1898. The last of the Wild West’s outlaws, Johnny Wargo and Dakota Sam, make a daring escape from a small West Texas jail. In a desperate effort to lay low, they make a hard decision to go their separate ways. Although occasional sightings were whispered from time to time, the legendary pair eventually faded into history. Or, so it seemed.

1929. Retired after 25 years as a St. Louis school superintendent, Frank, the name Johnny now uses, is in his sixties, enjoys the summers with his wife Nancy, in the northern Illinois community of Brookfield.

But all is not good in Brookfield. Prohibition has spurred the growth of organized crime, and the Chicago area town of Brookfield has become the new target. Protection rackets are constantly sucking hard-earned cash from struggling businesses in the area. Frank’s brother-in-law owns the local hardware store and is victimized on a regular basis by local mobsters while the police look the other way.

In a desperate attempt to covertly rid the community of these gangsters, Frank contacts his old partner in crime, Dakota Sam, who has been living quietly in Wyoming. Frank’s last letter to Sam asks him to come to Brookfield to help with an urgent matter. Little did Sam realize what he was getting himself into.

The reunion of these elder cowboys from the Old West and picking a fight with mobsters in the big city leads to some comical situations that ends up in an epic battle that certainly trumps the gunfight at the OK Corral. Some might compare the chaos that followed to that of the Great Chicago Fire.

    Tom Davis is a relatively young police chief in a small town in the Northern California community of Destiny. The town is on the south side of Lake Destiny, which is nestled in the shadows of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east and about forty-five miles north of Santa Rosa. After eighteen years on the police department and the unfortunate loss of his wife three years earlier to cancer, he is looking for a change.

    The change comes when the very attractive Molly Hansen, a campaign coordinator, comes through Destiny, preparing for a visit by her boss, senatorial candidate Harry Jenkins. Even though Tom and Molly come from completely different backgrounds and lifestyles, the attraction between the two is immediate, intoxicating, and nothing less than amazing.

    Their story unfolds when Tom meets Molly’s boss. To Tom’s shock, Harry Jenkins shares an amazing commonality with his father, who died when Tom was in high school. Bewildered by the fact his dad isn’t a twin nor do their ages match, Tom is determined to find a logical explanation why none of the facts make any sense and will try to do it without revealing anything to the woman he is falling in love with.

    Experience the development of Tom and Molly’s relationship  that takes you on an adventure that will definitely stretch your imagination and is full of surprises, unlike any you have ever experienced before. You may even reach for the stars for the answer to the mysteries of Lake Destiny. Get ready to be kept on the edge of your seat as solving each clue only leads  Tom Davis, Molly Hansen, and Lake Destiny to more intrigue straight from the imagination of the author.

Using the word unique to describe Craig F. Walko might be an understatement. It is his sense of adventure and life experiences that have formed his awesome imagination.

He was born in 1951 in West Virginia, but his family soon moved to central Ohio.  At a young age, Craig developed a fascination for classic automobiles, which he still pursues today. After high school, he and a friend spent six months driving around the country from coast to coast.  On his return he attended Ohio State University.

In his early twenties he fell in love with the sport of sky-diving, which led  him to becoming a jump instructor, a licensed master parachute rigger, and a commercial pilot. As a member of a professional parachuting team, he participated in a daily air show, parachuting into an amusement park near Cincinnati. For some shows, he even did some wing walking until better judgement prevailed.

By 1977, he was spending winters in Hawaii giving scenic sailplane rides and summers back in Ohio skydiving. Never letting go of his love for cars, he also started a Rolls-Royce limousine service.

Meeting the love of his life, Nancy, in Hawaii in 1983, they eventually married, settling in Orlando, Florida, where they were blessed with a son, Brandon.

In Orlando, Craig became a hot-air balloon pilot and skywriter, flying bi-planes for Rosie O’Grady’s Flying Circus. His trademark of skywriting in “script” over the attractions area was enjoyed by thousands daily. His love of cars also led him to becoming a licensed race car driver, competing in the southeast at tracks like Sebring and Daytona.

Today, Craig enjoys traveling with his wife and his new passion, writing novels. Novels in which we, the readers, can share in his imagination.