Release of second "Bonnie & Clyde" book set for March 24

During his childhood in Whitehall, Clark Hays would often hear quite the tales from his father who once convinced him that a car on their ranch had belonged to Bonnie and Clyde.

Years later, the 1984 graduate of Whitehall High School is publishing his second in a series of books about the popular criminal duo. Hays said, "Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation", a book co-written with Kathleen McFall, follows the first book in the series, "Resurrection Road", imagining an alternate history in which the two outlaw lovers are spared from their gruesome fates and forced to work for the government defending democracy and the working class.

Hays said in the new book scheduled to be released March 24, Bonnie and Clyde are trying to stop saboteurs from blowing up Hoover Dam (then called Boulder Dam) before it's completed.

After Hays and McFall wrote four books in a Cowboy and Vampire series, he said they wanted to come up with a fun, thrilling and entertaining series that allowed them to explore some of current economic issues facing our country.

"We picked Bonnie and Clyde because they occupy such an interesting place in American history, criminals who became almost folk heroes because of their origin story and the fact that they never had the chance to atone for their crimes," he said.

After publishing the first book about Bonnie and Clyde, Hays noted one of the coolest connections they have made is with the National Grange.

"The Grange, the noted fraternal order and advocacy group for rural Americans, plays a huge role in the books and the ACTUAL Grange noticed. We've been featured in their national publication, "Good DAY", twice now. And we're getting lots of great feedback and stories from fans on our Facebook page, including some ancestors of Clyde who seem genuinely pleased that we're resurrecting the legacy and giving their kin a (fictional) chance to atone for their crimes," he said.

Looking back to his early memories on the ranch 15 miles outside of Whitehall, Hays said he would pretend he was Frank Hamer and added to the constellation of bullet holes in the doors on the car on his property with his trusty .22 rilfle.

He credits the Whitehall Library for setting him straight that his father was pulling his leg about Bonnie and Clyde meeting their maker in Montana. Hays said he went through a phase at the library where we would read everything he could about American criminals, from Bonnie and Clyde to mobsters like Lucky Luciano.

"To the relief (I hope) of my parents, and probably the librarian, I didn't become a criminal, but chose to be a writer instead," he said.

For more information and reviews about the book, visit https://www.pumpjackpress.com/damnation-pre-pub-details.