Phil Truman

I like to call myself a Native Oklahoman. Was born in the small town of Miami, and have spent most of my 7 plus decades in the state. I married a Dallas girl going on 50 years ago, and we live in the Tulsa suburb of Broken Arrow where we raised 2 children and now enjoy our 5 grandchildren.

After a stint in the Army during the Vietnam years, I earned a bachelor's degree in Education at the University of Tulsa and spent the next few years teaching high school English and coaching football. In the '70's I entered the business arena where I worked as a programmer/analyst and IT project manager. I left the corporate world in 2007 to become a full time writer.

To date, my 5 published novels range in genres from literary to mystery/suspense to historical western. Those titles are:

GAME, an American Novel
Treasure Kills, Legends of Tsalagee
Red Lands Outlaw, the Ballad of Henry Starr
West of the Dead Line, Tales of an Indian Territory Lawman
Dire Wolf of the Quapaw, a Jubal Smoak Mystery

I'm currently working on Book #2 in the Legends of Tsalagee series, which I expect to be released in late 2019, and Book #2 in the Jubal Smoak Mystery series.

I invite you to visit my website to read previews of all my books: www.philtruman.com. You're welcome to email me at Phil@PhilTruman.com.

Treasure Kills, Legends of Tsalagee 1

Mystery, Adventure

Near Tsalagee, Oklahoma a monster lurks and an infamous 19th Century outlaw’s booty lays hidden. When two renegade bikers ride into town looking to find the Lost Treasure of Belle Starr, local legends Hayward Yost and Socrates Ninekiller suspect the ruffians’ involvement in the murder of a local farmer; a man rumored to have knowledge of the lost treasure’s location...and its curse. As events unfold, others in the community are drawn into the hunt – a Wiccan who moves to town to pursue her New Age lifestyle; her bumbling, socially inept boyfriend women can’t seem to resist; a young Iraqi War veteran home to heal his physical and emotional wounds; and a mysterious creature known in Native American lore as a forest demon whom they call “Hill Man who screams at night.” Mystery, romance, and comedy await in this rollicking adventure, the first in the Legends of Tsalagee series.

GAME, an American Novel

Literary, Sports

Year in and year out, the football powerhouse Hert City Trojans import a ringer to fuel their championship charge, but their luck is about to change. In the small backwater town of Tsalagee, first-year coach Donny Doyle knows the only way he can fulfill his promise to unseat the Hert City juggernaut, is to beat them at their own GAME. But in his own recruit, the mammoth and powerful, yet troubled and ominous Leotis McKinley, Doyle finds more than he bargained for. Truman’s character-rich novel GAME spins an energetic tale around the intensity of small-town high school football in America. And yet, amid the fast-paced drive of the story, lies an account of the human spirit struggling through adversity and finding victory. Readers of any age or gender will feel the triumph, honor, and glory that comes from the…GAME.

Red Land Outlaw, the Ballad of Henry Starr

Historical Western

Will Rogers Medallion for Western Fiction

In the last years of the tough and woolly land called Indian Territory, and the first of the new state of Oklahoma, the outlaw Henry Starr rides roughshod through its midst. A native son of “The Nations” he never really wanted to journey west of the law, yet fate seems to insist. He’s falsely accused of horse-thieving at sixteen, sentenced to hang for murder at nineteen by Judge Isaac Parker, but escapes the gallows on a technicality. Given that opportunity, the charming, handsome, mild-mannered Henry Starr spends the rest of his life becoming the most prolific bank robber the West has ever known.

West of the Dead Line, Tales of an Indian Territory Lawman

Historical Western

Runaway slave, Creek Indian, feared man with a badge.

A railroad cuts across the heart of Indian Territory. They call it the Dead Line because, odds are, any lawman who crosses it won’t come back alive. No law exists west of it, only outlaws.

Ride with the toughest, smartest, best shooter – with both hands – Deputy U.S. Marshal who over put on the badge: Bass Reeves. Reeves isn’t afraid to cross the line to bring back bad guys, alive or dead.

Dire Wolf of the Quapaw, a Jubal Smoak Mystery

Mystery/Suspense

It is said, among the Downstream People, the Dire Wolf has awakened.

An Indian family is brutally murdered. Greenhorn Deputy U.S. Marshal Jubal Smoak figures he knows the killer: the renegade Crow Redhand. In pursuit of the outlaw the lawman rides deep into the tribal lands of the Quapaw and encounters a legend. A legend where the stirring of an ancient demon terrorizes the land. Smoak’s pursuit of the killer winds him deeper into the Indian lore, on a trail that can only end in death…