Spurs

About the Book

This is the tale of two boys who lied their way into the army when they were only fourteen. McLain fought for the North, C. C. for the south. They meet four years later on the last day of the fighting. They have nothing to go home to, so they throw in with General Jo Shelby and go to fight in the Mexican Civil War, where they are promised good pay and land. McLain falls in love with the daughter of a powerful Mexican aristocrat, who forbids the marriage. Heartbroken, she takes her own life, breaking McLain’s heart. The boys have known nothing but violence in their young lives, so they solve the problem by killing the father and running for their lives. The story follows them for the rest of their days, which are filled with more killing and heartache. They kill over a hundred men in one day at a railway camp in Colorado, where the railroad’s thugs are torturing and killing conscripted Chinese laborers. They are old, in their sixties, when they fight their last fight and discover, at long last, peace and redemption.

About the Author

Born in the hills of North Carolina, where tales of the past were kept wildly alive by an extended family of storytellers, Robert Burns Clark knows a thing or two himself about telling a story. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the School of Law, Clark made a movie called Moonrunners and, shortly after, moved his family to California to continue his writing pursuits. A few years later, Moonruners was adapted into the Dukes of Hazzard television series. Clark has written, rewritten, or edited over forty episodes of prime-time television, including The Dukes of Hazzard, Tour of Duty, The Class of ’61, and Hardball. He has written and produced several movies of the week. His first novel, Pittsburg Landing, received critical acclaim and was awarded an Honorable Mention by the San Francisco Book Festival.