The Gold of Vanishing Creek is a Western novel with heart pounding action in a mash-up of suspense, mystery, and romance that keep the plot smashing forward. Richly described Western settings, strong and interesting male and female characters, and a plot that moves make it a great read. The OK ranch, named for Owen Kincaid, the crusty and independent former mountain man, rests where the mountains drop down to the high plains. Vanishing Creek, in a series of falls and cascades, crashes into a pool behind the ranch house then runs off into the dry lands where it sinks into the thirsty earth. Owen and his son Royal believe they are the only two who know the secrets of Vanishing Creek. Royal is in the third year of his banishment from his hometown, Williwaw, when he receives a note from the beautiful and strong-willed Shannon Brewster. Shannon made Royal a promise as he was leaving Willowaw three years ago. Her note tells Royal that his family ranch is in the hands of a gun-slick gang. Royal Kincaid's father is missing after apparently losing the ranch in a poker game while drunk. Besides the outlaws occupying the OK, Royal has to meet other threats. The beautiful, seductive, and deadly Deborah and a mysterious back shooting, woman-killer would both like to stretch Royal's hide on the side of a barn. But Royal also has allies: Shannon Brewster has a wicked crush on him that places her in great danger. Royal's "Aunt" Maggie, a life-long family friend, knows more that she probably should and doesn't hesitate to help Royal in the battle ahead. And Royal's brother Campbell and his sister Lorna return to Willowaw from the East where Lorna has been attending a finishing school. They arrive just as the main street becomes a bullet-laced battleground. The final scene holds a surprise twist for even the careful reader.
About the Author: Biography of Donald D. Dowling Donald Douglas Dowling was born in New Hampshire and raised on family tales of New England when it was the Western frontier. Hannah Dustin was an ancestor who in 1697 was captured along with other women by a band of Indians who planned to bring the women home as slaves... but didn't count on Hannah. She led a revolt killing their captors, took their scalps to prove it, and brought the other prisoners safely home. This story and other tales in the family history built his love for stories of the frontier. As a young child Dowling collected paperback books and magazines that featured Western settings, characters, and themes. Often he could be found on his bed with his dog listening to radio shows like "Bobby Benson and the B-bar-B Riders" When Dowling was eleven his Dad accepted a job in San Francisco and the family moved to California. The family travelled widely throughout the West, camping and absorbing Western life and lore. He continued his explorations on his own and fell in love with the West and its history. Dowling often says he wishes he had been born in 1800 so as a young man of fifteen he could have gone west with the early trappers to live the life of a mountain man. Then he could have been a guide for the wagon trains, and then a miner searching for gold with the 49ers. Finally, as an old man, he could have ridden with the cattlemen on the long drives from Texas north to the railheads. Novelists like Walter Van Tilborg Clark (The Oxbow Incident), Zane Gray (Riders of the Purple Sage), A.B.Guthrie (The Big Sky), and the many novels of Louis L'Amour (particularly the Sackett series) fired his ambition to create and publish his own stories of the West. Today Dowling lives in an Art gallery with his artist wife in the country between two small agricultural towns in Western New York State. They share the art gallery with their two dogs, Doodle and Dozer, whose names define their characters. The Dowlings travel widely across America with their RV. The American West is their most favored destination.