The Most Deeply Researched Novel to Date on Wyatt Earp Includes Newly...

This trilogy represents the culmination of more than 60 years of research and contains information about Earp's life not known to the general public. It's all here: the ambitions and failures of a man who wanted more for himself than police work . . . the decisions of disgrace and the moments of nobility . . . acts of shame and acts of moral pride.

Warren says: "I have written it as close to the truth as I know how. And as usual, the truth is so much more compelling than the myth. Welcome to the real story."

Was Wyatt Earp the hero that legend has taught us? He was a young man making his way toward some undefined version of financial success in the hardscrabble terrain of America's raw frontier . What he achieved came as a complete surprise to him, for he did not crave a life of notoriety based upon his work as a peace officer. Yet when we look back on his story, it becomes clear that he was meant for this occupation. What he accomplished is not as important as the manner in which he handled himself in a hostile environment. Always direct and with no talent for politics or affectation, Wyatt Earp won the undying respect of those around him. That or their hatred. There seemed to be no middle-ground.

Perhaps no better example of devotion to Wyatt Earp can be illustrated than his friendship with Doc Holliday, the tubercular ex-dentist whose name will be forever linked with Wyatt's. What may seem an unlikely bond of two opposing personalities reveals much about the respect and loyalty that Wyatt naturally elicited from others.

In "Born to the Badge," the reader follows Earp's exploits through Wichita and Dodge City, Kansas, where his reputation began to build as he faced down men like George Peshaur, Hurricane Bill, Mannen Clements, Curley Bill Brocius, and Clay Allison. Though he could not have known it, this proving-ground was leading to a place called Tombstone, Arizona Territory, where, it could be said, his destiny awaited him.

Reviewer Quotes for "Born to the Badge":
"In 1896, Ed Colburn, who had been a Dodge City attorney during that town's turbulent early years, remembered Wyatt Earp: 'While there (Dodge City), I saw Wyatt Earp do things you wouldn't undertake for a million dollars, and yet he did it every day just as a street car conductor rings up fares or a banker receives deposits.' In 'Born to the Badge' Mark Warren follows Earp through the Kansas cow-towns where he first makes a name for himself. They still talk about Wyatt Earp in Wichita and Dodge City. After reading this book, you'll understand why." ~Jeff Morey, Historical Consultant for the movie "Tombstone."

"Not every writer understands that the most important line in any book is the hook - that opening sentence which grabs your attention and makes you eager to read on. 'Born to the Badge' opens with the following line: 'Wichita, Kansas, was hell in the making...' and there I went - engrossed for hours...Warren is able to convey scenes with a cinematic clarity. In this way, I can see the store room lit by the warm glow of a single lantern; and the prairie crossing at night, guided solely by the stars above and the subtle shapes of the land smudged on a distant horizon" ~Peta Stevalli, New Zealand Booklovers

"Warren's novel paints a vivid picture of the lawlessness of the American Frontier...Although this book is a fictionalized account, its dedication to facts will keep history buffs satisfied, and its colorful similes will put a smile on any genre-fiction lover's face." ~ Booklist

"Mark Warren is the first writer to illuminate the Earp story from the inside. 'Adobe Moon' and 'Born to the Badge' show you why Wyatt Earp became a legend and what that legend was born out of." ~Allen Barra, author of "Inventing Wyatt Earp, his Life and Many Legends."

"Historian Mark Warren's second volume in his trilogy on the life and times of Wyatt Earp is an excellent story of Earp's adventures and misadventures in Kansas, the Dakotas, and Texas. The dialogue is virtually true to life and gives the feeling the author must have been present when the words were originally spoken. This volume has been anticipated and meets all expectations. Whether one is new to the story of Wyatt Earp or a seasoned historian of the Wild West, there is something here for everyone who loves stories of adventure, law and order, and life on the western frontier of the 1870s. A most worthwhile contribution to the story of Wyatt Earp, 'Wyatt Earp, Brave, Courageous, and Bold!' " ~ Roy B. Young, author and Western historian, Wild West History Association

Quote from Mark: "When I was 6 years old I checked out a book from my elementary school library and read the so-called "biography" of Wyatt Earp. The story reached down inside me and gripped me as no story ever had before. Why? Courage has always fascinated me, and whether or not it was courage or lack of fear (two very different ideas) that governed Wyatt Earp's actions, he had my attention. It would be many years before I would discover that this early Earp book was highly fictionalized. The real story, I learned, was more complicated and much more interesting."

About the Book: In Wichita, Kansas, Wyatt Earp answers his most innate calling and returns to law enforcement, where he excels by sheer force and an utter lack of fear. When town leaders become disenchanted with his hardline methods, he moves to a place where an iron-rule is needed - Dodge City. With him comes Mattie, a runaway prostitute, who, like Wyatt, is searching for a chance at a better life.

As assistant marshal in Dodge, Wyatt stands at the center of a volatile arena, which pits celebratory cowboys against the economic security of the merchants. Wyatt's performance as a proficient officer earns him respect among the citizens, but it does not provide the social standing he desires.

After a disappointing venture into the gold fields of Deadwood, Dakota Territory, Wyatt returns to Dodge to find no marshal's job waiting for him. Mattie has fallen back into prostitution. Regressing to foot-soldier status, Wyatt takes a job as detective for the A.T. & S.F. Railroad to hunt down train robbers. Heading south from Kansas he once again tries to outride his failures.

In Texas he meets a man whose name will be forever linked with his own. Doc Holliday is a testy, Southern ex-dentist-turned-gambler, who is dying from tuberculosis. By giving Wyatt information about the train robbers, Doc offers the first thread in an unlikely friendship that will weave the two men's lives into a common story that will be told through the ages.

"Adobe Moon" and "Born to the Badge" are available through all major retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound and Books-a-Million. They can also be ordered through your favorite Indie bookstore.

Author Bio - Mark is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a degree in Chemistry/Pre-med. At Medicine Bow, his school in the Southern Appalachians, he teaches nature classes and survival skills of the Cherokees. The National Wildlife Federation named him Georgia's Conservation Educator of the Year in 1980. Mark has written extensively about nature and primitive survival for magazines, including: "Guernica," "Blue Ridge Highlander," "North Georgia Journal," and "Georgia Backroads." His published books include: "Two Winters in a Tipi" (Lyons Press, 2012), a memoir, "Secrets of the Forest" (Waldenhouse Publishing, 2016), a 4-volume series on nature/survival, "Adobe Moon" (Five Star Publishing, 2017), a historical novel and first in the trilogy "Wyatt Earp: An American Odyssey." "Born to the Badge" November 21, 2018 and "Promised Land" (Five Star, coming in 2019), the third book in the trilogy. Check out all of Mark's books on his website http://www.markwarrenbooks.com/

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