Mosaico, Vol. 3: Hellfire By Michael Panush

 

By Michael Panush

Hellfire, Texas is a strange town that needs a strange sheriff.

Hellfire is in the shadow of Silver Mesa, an otherworldly chunk of gleaming rock with strange properties. It’s a magnet for trouble and danger. So it may seem like the perfect gunslinger for the job of the town’s sheriff is Clayton Cane — a patchwork man assembled from the bodies of dead soldiers and brought to life with dark magic. And after years of working as the violent bounty hunter known as El Mosaico, Cane would like nothing more than to settle down and begin a new life as Hellfire’s stalwart peacekeeper.

But, as Cane soon discovers, being a sheriff has its own challenges. He’s got to deal with caterwauling temperance marchers, an inquisitive newspaperman and Nelly Needles, his fiery, sharp-tongued new deputy. And something worse is coming to Hellfire – a foe more terrible than any outlaw or monster that Cane has battled in the past: industry, commerce and modernization. Powerful business tycoon Gaspar Noble wants Silver Mesa – and the town of Hellfire — for himself. Cane decides to stand against him, in a battle that may be more than Hellfire – and Clayton Cane – can possibly bear.

Michael Panush

Twenty-Four years old, Michael Panush has distinguished himself as one of Sacramento’s most promising young writers. Michael has published numerous short stories in a variety of e-zines including: AuroraWolf, Demon Minds, Fantastic Horror, Dark Fire Fiction, Aphelion, Horrorbound, Fantasy Gazetteer, Demonic Tome, Tiny Globule, and Defenestration.

He is the author of Clark Reeper Tales, his first novel. Michael began telling stories when he was only nine years old. He won first place in the Sacramento Storyteller’s Guild “Liar’s Contest” in 2002 and was a finalist in the National Youth Storytelling Olympics in in 2003. In 2005, Michael’s short story entitled, Adventures in Algebra, won first place in the annual MISFITS Writing Contest.

In 2007, Michael was selected as a California Art’s Scholar and attended the Innerspark Summer Writing Program at the CalArts Institute. He graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in 2008 and has recently graduated from UC Santa Cruz.

Vital Stats

• Theme: Western / Alternate History / Paranormal
• Type: Curiosity Quills Press Novel
• Length: 265 Pages
• Pub. Date: April 28, 2014

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