The Bullion Road is a compelling story of travel, adventure, and romance set on the California frontier of 1879. 

The novel follows Pinkerton detective Tom Comfort, his deputy Leonidus Hemp, and their client, the beautiful Avalon Soto, on their journey to capture or kill the bandit chieftain Joaquin Cahuenga and his criminal gang. Comfort and his companions travel the state and talk politics with a United States senator, face a vigilante mob in the Pueblo de Los Angeles, ride with a 20-mule-team freight convoy, and shoot it out with the Cahuenga Gang at a remote freight station deep in the Mojave Desert. The action is fast and exciting in this richly detailed story.

What genre is it?
Western fiction. Action and adventure. Romance.

This historical novel takes place on the California frontier of 1879 and is carefully researched and accurate as to place and time and political issues of the day.

Tell us about Tom Comfort.
Tom comfort was born in Kansas on a farm. He served four years in the Union army and advanced from volunteer private to elected sergeant and was brevetted twice on the battlefield leaving the army as a Captain when the war ended. He traveled west after the war to Nevada and then California where he went to work for the Pinkerton Detective Agency. He specializes in the overland transfer of bullion and cash in the remote frontier areas. His clients are miners and bankers.

Tom Comfort is about 40 years old, tall, handsome, and married to the beautiful former businesswoman Marguerite May. The couple has no children.

We hear that this is a series.
The first book in the Tom Comfort series is Three Days in Highgrade. This novella is set in a remote mining town on the California/Nevada border. The story was inspired by the real-life ghost town of Bodie.

Tell us about yourself.

Douglas S. Santo is an engineering geologist and photographer. He was founder, president, and CEO of Arroyo Geotechnical and has served as principal and vice president at three other consulting firms. In his 25-year career, he has managed the geotechnical and environmental aspects of major infrastructure and development projects for public and private sector clients in California, Nevada, and on the East Coast.

He has photographed major architectural works ranging from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to private residential structures. His photographs have appeared in magazines, books, calendars, websites, and a variety of promotional materials for corporate clients of all sizes.

The author is a third generation Californian, born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley, which he still calls home. He lives with his wife and four cats.

Do you have a website?
www.douglas-s-santo.com.

How can we follow you on Twitter and/or Facebook?
@douglasssanto1.

What’s next?
The third book in the Tom Comfort series, which is currently being written. The story takes place in Los Angeles in 1890. The story is about political corruption and greed, and involves land development, murder, and racial hatred—also, love.