“One of the best Western novels ever written!” ~ True West Magazine
“Jackson’s sequel to An Eye for an Eye (2017) combines a riveting, briskly paced tale of adventure with a historically nuanced peek at the conflict. A gripping blend of dramatic fiction and historical portraiture.” ~ Kirkus Reviews
View details about the book here.
I have been given the honor of receiving an “Editors’ Choice” along with a great review for the book.
“Fur trappers Zebadiah Creed and his brother Jonathan are traveling the lower Missouri River in the late summer of 1835. One evening while camping, they are bushwhacked, their pelts stolen; Jonathan is killed and Zebadiah is left for dead. Nursed back to health by a local Quaker doctor and his daughter, Zebadiah seeks revenge. On his trip down the Mississippi by riverboat, his destination St. Louis and eventually New Orleans, he meets a new friend, Billy Frieze, who provides help. Zebadiah faces almost insurmountable odds, meeting unusual characters along the way: Frenchy, a sadistic saloon owner in St. Louis; Madam Sophie and the patrons of her bordello in New Orleans; and Olgens Pierre, a free black man who helps Zebadiah accomplish his mission.
I loved this book. What an exciting, fast-paced, action-packed, gripping story with a dramatic conclusion! This is the author’s first novel, and I will be anxious to read the next in the series. I had difficulty putting this book down. The dialog and drama make it one of my favorites this year.”
– Jeff Westerhoff Historical Novel Society
The day I told Matt Cunningham I was writing a few stories about a mountain man by the name of Zebadiah Creed, I had no idea that six years later I would publish my first book of a series to a national audience. That day, Matt told me that his grandfather wrote westerns (along with many other kind of books) and had been making a living writing most of his life right here in San Diego. Matt casually mentioned that he might want to read my stories. Six months later, I got up the nerve and sent Chet Cunningham two stories. He promptly got back to me and said the first one, “The Hanging” was really good but the second one I tentatively titled, “Zeb goes to New Orleans” fell one too many characters long and way short on action. He also asked if I would like to have a few writers read my writing and give their critique. Little did I know that by showing up to his house that first Monday evening nearly five years ago, I would become a core member of one of the longest running professional writers groups in San Diego.
The Hanging has remained a short story at a little over six hundred words. The second story however, the one that Chet didn’t like so much, yet saw potential if only I “Start way upriver where the story begins . . .” is now the book An Eye for a Eye: The Tales of Zebadiah Creed, Book One published by Five Star publishing.
I will be forever grateful to Chet for seeing, then fostering the writer that I am today. I was proud to sign and present a copy of my book to him to sit alongside the many, many books of his.
Thanks, Chet!
THANK YOU!
We were just notified by the publisher that An Eye For An Eye: The Tales of Zebadiah Creed is well into its second printing. Our deepest appreciation to the friends, family, and fans who have purchased the book.
To buy your book, go to: https://www.amazon.com/Eye-Mark-C-Jackson/dp/1432832972
I’m excited to announce the release of my first book An Eye for an Eye (The Tales of Zebadiah Creed). Set on the Lower Missouri River during the late summer of 1835.
Two brothers, fur trappers Zebadiah and Jonathan Creed are bushwhacked, their beaver pelts stolen. Jonathan is murdered and Zebadiah is left for dead. Found by a Quaker doctor and his daughter Anna, they nurse Zeb back to health and insist he stay. Anna’s fresh desires and a dream of a peaceful life cannot quell his burning for revenge and Zeb sets out to find Rudy and Baumgartner, the two men who killed his brother. Through Billy Frieze, a dubious traveling companion, Zeb’s search leads to Frenchy, a St. Louis bordello owner who delves out justice using wolverines. Rudy is killed, not by Zeb’s hand and not before Zeb learns of conspiracy within the American Fur Company and a personal web of deceit, drawing him to New Orleans – under the spell of Madame Sophie le Roux. Zeb kills Baumgartner unexpectedly, but only with the help of Olgens Pierre, Sophie’s half-brother and freed black man. Zeb must pay back his debt, including him in two vendettas, one to do with stolen slaves, the other an epic love triangle stretching across decades and length of the Mississippi River. Written in his own words, Zebadiah Creed spins an exciting tale that leads us by steamboat down the Great Mississippi to St. Louis and on to New Orleans, where Zeb finds revenge is never as simple as killing a man, where retribution and redemption are not the same.
The book is scheduled for release in January of 2017.
To pre-order, please visit this link: https://www.amazon.com/Eye-Mark-C-Jackson/dp/1432832972.
Thank you for your interest and I look forward to seeing you “on the river”.
