Join us at the Dallas Flagship HPB for a talk and book signing with Ryan Coleman on Thursday, October 17, at 7 p.m. Ryan will discuss and sign his debut novel Billy the Kid, which depicts the untold story behind the legend of Billy the Kid, from orphan to outlaw to killer. Tickets include a copy of the book.

About Billy the Kid

Age 14: Orphaned.

Age 15: Prison inmate.

Age 16: Escaped outlaw.

Age 17: Wanted killer.

In 1870s New Mexico, the territory is at a crossroads. The indigenous population is being driven out–and driven down–by the white settlers migrating west after the Civil War. The center of power isn’t the governor but rather the Santa Fe Ring, a group of wealthy politicians, businessman, and landowners who exercise power through organized crime, theft, graft, and murder. Their main source of income is a mercantile store in Lincoln known as the House.

After escaping jail, William Bonney–a.k.a. Billy the Kid–is a seventeen-year-old orphan who’s been on the run for the better part of two years. All he wants is to belong–to find a place he can call home and people he can call family.

He’d have been better off alone.

Billy falls in with a gang of ruthless rustlers and murderers who work as muscle for the House. But when Billy crosses one of the members, the gang sets out to kill him.

Billy narrowly escapes, finding refuge under the tutelage of John Tunstall, an English immigrant new to the territory who has his sights set on opening a business in Lincoln–and he’s intent on competing directly with the House. But when Tunstall is murdered, any positive effect the mentor had on Billy is eradicated, leaving the Kid with only one thing on his mind …

Revenge.

From orphan to outlaw to killer, this is the untold story behind the legend of Billy the Kid.

About Ryan C. Coleman

Ryan C. Coleman was born in Chicago, grew up in Dallas, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. He has previously written for television, including the smash hit The Walking Dead, and currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and pup. Billy the Kid is his first novel.