Jim Christina was born into an Air Force Family in 1949. Living all over the world before finally landing in Del Mar, California. A musician, historian, writer, poet, playwright…all things describing Jim Christina. A graduate of San Dieguito High School in Encinitas, Ca, and Old Reliable University in Washington State, Jim spent almost ten years in the US Army before joining his father in the family’s paint business.

While managing a territory in Washington and Oregon, Jim began composing music and writing the lyrics. Forming a band in Tacoma, Washington, “Sundown”, Jim’s music and the melody of Sundown played up and down the state before Jim moved to California.

For years a character had been rolling around in his mind and in 2008, the character became the Hunter and the series was born. They are stories of an aging man hunter and his protege’ in Arizona in the last half of the nineteenth century.

The stories are gritty, raw and accurate in their depiction of the lives and times of the main characters. “If you are looking for Louis Lamour, you won’t find him here.” If you are looking for a walloping good story, turn the pages and start reading.

Jim passed away in his home in Star, Idaho on June 19, 2022. But his amazing stories live on.

U.S. Marshal. David Crockett Hall and Texas Ranger, John Barclay Armstrong have set out chasing men, each for their own reasons.

When their paths converge in Kansas, they discover the men they were following separately have now joined together and are heading for a giant payday somewhere, but where the two lawmen don’t know.

This story is about camaraderie, friendship, hardship and an unerring desire to complete their jobs at any and all costs. Set against the background of the late 1870’s, the story takes us across the mid-west, southwest and into Colorado, unfolding a tale of two strangers becoming friends.

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In 1830, when 10-year-old Jonah Blue’s mother commits suicide rather than face another day of life with Jonah’s abusive father, he flees the family’s Missouri farms to pursue his dream of becoming a Rocky Mountain Free Trapper.

Jonah is befriended by an older Mountain Man named Rensfeld Doggett who starts the boy on the trail to realizing his dreams and making the transition from young boy to young man and eventually a man in the wilds of the Montana Territory in 1853

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Severely limited by the loss of a leg at ten years old, Jefferson Greely’s dream is to become Texas Ranger yet is stopped because of his missing leg.

Enlisting the assistance of engineer Thomas Griffith, Jefferson gets another chance after Griffith designs a new leg, one capable of acting like a normal leg. After proving his worth, Jefferson is sworn into the Rangers and assigned to track down two killers.

Accompanied by a legendary ex-ranger, Caleb Stringfeld, Jefferson and Caleb find the two outlaws but find them already dead or dying, but with much more waiting around the corner in the guise of a marauding band of Comanche warriors led by a war chief named Mukwooru and his good friend, Pecos.

Staying the Ranger’s code, Jefferson and Caleb track the Comanches to an epic stand of bravery, perseverance and a willingness to die for what they believe.

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Jim Christina wrote a dozen novels involving the characters Taggert “The Hunter” Richmond and Jeff Stryker before his death in 2022. Inside this volume are the following stories originally published by Black Dog Publishing/Tuscany Bay Books and now available only as part of this special collection published by Tuscany Bay Books with the permission of Jim Christina’s estate:

Taggert –

“Taggert” is the story of the Hunter from his beginnings in 1845 until 1880. The story covers 35 years of a life of a man hunter dedicating his life to helping people that need his help and some that don’t. His skills, education and morals shaped during his time in the deserts and mountains of the Arizona Territory lead him to many a harrowing experience.

The Hunter –

It is 1881, how can a man disappear from a train? Thomas Hardy did and now The Hunter has been sent to find him dead or alive. Traveling southeast Arizona with his half blind Appaloosa and his friend, Jolly Goodman, The Hunter faces challenges and setbacks as he wends his way through a maze eventually meeting the most dangerous of all. La Serpiente, The Snake. An educated bandit with a heart of ice and a lust for money and Mrs. Hardy. Surviving a deadly ambush, the Hunter finally learns the whole truth and enlists the assistance of his old friend Frank Leslie to turn the tables on The Snake and his men. A powerful ending numerous turns and surprises take the Hunter from Tucson to Contention City, Tombstone, Bisbee and back again. A journey of self discovery, an education in friendship and a deep respect for those that follow him into hell.

Requiem for an Appaloosa –

The Hunter is back in an explosive new story of vengeance and honor. October 26, 1881 the street fight in Tombstone is over and another event is about to happen that will shake the Hunter to the core. Five riders raid his ranch and commit such atrocities he is forced to take up the chase to Mexico. They take not only everything on the ranch but also, the daughter of the caretakers, Maggie Barrett. Once again teaming with Jolly Goodman, the Hunter hits the trail to track the bandits and tries to understand why all the signs are pointing to the bandits pulling him in. Included in this tale is the Legendary Apache Kid joining the Hunter and Jolly in their search for the bandits. Ride along with them as the Hunter fights the darkness he is feeling, the despair, self doubt and the redemption he hopes to find. This is a tale of loyalty and trust between good friends and the bonds of family.

