Taken at the Flood

Joshua McBride and his side-kick Captain Luther Chambers, his old mentor, head for Tucson, a little town in the Territory of New Mexico, newly acquired by the United States. Many call this additional landmass "the bowels of hell" due to the parched land, murderous Apache Indians and the harsh living conditions bereft of Anglo civilization.

Each has his motives for taking a considerable risk. Joshua seeks his fortune; Chambers wishes to relive his past. A new land, new multicultural relationships, and new obstacles provide for events that make lasting impressions on their lives and the lives of their progeny. Cultural bias, once again, raises its ugly head.

This story, a sequel to the first novel, Equal and Alike, in the McBride series, reveals the next progression in the lives of Joshua McBride and Luther Chambers. The Captain is anxious to show Joshua the Sonora Desert where he roamed decades before, as a young man.

Luther is very aware of the dangers and hardships they will endure. He has no misconceptions as to the harsh life they will experience. On the other hand, his young protege fantasizes about making his fortune in this isolated corner of the country. Luther, purposely, provides Joshua with little detail concerning what they will encounter.

Colonel Terrance Lindsey, a well positioned operative in Washington, DC, is reintroduced in this story. He prods them to relocate to the new United States possession. He believes, if a Civil War is averted, Tucson and its environs will experience great commercial success. Lindsey has profound influence over the two pilgrims.

The culture existent in this part of the country is significantly different from what Joshua ever experience. At first, the people and their lifestyle repulse him. He struggles to understand. Events occur that cause him to reevaluate his previous impressions regarding those who surround him.

The joys, as well as the heartaches experienced by Joshua McBride in the nineteenth century, are not so dissimilar from those we undergo today. Some things transcend time.

Mike can call himself a Native Californian. He was born in Taft, a small agricultural town near the center of the State. The family quickly moved, after his father was discharged from the Air Force at the end of World War II.

They settled in Monterey Park, California for a time. Ultimately, they moved to Temple City and then to Arcadia, both in California. He enjoyed sports and relished his classroom experiences, always interested in creative writing.

Stories of the Old West came to him naturally. Michael sat for hours listening to family tales about the early days from his grandfather who was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1880. Members of the Kirkland family were early settlers in the Arizona Territory, Those early settlers and their progeny have witnessed incredible change for over one hundred and fifty years.

Michael's paternal great-grandfather participated in the Gold Rush, and family legend has it that he was "Shanghaied" by unscrupulous sailors who abducted him for a three year sailing voyage to various ends of the Earth. He considered those three years part of his education and spent the remainder of his life as if every day could be his last. William Hudson Kirkland, told his children a plethora of his adventures. Michael's grandfather had a sharp memory and recited tale after tale about his father's life, as well as his own.

Life takes strange turns. Michael graduated from California State College, Los Angeles with a degree in Accounting. He operated his own Certified Public Accounting practice for more than 40 years. His heart was in the annals of history, however, so he gathered family stories and stories of others over decades, as a hobby.

Thirty years later, Michael drafted his first novel. The working title was Joshua. It seemed he never had time to complete the manuscript.

Once retired, he was compelled to complete the task. He enjoyed the process immensely. His first book, Equal and Alike is very loosely fashioned after his great-grandfather's experiences in California. The second novel, soon to be released called, Taken at the Flood takes place in what would become known, years later, as the State of Arizona.

Michael lives with his wife of many decades in Palm Desert, California. The have two children and five grandchildren.