Mark Mitten
Author, Member of Western Writers of America
**UPDATE**
My animated western short film
"Blood on the Rocks"
won Best Picture and Best 2D Animated Film
at the Skeleton Keyframe Animated Awards,
and is an official finalist
at the Barcelona Indie Awards.
And don't forget, all three books in
the Breck Trilogy are available.
Thanks for the support!
~Mark
A Time Between Times
Breck's Quandary Trilogy
Book 3
In Sheriff Breckenridge Dyer’s absence, the small mountain town of Quandary, Colorado falls into a tailspin. Deputy Jenny O’Hara gets rammed off the road in the Blue River Gorge, a gold miner eats a shotgun shell, local ski bums trip on magic mushrooms, and a corrupt United States senator brooks no dissent in her desire for power. Once Breck returns to reclaim his badge, will he have enough time to unravel the knot of deceit and violence before he faces his own day in court?
ORDER NOW:
Ghosts of the Past
Breck's Quandary Trilogy
Book 2
When a body is discovered in a mine shaft, high in the mountains above Quandary, Sheriff Breckenridge "Breck" Dyer and Deputy Jenny O'Hara follow the evidence to a cryptocurrency conference at the ski resort. It’s a strange mix of high rollers, hipsters, CEO’s and tech gurus from all over the world, but the investigation hits a snag when their main suspect disappears—and the only witness won’t talk. Complicating matters, Breck is under investigation himself, plus it’s an election year, and he has to prove, to both the district attorney and the people of Quandary, that he isn’t a corrupt cop. Optics matter in politics, and Breck knows he could lose in the court of public opinion, even if the truth is on his side.
Breck's Quandary
Breck's Quandary Trilogy
Book 1
Living in a remote mountain ski town called Quandary, Sheriff Breckenridge “Breck” Dyer has a lot of problems. The sheriff's department is broke. He’s down to one deputy. The cell phones barely work and he can’t even afford a decent patrol car. Seems like the city council keeps cutting and gutting his budget every time he turns around. But things can get worse and they do. A Mexican drug cartel called Los Equis sends two men to scout out the high country and squeeze out competitors. Caught up in a haze of drug dealers and dirty politics, Breck gets accused of corruption himself. Can he stop the illegal drug trade before anyone gets hurt—or winds up dead?
"Fast-paced and at times gripping,
this book was difficult to put down."
—Historical Novel Society
"Gripping material indeed."
—Western Fiction Review
2018 Peacemaker Award Nominee
Best Western Novel Category
Hard To Quit
In a boom camp like Creede, most people want to get rich either mining silver or playing cards. LG and Davis have a different plan—sell beef. Fighting the bitter temperatures and the winter storms of the Colorado high country, they string wire and bring in cattle. But there are things more dangerous than the weather. Having run out of luck and out of Denver, con man Soapy Smith brings his gang up to Creede to start over. His vision of success if different than anyone else's, and it involves rigging the odds in his favor. No matter who it affects, or how far he must reach.
2013 Peacemaker Award Nominee
Best First Western Category
Sipping Whiskey in a Shallow Grave
It is 1887. Snow is falling in the high country of Colorado. Bill Ewing led a bank heist in the small mountain town of Kinsey City — but just woke up tied to the back of a mule. "Sipping Whiskey in a Shallow Grave" is an epic novel chronicling Bill Ewing’s gang of thieves and the posse that takes after them, the cowhands of the B-Cross-C, and the unexpected turns of life which bring them all together. At once both personal and immutable, "Sipping Whiskey in a Shallow Grave" is a sweeping tale of randomness and destiny, reminding us of the power of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
"Mitten awakens images of Gunsmoke and The Magnificent Seven...Certain to be a favorite of equestrians, modern ranchers and history buffs."
—The Summit Daily
"Lyrical, fresh, and an impressive debut."
—Roundup Magazine
"Dialogue and actions resonate with authenticity."
—Western Fictioneers
