a new life, along comes a relic from the past.
It Doesn’t Count If You Turn Around And Go Home
Jack isn’t quite this desperate. Yet.
An Ordinary Night Like No Other
Jack meets a person who will become pivotal in his life.
Art Doesn’t Just Happen
Jack’s best laid plans come together, for nothing.
Tarnished Dreams
Jack begins to fear being in a rut.
Home Is Where The Art Is
Jack realizes he is poised for adventure.

Postludes

And here is a postlude, from a time soon after the story, fleshing out an event referred to in the book (or is this simply a prelude for The Tonto Ten?).

The Famous Jack
Returned from his adventure, Jack finds fame, and his old life, tiresome.

More

Some other things of possible interest to hardcore fans:

The Characters
Get a taste of the people of The Desert King.
Edition History
A complete listing of various editions of The Desert King.
Desert King News
Read the latest information about The Desert King, as reported in my weblog.

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