Commander Alex Coleman is no hero. Just ask him.

It’s 2037 and Alex is one more disobeyed order away from kissing his naval career goodbye.

He used to be high speed, the kind of officer on the fast track to submarine command. Then he threw it all away trying to save a few civilian lives from his glory hungry commanding officer. No pain no gain, right? Alex isn’t sorry he did the right thing but being everyone’s favorite scapegoat isn’t fun.

Now, he’s marking time to retirement on Armistice Station, an underwater megastation where you can buy and do anything—except salvage a trashed Navy career. Alex is stuck doling out supplies to visiting Navy ships and chasing unruly sailors, just how he wanted to spend his last years in the good old U.S. Navy.

But things aren’t quiet in Alex’s underwater amusement park. France and India are expanding into the Indian Ocean and want the United States out, and Alex’s eclectic band of castoff sailors are all that’s in their way. Armed with nothing but creativity and coffee creamer fireballs, Alex must team up with the admiral who hates him most. Together, they must escape the jaws of a closing enemy trap set by the canny French commander who ruined his career in the first place. Can Alex outsmart her this time, or will he end up as the first POW in the next world war?

Cardinal Virtues is first book in the series War of the Submarine, also published as Season 1 of the War of the Submarine serial on Kindle Vella.

After two years of fighting in the Civil War, partners Wade Barrett and Pete Bedlow travel back to Texas to become ranchers. Their peaceful life will be disrupted though when a fellow rancher presents them with an incredibly risky proposal; to make a long and hazardous trail drive to Mexico to sell cattle to the French army. This job could either make them rich or put them in the ground due to the grave dangers lurking around every corner.

A trial that will bring out the best and worst in men…

To everyone’s surprise, Jenny Capri, a female rancher who has taken over her father’s ranch after his death, decides to join the men on the long and rough trail. As the drive goes deeper into Mexico, Wade will find Jenna to be a truly admirable and attractive woman. On the flip side, Wade knows that the odds to survive this undertaking, let alone dreaming of a life by Jenny’s side, are low.

Sometimes pulling the trigger is the only choice that they have…

Death and violence will be riding the Mexican trail, with greed being also added into the mix. When the fearless team thinks that everything is under control, only one wrong move can turn everything upside down. Will the daring trio beat the odds and return to Texas alive, or will they never manage to step foot on home soil again?

A pulse-pounding drama, which will make you turn the pages with bated breath until the very last word. A must-read for fans of Western action and romance.

"Riders on a Dark Trail" is a historical adventure novel of approximately 60,000 words. No cliffhangers, only pure unadulterated action.

*Fully updated to reflect the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, December 2024*

"With compelling characters, cleverly written dialogue, and a riveting narrative that freezes your blood at times, Kobani is a blockbuster of a novel" - Readers' Favorite."10/10: A multifaceted, action-packed war thriller" - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BOOKLIFE PRIZE

Through puppet nations, the world's superpowers duel in the Middle East using weapons that are prototypes today, but will be a reality in ten years. With characters you will never forget, Kobani is fast-paced, believable and chilling. A frighteningly authentic vision of future war, Kobani is as prophetic as it is unnerving.Backed by Russian air power, a powerful Syrian rebel alliance has begun an operation to push Turkish troops out of Northern Syria. Despite US efforts not to get dragged into the conflict, the US 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines 'Lava Dogs', find their hilltop combat outpost encircled and their Kurdish allies under siege. Further west, a Syrian rebel armored advance across the border into Turkey pivots, threatening US troops at the Turkish and NATO air base of Incirlik. But will the nationalist rebels be satisfied with reclaiming Syria's northern border region from Turkey, or is the operation just the first move in a bolder plan to regain lost territories?INSIDE KOBANI, Kurdish Women's Protection Unit sniper, Daryan Al-Kobani, is fighting for her people, her city and her mother and sister, hunting a Russian sniper who shoots to grievously wound his victims, not to kill.AT COMBAT OUTPOST MEYER on the top of Mishte-nur Hill, Lava Dog Gunner James Jensen is field testing the latest in autonomous ground weapons systems, the Legged Squad Support System 'Hunter'. And finding the weapons system's AI has more than a few potentially lethal bugs.AT INCIRLIK AIR BASE, laser air defense Tactical Control Assistant, Sergeant Alessa Barruzzi, struggles to keep her battery operational against an enemy who attacks with both cyber, electronic and unconventional weapons.COALITION ALLIES, pilots Karen 'Bunny' O'Hare and 'Meany' Papastopolous, find themselves fighting for survival in the air over Turkey when Russia decides to unleash its newest stealth fighter on the battlefield, the Su-57 'Felon', and change the rules of engagement.AND IN ISTANBUL, cyber-warfare analysts Shimi Kahane of Israel's Unit 8200, and Carl Williams, of the US NSA, put together the pieces of an intelligence puzzle codenamed 'Operation Butterfly' that could signal Russia is planning the biggest test of US strategic resolve since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

WINNER BEST POLITICAL THRILLER 2021 - US READERS' FAVORITE BOOK AWARDS"Kobani is a high octane drama of land and air combat fought with the best in futuristic weaponry...Holden balances this with intricate backstories and motivations for his capable and steadfast characters, offering up fleshed-out human stories amid all the high-tech toys. Military thriller fans, war buffs, Middle East politics junkies, and sci-fi enthusiasts will immerse themselves in Holden’s epic tale of regional politics and potential for worldwide conflict." BookLife