Bill Says: I've completed two manuscripts into a series I entitle, "Badge and the Cross". This first one is subtitled, "Stronghold".
Synopsis: 1989 Klondike Gold Rush- Skagway, Alaska and final port-of-call for dreamy-eyed fortune hunters; miners, get-rich-quick con artists and covetous opportunists in frilly dresses. They lived in a muddy tent city of 5,000 people, located on the rocky shores of the Upper Lynn Canal and farthest northern point of the Inland Passage.
From the earliest days, Skagway was a sin-filled town and the only law was handled with the fastest gun or the blade of a knife. Right or wrong was often decided by dangerous gangs of thugs, who controlled the prostitution, gambling and liquor sales. Many a miner died, either from natural hazards in climbing the treacherous Chilkoot Trail, or by the hands of evil men and women waiting to get rich off the hard labors of weary men. As the town grew wild with its heinous acts of debauchery, Skagway's cornerstone was laid in murder, suicide, insanity and lust,violence and mayhem, prostitution and thievery.
This tale begins aboard the Alaska ferry M/V Taku, heading north and out of Seattle. Jake Roberts, (primary character), is returning to Skagway following a lengthy absence. While en route, he recounts those 10-months he served as a police officer in Skagway and how, on a Halloween night, he was seriously wounded from a young assassin's blade. The incident left his life in shambles and a long painful recovery.
Jake was a brand new Christian and fairly new civilian police officer when he stood alongside his bible believing wife, a former occultist, and faced down a collection of dark spiritual forces. Meanwhile, a satanic cult held Skagway in a tightening grasp of demonic oppression.
With a constant flow of bar fights to break-up, seasonal soft ball tournaments with rowdy ball players, attempted suicides and a murder investigation to handle, plus deterring prostitutes from operating in town, Jake is called upon to investigate serious and occasional fatal accidents, between chasing ghosts from haunted hotel rooms and bars, and dealing with an unruly gigantic stuff grizzly bear. He has his hands full, as Skagway comes under siege with the arrival of over 250,000 summer tourists. He is later grieved to investigate a teenage homicide of a local youth and struggles to keep his job, while working under an anti-Christian Police Chief, who belongs to the town's Masonic Order.
Things take a turn for the worse when Jake is called upon to investigate the desecration of an historic grave site at the request of the US Park Service. Human bones were used for occultist altars and members of a secret clan make violent war against Jake and eventually attempt to murder him in order to keep their identities secret.
Now after years of recovery, therapy and later attending Bible College, Jake returns to Skagway. He is the new pastor and with his wife by his side, they will do whatever is necessary to bring the Lord's Salvation to the lost people of Skagway. They also desire to dethrone the Dark One who has reigned over this Alaskan coastal community for far too long.
Note: With the exception of the attempted murder of Officer Jake Roberts, all of the police cases used in this story actually occurred in Skagway, between February 1982 and September 1984. Names were changed. But the haunts and ghosts are on record, including the references to the stuffed 7-foot tall grizzly bear mount that often roams through the museum at night- even though it is secured to the wall by a length of heavy steel chain. The Skagway Asylum, built to handle the many depressed and insane miners of 1898-99, was torn down in the 1950's and only a few blocks of ruble remain. The U.S. Marshall's Office of the early 1900's, which once held Eric Stroud, "Bird Man of Alcatrz", was used for a recorded 12-suicides and is still used by the Skagway Police Department.
Synopsis: 1989 Klondike Gold Rush- Skagway, Alaska and final port-of-call for dreamy-eyed fortune hunters; miners, get-rich-quick con artists and covetous opportunists in frilly dresses. They lived in a muddy tent city of 5,000 people, located on the rocky shores of the Upper Lynn Canal and farthest northern point of the Inland Passage.
From the earliest days, Skagway was a sin-filled town and the only law was handled with the fastest gun or the blade of a knife. Right or wrong was often decided by dangerous gangs of thugs, who controlled the prostitution, gambling and liquor sales. Many a miner died, either from natural hazards in climbing the treacherous Chilkoot Trail, or by the hands of evil men and women waiting to get rich off the hard labors of weary men. As the town grew wild with its heinous acts of debauchery, Skagway's cornerstone was laid in murder, suicide, insanity and lust,violence and mayhem, prostitution and thievery.
This tale begins aboard the Alaska ferry M/V Taku, heading north and out of Seattle. Jake Roberts, (primary character), is returning to Skagway following a lengthy absence. While en route, he recounts those 10-months he served as a police officer in Skagway and how, on a Halloween night, he was seriously wounded from a young assassin's blade. The incident left his life in shambles and a long painful recovery.
Jake was a brand new Christian and fairly new civilian police officer when he stood alongside his bible believing wife, a former occultist, and faced down a collection of dark spiritual forces. Meanwhile, a satanic cult held Skagway in a tightening grasp of demonic oppression.
With a constant flow of bar fights to break-up, seasonal soft ball tournaments with rowdy ball players, attempted suicides and a murder investigation to handle, plus deterring prostitutes from operating in town, Jake is called upon to investigate serious and occasional fatal accidents, between chasing ghosts from haunted hotel rooms and bars, and dealing with an unruly gigantic stuff grizzly bear. He has his hands full, as Skagway comes under siege with the arrival of over 250,000 summer tourists. He is later grieved to investigate a teenage homicide of a local youth and struggles to keep his job, while working under an anti-Christian Police Chief, who belongs to the town's Masonic Order.
Things take a turn for the worse when Jake is called upon to investigate the desecration of an historic grave site at the request of the US Park Service. Human bones were used for occultist altars and members of a secret clan make violent war against Jake and eventually attempt to murder him in order to keep their identities secret.
Now after years of recovery, therapy and later attending Bible College, Jake returns to Skagway. He is the new pastor and with his wife by his side, they will do whatever is necessary to bring the Lord's Salvation to the lost people of Skagway. They also desire to dethrone the Dark One who has reigned over this Alaskan coastal community for far too long.
Note: With the exception of the attempted murder of Officer Jake Roberts, all of the police cases used in this story actually occurred in Skagway, between February 1982 and September 1984. Names were changed. But the haunts and ghosts are on record, including the references to the stuffed 7-foot tall grizzly bear mount that often roams through the museum at night- even though it is secured to the wall by a length of heavy steel chain. The Skagway Asylum, built to handle the many depressed and insane miners of 1898-99, was torn down in the 1950's and only a few blocks of ruble remain. The U.S. Marshall's Office of the early 1900's, which once held Eric Stroud, "Bird Man of Alcatrz", was used for a recorded 12-suicides and is still used by the Skagway Police Department.
No comments:
Post a Comment