Introduction

Welcome to Books by Hanes Segler, where you can get a look at the author’s books and his writing style, read the back cover blurbs, and decide if his characters and stories are worth spending a few bucks. The books are available in softcover and E-book format at iUniverse.com, Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. Or just Google Hanes Segler and find a bunch of independent outlets that carry his books, new and used. He won't make a dime on those, but you'll get a good book for cheap. Also, the author welcomes questions and comments via e-mail at: hsegler@hanessegler.com

To date, Segler has written nine action/adventure novels and a couple of short stories. His first book, Spoils of the Desert, was released in 2003, followed by Patriot, the only story not set in modern times. Patriot is a tale of a young Mexican man caught up in that country’s revolution of the early twentieth century, which spilled over into Southwest Texas and New Mexico, resulting in the Punitive Expedition to punish Pancho Villa. Ordered by President Woodrow Wilson, General John "Black Jack" Pershing led the expedition, utilizing equipment and tactics that would be used in the upcoming Great War in Europe.

The Paradise Key followed in 2005, weaving a modern tale of bio-terrorism made possible—and chillingly probable—by current events, poor foreign policy, and lax border security. Segler’s next book, his 2006 release Always Unfaithful, follows a West Texas sheriff through a nasty and difficult murder investigation, hampered by illegal immigration, the victim’s reputation and the sheriff’s own overly-protective girlfriend.

The five most recent releases comprise the Carlton Westerfield Series, beginning with A Lie Told Often, which introduces the reader to a low-cost hit man (Westerfield) who performs on contracts procured by a semi-retired gangster and pawnshop entrepreneur named Randall (Big Mo) Morris. For years, Westerfield has made a good living by performing flawlessly and earning sixty percent of Big Mo’s take for eliminating shifty business partners, crooked building contractors, and philandering husbands. But the aging trigger man’s quiet, solitary life takes a dramatic turn when Big Mo moves on to the Big Pawnshop in the Sky, a victim of his shady lifestyle.

Following A Lie Told Often came four more Carlton tales: Becomes the Truth, The Truth Hurts, The Truth Will Set You Up, and The Truth, Very Rare. In each of the stories, Carlton is faced with adapting to his new circumstances and struggling with the fact that he’s a bit too mature to be involved in the tough, seamy side of life. However, getting out is not as simple as turning in one’s notice to the personnel office…

Please take time to browse the pages; check out the books and look at a few photos of West Texas scenery, the setting for some of the stories. As Segler likes to point out about his work:

“Even though I write fiction, I like to use real places, locations that my readers can recognize or go visit. I’ve always had an interest in history and geography, especially of West Texas, and I want to share some of those events and sights with my readers on the photo page. I hope to change the photos from time to show more scenes from the Trans-Pecos region of Texas to readers. Some of them will be relevant to scenes from the books, others simply shots of West Texas stuff that deserve viewing.

“Oh, by the way, the good ones were taken by my photographer buddies and the crappy ones taken by me. I’ll try to eliminate those as my friends supply me with more good ones.”