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Jim Christina wrote a dozen novels involving the characters Taggert “The Hunter” Richmond and Jeff Stryker before his death in 2022. Inside this volume are the following stories originally published by Black Dog Publishing/Tuscany Bay Books and now available only as part of this special collection published by Tuscany Bay Books with the permission of Jim Christina’s estate:

The Rights of Men –

Again the Hunter takes on the dark side of his trade when a con man, Big Ed Burns, the Baron of Arizona, James Addison Reavis and Mike Warner, the leader of a band of brigands known as the Arizona Regulators conspire to steal thousands of acres of open Arizona range. The only thing stopping them is the Hunter, Jolly and the men of the Bar-A and the Circle-J ranches. Gun hands, con men and self proclaimed royalty all come together to steal the access to billions of gallons of pure ground water from Jolly’s ranch and irrigate thousands of acres of wasteland known as ‘the Traces’. This is the Hunters hardest fight yet. Keeping control of his ranch, helping Jolly keep control of the Circle-J and trying to keep them both alive.

Eastern Men –

When a writer arrives from the east to check out the troubles in the Arizona Territory, he carries with him a secret. He is being hunted by two thugs from Brooklynn, New York, Mr. O’Brien and Spats Melloy. When the writer, Phineas Bellflower, is waylaid by the two nefarious bounty hunters, Whitey and Lenny, he is left bound and laying on the desert floor. Saved by the Apache Kid, the Hunter and Stryker show up and take Bellflower with them beginning the hunt for Whitey and Lenny. But, the two thugs show up in Tucson and take up the hunt for Bellflower. Inch by inch, mile by mile, the desert is eating the thugs alive. Between Apaches, a flash flood and torrential rain, they are quickly learning they are totally out of their element and the desert is going to win the battle of Phineas Bellflower.

Long Ride Until Morning –

When old Mose Porter is murdered by Tyrone Frederic in Waco, Texas, Bobby Malloy and Jeff Stryker set out to catch him and bring him back for trial. But, along the way they are harassed and hindered by Apaches and bandit’s. Finally, out of money and supplies, they join a cattle drive with Nate Pickering and his wife Sarah. But, not all is well in the Pickering’s camp leaving Malloy and Stryker in a fight for their lives. Join Bobby Malloy and Jeff Stryker on their journey to manhood and their discovery of a country far more vast than even they imagined.

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Jim Christina wrote a dozen novels involving the characters Taggert “The Hunter” Richmond and Jeff Stryker before his death in 2022. Inside this volume are the following stories originally published by Black Dog Publishing/Tuscany Bay Books and now available only as part of this special collection published by Tuscany Bay Books with the permission of Jim Christina’s estate:

Still Waters –

Cecilia Barnum and her daughters, Emily Rose and Cassandra arrive on the Bar-A ranch needing help from the Hunter. But little does he, or she know they will fall into a relationship that tests both his mettle and patience when Cecilia and her daughters are killed by marauding Apaches led by the medicine man and war leader, Goyacteh. The Hunter and Jeff Stryker go on the trail tracking the warriors searching for pure vengeance. Yet, along the way, discovering things about themselves.

The Dark Angel –

When the Deacon is shunned by the Southern Baptist Church in Dothan, Alabama for killing a man, he makes his way to the Arizona/New Mexico border where he has collected a ragtag bunch of cutthroats and rustlers that are very successful at what they are doing until the Hunter and Jeff Stryker are hired to hunt the Deacon down and bring him to justice. But, the Deacon is not one to go easily and opens his own bag of tricks which start and end in murder.

The Return –

When the Deacon is shunned by the Southern Baptist Church in Dothan, Alabama for killing a man, he makes his way to the Arizona/New Mexico border where he has collected a ragtag bunch of cutthroats and rustlers that are very successful at what they are doing until the Hunter and Jeff Stryker are hired to hunt the Deacon down and bring him to justice. But, the Deacon is not one to go easily and opens his own bag of tricks which start and end in murder. Now. the Hunter and Jeff Stryker have been asked to help out Bountiful Jim’s last remaining relative, Lucien Ledoux in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. The Dark Angel has returned but this time in the guise of the Preacher, and many times stronger than before, leading a band of pirates determined to take the entire parish for themselves and Jim’s cousin, Lucien is the last hold-out.

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Jim Christina wrote a dozen novels involving the characters Taggert “The Hunter” Richmond and Jeff Stryker before his death in 2022. Inside this volume are the following stories originally published by Black Dog Publishing/Tuscany Bay Books and now available only as part of this special collection published by Tuscany Bay Books with the permission of Jim Christina’s estate:

STRYKER –

On his own now as a manhunter, Styker is summoned to Tucson by the Hunter to assist in hunting a psychopath calling himself the Ghost, a deadly killer that preys on unsuspecting women and children.

