In 1908, Texas Rangers Frank Hamer and Jude McAbee are sent to Navasota, Texas to bring order and peace to a corrupt town divided by racism and class struggles. Here the Rangers meet Mance, a young plantation worker, and learn the horrors of post-bellum plantation life. And Frank meets and falls in love with the aristocratic Mollie. Tensions mount and finally reach a fateful breaking point.

What inspired you to write Hamer’s Quest?

After I saw the Kevin Costner movie The Highwaymen, I became interested in Frank Hamer. I was more than surprised when I discovered that Frank Hamer served as City Marshal of Navasota, Texas from 1908-1911. Although my grandfather was born on a farm10-miles south of Navasota in 1892, I had never heard of the Frank Hamer connection.      

My failure to hear about the famous Texas Ranger’s adventures in Navasota  can be easily explained. Contemplate a time with no newspaper delivery, no cell phone, no internet, no social media; a time when a horse pulled wagon covered three miles per hour. Back then it would take over three hours to travel the ten miles from my grandfather’s farm to Navasota, about the same time it takes to cover the 190 miles from Houston to San Antonio. 

My grandfather’s family purchased household goods from Courtney, a town three miles (an hour) from their farm. There were plenty of gunfights and hangings in Courtney to concern the family. By the time my grandfather began to frequent Navasota, Frank Hamer was long gone.

I was well acquainted however with some of the other subjects in the novel. My uncle was a best friend with Tom Moore, Jr. son of infamous Tom Moore of Allenfarm who became a fictionized character in my novel. 

What’s more, Mance Lipscomb, who became a nationally prominent blues guitarist and singer in the 1960s, played at Navasota High School dances that my cousin attended. When he was a teenager Mance drove a buggy for Frank Hamer. Mance plays a prominent role in the novel.

The more research I did, the more intrigued I became with the rich history found in 1908 Navasota. That fascination spawned Hamer’s Quest, about half of which is embellished history and the other half pure fiction.