Western Fiction

Having survived the harshness of their first year in the far Northwest, Elizabeth and Wynn, her Royal Canadian Mountie, now face new challenges. Just when they've made new friends and started a new school, they are presented with a new posting. It seems Elizabeth's dreams for a family and home of her own are not to be. Will their love for each other, hope for the future, and their faith in God carry them through the crushing disappointments?

Nathan Stone, The Gunfighter, lies dead in the street, a victim of the ruthless Sandlin gang. Behind him he leaves his guns and the son he had hardly known - a former lawman named Wes is about to teach these killers just what it means to be his father's son. Swearing vengeance, he takes up his father’s guns. But little does he know that the odds are even more against him than he thinks - and that to get revenge for a dead man, he might have to die himself.

During a trip back east for a family reunion, Preacher learns that even the civilized Midwest can attract a motherlode of trouble...especially when a gang of local bully boys decides to pick a fight. Now, wealthy landowner Elam Parks lies dead - and there's a $5,000 reward on the head of the man accused: the first mountain man. The fortune in blood money has dispatched a small army of bounty hunters after Preacher. Now, back in his once-peaceful homestead in the High Lonesome, as he sights down the barrel of his '33 Hall North breechloader, Preacher is ready for target practice.

Raised among the Blackfoot, John Hawk is a valuable asset to the US Army. As a military scout at Fort Ellis, he is able to cross the line between two worlds - and help keep the peace. But when he disobeys a direct order from his commander, Hawk is immediately dismissed from his post. That was the army’s first mistake. The second was losing track of a small mule train en route to Helena.

Hannah Harris just wants to be left alone for Christmas. Nobody invited her to join them anywhere. She knows when she’s not wanted, and is fine with it. Or at least that’s what she tells herself. She’s made peace with the fact that she’s “too much” for most people. So she’s going to ranch-sit for her uncles—alone—while they attend a wedding in Canada. But Pete “Cal” Callahan doesn’t agree with Hannah. He believes nobody should be alone on Christmas. Even though he knows she’s capable of taking care of the ranch herself, he wants to help. And he definitely doesn’t think Hannah is “too much.”

Jack Sage can't let injustice pass. So as the Civil War veteran rides north toward the Rocky Mountains, he doesn't hesitate to help an ambushed newspaperman. But just as they reach the tiny Texas town they're headed for, the loner's inner rage ignites when a homesteader is gunned down in cold blood in front of his wife and kids.

Joshua Colter was born of the wild frontier. As a young boy living with his family on the edges of civilization during the French and Indian War, he witnessed firsthand the bloodshed and brutality men were capable of—from the deception and depredations of whites like his own vile father to the merciless vengeance of the native tribes. Forced by cruel fate to set out on his own, he was adopted by an honorable hunter who taught him to fight and survive while remaining true to his own heart.

After a painful divorce and years of trying to outrun heartbreak, she returns to her parents' ranch in Texas seeking one thing—a fresh start. No drama. No distractions. And definitely no second chances. But then Grady Wilde shows up. Once her high school sweetheart, Grady is now a country music superstar looking to settle down. When an unexpected reunion brings them face-to-face for the first time in over a decade, they are both faced with emotions they thought were long gone. Cleo never expected to see him again, let alone feel the familiar pull of the boy who once held her heart.

Independence, Missouri, 1865. Seasoned wagon master Virgil Grissom prepares to lead a new group of families westward across the Oregon Trail. Among them are struggling farmer Matt Moran, his wife Katie, and their three small children. In spite of the long, treacherous journey ahead, Grissom is confident that this solid, hard-working farmer and his family are tough enough to endure the harsh elements, the rugged terrain, and the occasional run-in with hostile tribes. But he’s not so sure about the farmer’s younger brother, Clay, who plans to catch up with them along the trail.

Deep in the heart of the Wyoming countryside, Sheriff of Absaroka County Walt Longmire is called to a crime scene like few others that he has seen. This crime brings up issues that go back to Walt’s grandfather’s time in Wyoming, as the revelations he learns about his grandfather come back to offer clues and motives for Walt’s investigation.

As the sole survivor of the car crash that killed her parents, grief-stricken paramedic Kit MacKlenna is stunned to learn her life is built on lies. A legacy from her father includes a faded letter and a well-worn journal. The journal reveals she was abandoned as a baby 160 years ago. The only clues to her identity are a blood-splattered shawl, a locket with the portrait of a 19th century man, and a Celtic brooch with magical powers.

Werewolf by Max Brand in Western Story Magazine (12/18/26) involves just such an inward journey for Christopher Royal, who is convinced he is a coward and flees a confrontation with Harry Main, who is a gunfighter. There comes a time in this story - when Christopher encounters the aged Indian, the old wise man - that the terrain shimmers with the multiple affinities of meaning conjured by the unconscious, which Vergil once sought to capture within an image both awesome and sinister: numina magna deum [the great divine power of a god].

Gold. Silver. Cold hard cash. Stagecoach guard Red Ryan and his driver Buttons Muldoon have ridden shotgun on some pretty valuable cargo in their day. But they're about to learn - the hard way - that the most dangerous cargo of all is human. They've been hired to escort a cowardly traitor facing an army court martial in New Orleans. Every hired killer in Texas wants him dead, including gun-handy Hannah Huckabee, a woman with a mysterious past and an agenda of her own. But she's just one of the dangers they'll face along the way.

Selina sees beauty everywhere, including in the fields of cabbages. She has a natural curiosity about farming and oversteps the woman's traditional role by having the audacity to ask the men questions. She soon marries Pervus DeJong, a farmer. Selina eagerly offers suggestions for operational improvements, but Pervus ignores her, preferring to use the unprofitable farming methods employed by his father.

Ames Hammond loves rules and organization, and his job as a cop gives him the structure he craves. But he quit that job months ago, and he has no idea what he should be doing with his life. He tries taking a job in Three Rivers, Texas, but when he accidentally nails his thumb to the wall, he's got no one to help him. While in the drugstore, he runs into someone he least expected to—Sophia Cooke, the woman he spent time with last fall...and didn't call back over the holidays.

When you hear the term "western tales" most likely the name Zane Grey pops into your mind. but these three authors who lived around the same time as Grey are a welcome addition to Western Lore. This boxed set includes stories by either contemporaries of, or authors who followed in the footsteps of Zane Grey. Max Brand, a major influencer of Louis Lamour, Charles Selzer who lived in Zane's shadow for most of his life, and Jim Kirkegaard, who came later but had the same love of the outdoors and adventure as all of these writers.

Val Darrant was just four years old the snowy night his mother abandoned him. But instead of meeting a lonely death, he met Will Reilly—a gentleman, a gambler, and a worldly, self-taught scholar. For ten years they each were all the family the other had, traveling from dusty American boomtowns...

I’ve lived in the same small town my entire life. And I like it, for the most part: being a rancher, taking care of my chickens, and even my meddlesome family. What I don’t like is the limited dating options. I’m gay, and at 36 years old, I’ve never been with a man.

Crack in the Sky continues the development of the young Titus Bass as he gradually learns the lore of the mountain man. From a raucous rendezvous of trappers to a searing fight with Comanche, from a frigid winter’s chill to the angry heat of a chase with horse thieves, Titus Bass’s West comes alive in this remarkable novel—and in its final scene, Titus Bass will meet young Josiah Paddock and form the deep friendship explored in Carry the Wind.

Eloise Morris always puts her family first, and she spends her days working hard to support them. Marriage has never been part of her plans, but when Eloise is suddenly faced with the prospect of losing their family farm, she does the unthinkable and accepts an offer of marriage... from a man who is little more than an outlaw.