David Nix Books In Order

Publication Order of Jake Paynter Books

Publication Order of Shore of Monsters Books

Publication Order of The Well Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

David Nix is a published American author. He also writes historical romance stories under the pen name of Sawyer North.

When he was eight years old, his parents moved their family from the west coast to a mountain town in Wyoming that was on the border of the Wind River reservation. That landscape gave David’s formative year an infusion of the wonder of the local lore past and present, and showed him that frequently the greatest stories have been either forgotten or never told.

David had published science fiction and historical romance stories for ten years and after that, it seemed like a matter of destiny to him that he would come back to the tales of his youth. Thus the Jake Paynter series was born, bringing together a mix of fact and fiction to help the author to explore people, places, and themes that were important to him.

David was an engineer during the day and was writing by night. He first got into traditional publishing writing for Entangled Publishing in 2020 using the pen name Sawyer North. A photo of him wearing a cowboy hat on a social media page for Regency romance writers led to him getting the chance to write a three volume progressive western series in 2022 for Sourcebooks.

His passion for researching history and bringing it to life, especially stories about forgotten women, led him towards writing historical fiction. He also has a podcast that is being developed called Plot Twisted History that tells true historical stories from the viewpoint of a writer.

He is married and shares three children with his wife. He has called the city of Austin his home since 1998. He embraces the city motto and does his part to ‘keep Austin weird’. His kids have since grown up, but are close to the heart of Texas.

David Nix belongs to the Regency Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of Central Texas.

Dead Man’s Hand is the first book in the Jake Paynter series by David Nix. This is a historical western that is full of action that is perfect for you if you love works by Louis L’Amour and William Johnstone.

When a man is condemned to die, he is about to find a reason that he should live. Main character Jake Paynter is seemingly doomed. He’s haunted by a childhood that was abusive and he’s also haunted by his part in the atrocities of the Civil War. As a result, he went after the isolation of the Plains Cavalry as a white officer for a buffalo soldier troop that is all-Black.

Now things have taken a turn for the worse. He’s in irons and is scheduled to be hanged for the crime of killing his captain after refusing to take an order that he found inhumane. He does his best to maintain his isolation, but despite this is beginning to make friends on his way to trial.

There are people on the wagon train that are looking to him to be a leader, and with some reluctance he takes on this role. He has the chance to escape when bandits attack the wagon train, but his ties to the travelers that have been growing give him the impetus to stay.

As his trial comes closer, Paynter is finding that he has to lean on his friends to be saved. However, the western laws are harsh and a confrontation with his past is sure to come. Can he make it through unscathed? Will he find that the trial dooms him to death? Read this adventure book to find out!

Devil’s Ride West is the second book in the Jake Paynter series by David Nix. If you read the first book in this historical western adventure series and liked it, then you’ll definitely want to check out the sequel in this series!

This book contains a former soldier with a target on his back, a group of bounty hunters that want to get their prize, a hardened detective who would like nothing more than to see Jake pay, and an incredible journey that takes place across the wild west that you won’t soon forget.

Jake Paynter knows that he is in a lot of trouble. He has a bounty on his head for a thousand dollars, and with this he knows that every bounty hunter, law man, and desperado that is living west of the Mississippi is after him.

Jake has a plan to lay low with the Shoshone, but this plan quickly dissolves and falls apart. But before he can make the trip to depart for Yellowstone, two of his best friends show up with a problem. Gus Rivers and Stacy Blue relay to him that the miners at South Pass city are getting killed by either a beast or a man (no one really knows yet), and his immigrant friends from the Oregon Trail are also at risk.

Even though it may be against his better judgment, Paynter makes his way to the mining fields with the goal of bringing the culprits to justice. Sleuthing by night and hiding in an abandoned mine during the day, Jake starts to get to the bottom of the mysterious deaths.

But when adversarial forces get closer, Jake has to choose whether he wants to escape to isolation or stand his ground and fight for his pals and put himself in harm’s way. Which will he choose, and why? Read the second book in the Jake Paynter series by David Nix to find out!