In Horace Bell's heart, L.A. beckoned with love and police work. Also, he could study for the Bar. Violence brought his rapid retribution.

For Paulette Bovierre, with a lost love in France, Horace Bell definitely had a promising future. She was pure strength in adversity.

In Don Tomas Sanchez's soul, L.A. was political power trying to keep the status quo. The Americans had already grabbed too many Mexican ranches.

For Dona Jacinta Talamantes, her love at first sight started a triangle with Horace and Paulette. Love lived forever.

In Roy Bean's heart, L.A. was a place to have fun "whoring" and to be a ranger. Yes, sin permeated everywhere. Humor existed for their survival.

For Juan Flores, first he must kill the Chinese, then all the Americans. His gang would revolt against the new order.

Now, all must face the largest struggle ever seen in Los Angeles. Character really counted when one was challenged by 100 miscreants.

Available as a trade paperback: ISBN 0-7599-0345X - or direct from the publisher http://www.hardshell.com/detail.asp?product_ID=0-7599-0345-X There you can preview the novel for FREE.

Also available in both e-book and trade paperback from: Amazon http://www.amazon.com or Barnes and Noble http://www.bn.com

Press Release: 1853 Los Angeles Gangs

If You Think Gangs & Terrorists Are Bad Now -
L. A. Was Much Worse 150 Years Ago!

IMAGINE a Mexican leader who plans to overthrow your U.S. Government. One-quarter of your city has already been murdered. All live in fear. This is TRUE. It's the first terrorist in Los Angeles in the early 1850s, and his name is Juan Flores. Flores begins up north and heads for Los Angeles. There he butchers the sheriff and his posse. Who can or will stop him?

Steven W. Knight, a retired cop with his 100-years family law enforcement experience, has RECENTLY released 1853 Los Angeles Gangs (Hard Shell Word Factory), an acclaimed BEST novel on California history. Knight writes in five different viewpoints to show how 250 men perish at San Quentin. Then Juan Flores' numerical superior gang challenges Los Angeles. California has only the Los Angeles Rangers to protect it from returning to Mexican rule. The next battle is at San Juan Capistrano. Who will win? How many will die? Why did this happen?

REVIEWS:
"Like an artist's brush on canvas, Steven Knight has skillfully penned a wonderfully intriguing story depicting the rough brutality of criminals in those early California years," writes Sgt. Jack J. Anderson, lead historian for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

"Knowing how difficult it is to bring research and experience together in an interesting story, I can only congratulate you for a job very well done. Even the love stories were fully developed," writes Chief Marv Dixon of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Chief Keith D. Bushey, a retired LAPD commander, writes, "It's a 'must read' for those interested in Los Angeles history, as well as for persons who desire to read a darn good novel."

"You've struck a font of neglected Western history and captured the heart of the old pueblo. More people died in ONE day in L. A. than did in TEN years in Tombstone, Arizona," writes Max Hurlbut, Retired LAPD, Alaska Chief of Police, and Tombstone City Marshal.

Time to learn from the past and see what law enforcement did back then. The French have a saying, "The more things change, the more they remain the same."

Steven W. Knight and his wife, Elizabeth, live in San Diego County. Written like a movie so the reader sees history as fun and entertaining. An epic saga sequel will follow. His passion is to show the BEST stories.

Available as a trade paperback: ISBN 0-7599-0345X - or direct from the publisher http://www.hardshell.com/detail.asp?product_ID=0-7599-0345-X There you can preview the novel for FREE.

STEVEN WAYNE KNIGHT

Born and raised in the Los Angeles area, I enjoyed police work. Vivid memories remain of Charles Manson and his gang, of the S.L.A. gang with Patty Hearst, of the Black Panthers gang, and a few infamous souls who worked alone -- The Hillside Strangler; Richard Ramirez, a.k.a. the Night-Stalker; and over 200 murderers sitting through their preliminary hearings in the L.A. Criminal Courts Building. I'll never forget driving my first black-and-white to the L.A. Police Academy with the radio blaring, "Murder now! Robbery now! Burglary now!" and another “Murder now!" I quickly learned Los Angeles would be a true adventure.

By 1986, my immediate family and I had accumulated 100 years as Los Angeles peace officers. My father, Raymond J. Knight, Jr., and my uncle and neighbor, Robert F. Knight, were Los Angeles policemen. My grandfather, Raymond J. Knight, joined the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office in 1929 after service with the Huntington Park Police Department. Dinner table talk was real like my books and included many police war stories.

When I was ten, I remember my dad and grandfather running next door to assist a woman crying for help. Back in 1954, at my grandparents' in South Gate, a man tried to murder his wife with a butcher knife. My dad, with old granddad watching, took the man down and turned him over to the South Gate Police. Then at 18, as a grocery store manager, I witnessed my first murder in the Norwalk Lucky Store parking lot. My second homicide was between our two store janitors who did not get along. Within a few years I would hear about many more. Greater Los Angeles never changes.

In 1974, I was allowed unlimited admission into the private A.B. Perkins Historical California Scholar Library at the main L.A. County Depository in Valencia, CA. My just-acquired real estate license led me to an interest in the old California ranchos, and their boundaries to this day are clearly outlined on county maps. Such was the birth of my lifelong passion for California's historical past. This novel is a labor of love comprising thousands of hours of research. I wanted the exciting story to be fun to read much like an action-filled motion picture.

I hold a Master's Degree in Business Management from the University of Redlands and have taught Police Science classes at Long Beach City College. I wrote The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Badge History (all the picture are in the LASD 150 Year Book), and was a contributing author to Centurion's Shield - The History of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Past memberships include the L.A. Footprinters, a club my grandfather helped found with Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz in 1931. Currently I am a Commissioner with the San Diego Police Department Historical Association. Joseph Wambaugh and Martin "Marty" Milner are fellow Commissioners.

My policeman, sheriff, and marshal positions were supplemented with a Race Track Pari-Mutuel Machine Supervisor position. An outstanding people mix frequented Hollywood Park, Santa Anita, Del Mar, Los Alamitos, and the California Fairs. There I met Fred Astaire, Andy Devine, John Wayne, Buddy Ebsen, Elizabeth Montgomery, and many other celebrities. John Wayne bought me breakfast one Sunday morning, introducing himself as Marion Morrison, his true name.My wife, Elizabeth, and I live in sunny North San Diego County, where we run a small court reporting business. The boys are grown and gone. A sequel, 1857 Los Angeles Fights Again will be published. The reviews have been great. Enjoy!

Available as a trade paperback: ISBN 0-7599-0345X - or direct from the publisher http://www.hardshell.com/detail.asp?product_ID=0-7599-0345-X There you can preview the novel for FREE.