When the Hunter is injured in a bad fall crossing the Dragoon Mountains, it is left to Jeff Stryker to find the Ghost and stop him using any means available. Along the way, he is plagued by two inept bounty hunters and once again he is visited by Bobby Malloy’s ghost.

This story, while crafted in darkness, clearly shows the talents of young Jeff Stryker and the determination he shows in outwitting the Ghost once and for all. Come join Stryker as he rides the deserts both in Arizona Territory and Mexico on a hunt that will, most certainly, bring redemption and change his life.

END OF LINE-

Ex-Texas Ranger and Teamster, Caleb Stringfeld, has made a life of marshaling the small rowdy towns throughout Texas and New Mexico. His travels now have taken him to a small dying mining berg in the border mountains of Texas and New Mexico called End of Line. Named for the fact the town is the end of line for most going there.

Hired for his prowess with firearms and his fearlessness, Caleb is tasked with ridding the town and county of a miscreant bunch of brothers and cousins named Morgan and Flay. As the danger heats up, Caleb is also faced with a personal issue he can’t ignore, but refuses to stop doing his duty.

Caleb is now in a race against time which is running short, with one question remaining, which will get him first? Fortunately, the odds tip in his favor a little when his old friend Jeff Stryker shows up and teams with Caleb against the Morgans. The action is fast and deadly as the Morgans conspire to rid themselves of the only law in the mountains.

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Jim Christina wrote over a dozen western novels before his death in 2022. Inside this volume are the following stories originally published by Black Dog Publishing/Tuscany Bay Books and now available only as part of this special collection published by Tuscany Bay Books with the permission of Jim Christina’s estate:

Contraband Cowboys –

Following the American Civil War, the freed slaves began the migration to the north and the west. Many freedmen became respected and valued cowboys on some of the largest ranches in the west. This is the story of two brothers, Bountiful Jim Lent and Lewis Bishop.

Both hard working hands but with an awful story to tell. Lewis’ direct family including his sister, her husband, their baby and his father are killed in a raid by the hooded citizens known as the Nightriders, a holdout of the old slave hunters and killers during the slavery period.

The raid ignites what would become to be known as the Williamson Valley War and would drag in some of the territory’s toughest fighters and gunmen in a last ditch effort too reclaim what rightly belongs to the two brothers and their neighbors.

Bugles in the Sun –

This is the story of the troopers of the 7th United States Cavalry as they approach the valley of the Little Bighorn in southeast Montana Territory. The story is not one of intense action but more the story of the men that lived and died with the 7th on that fateful Sunday in June of Eighteen Seventy-six.

The story is told through the eyes and writings of John J. Conolly, a thirty-five year old Corporal with Company I under the command of Captain Myles Keogh. Still being young enough that his energy and belief in the system and country have not yet been compromised by the mutterings and musings of his fellow troopers, Conolly was a staunch supporter of the commander of the 7th and his Company Commander, Myles Keogh.

As complaining was extremely common within the services, the level at which the 7th Cavalry complained was well known throughout the cavalry community, as their fighting song, ‘Garryowen’, was known, yet, the basic moral throughout the 7th was top notch.

The field commander of the 7th was Lt. Colonel (Bvt Lieutenant General) George Armstrong Custer, affectionately, or not, called ‘Old Iron Pants’ or ‘Hard Ass’ by the troopers, and frequently called ‘a son of a bitch’ by more than a few of the officers.

Corporal Conolly kept a journal on this expedition so his young sons would have a record of their father’s days in the 7th Cavalry and a sense of pride in their country. Conolly’s journal tells us of the weariness, fatigue, loneliness, boredom and trepidation the men of the 7th feel as they approach their inevitable clash with history.

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Jim Christina wrote over a dozen novels and two works of non-fiction before his death in 2022. Inside this volume are the following non-fiction works he wrote that were originally published by Black Dog Publishing/Tuscany Bay Books and now available only as part of this special collection published by Tuscany Bay Books with the permission of Jim Christina’s estate:

That’s All You Get –

Hours crafting prose, poetry and lyrics for music written or yet to be written and in doing so discovered one basic truth of life and writing. Whereas music bars and notes come and go, the lyric or poetry of the song, if you will, is immortal. They can take you far away to exotic lands or leave you on your couch watching the rain fall endlessly during the fall, winter and spring.

Follow a whaling vessel in search of the blue whale, sing the lament of a young man alone on the ocean, follow the musings of an ancient scribe as he follows life trails or follow the battles raging or yet to be raging in a young soldier’s heart.

As I See It (written as Joe Parts) –

This often-times amusing look at everyday life through the eyes of Joe Parts offers not only Jim’s outlook at life, but shows the humorous side that Jim’s friends and family came to know and love.

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