Tarnished Badge

by Preston Lewis

"Hangin' party right there and then figgering the sight pf a rustler stretchin rope might get the word out. Trouble was some said the man they'd cloud-danced from the tallest cottonwood in the Panhandle was innocent. Ty Stoddard knew that takin' the law into your own hands could get a man a parcel of land on Boot HIll and the law in Oldham County happened to be Ty's brother-in-law. But when two Diamonds D beeves were found buried on the sheriff's spread, Ty figgered that family ties notwithstandin, the only law that worked was the kind each man enforced himself. two wrongs didn't necessarily make a right, but with his .44s belted at the waist and the Henry rifle in his saddleboot Ty bowed to send one last message to that sorry bunch of cow thieves and this time he'd write the message in blood."--

377 pages, Paperback

Published October 9, 2019

About the author

Preston Lewis is the award-winning author of more than 50 novels and nonfiction works. His honors include three Spur Awards from Western Writers of America and ten Will Rogers Gold Medallion Awards (six gold, two silver, two bronze) for traditional westerns, western humor, nonfiction articles and short stories.

In 2025 he was named recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Will Rogers Medallion Awards for his contributions to the literature of the American West. In 2021 Lewis was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters for his literary accomplishments.

His books have been published by both national and regional publishers. In 2021 he and his wife Harriet Kocher Lewis established Bariso Press and have published ten books. Of those ten books, six have been honored with a WWA Spur, a Spur finalist certificate, a Will Rogers Bronze Medallion Award, a Global Literary Book Award (winner) and three Independent Author Awards (one winner and two finalists).

Lewis is a past president of both Western Writers of America and the West Texas Historical Association, which has designated him a fellow and honored him with three Elmer Kelton Awards for best creative work on West Texas.

Lewis holds a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and a master’s degree from Ohio State University, both in journalism. He earned a second master’s degree in history from Angelo State University. He and his wife reside in San Angelo.