American Mountain

Exploration of the early American West, beginning with Lewis and Clark's transcontinental trek at the behest of President Thomas Jefferson, was not accomplished by standing armies, the era's new steam train technology, or by way of land grabs. These came later, but not until pathways known only to a few of the land's indigenous people were discovered, carved out, and charted in an area stretching from the eastern Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and the present-day borders of Mexico and Canada.

A chance discovery of letters written by her immigrant grandfather leads Jessica J. Lee to her ancestral homeland, Taiwan. There, she seeks his story while growing closer to the land he knew. Lee hikes mountains home to Formosan flamecrests, birds found nowhere else on earth, and swims in a lake of drowned cedars. Throughout, Lee unearths surprising parallels between the natural and human stories that have shaped her family and their beloved island.

Finn Ziegler is on schedule to live the American Dream. He means to claim a homestead and start the Lazy Z Horse Ranch on the rugged frontier prairie in the shadow of the Mineral Hills. But a golden-haired nursemaid from the orphanage home has caught his eye and stolen his heart. From the rooftop he declares he'll marry Iris Renke: he means to make that promise stick. Iris Renke is done with men and the trouble they cause. Only one little man can hold her heart, a tender-hearted orphan boy called Joe Saturday. She'd do anything to keep him in her charge, to hold him close. All was well in ...

*A vicious corrupt candidate faces trial. *For murder… among other crimes. *It will take a miracle to take her down. *Enter Calian Begay. Against the odds, Calian Begay, the arrogant Native American sheriff arrested Secretary of State Whitney Chabot and her wealthy political cohorts. In addition to underwriting a human trafficking cartel, it doesn’t help that Whitney’s choice of lovers is a tad too close to home. Now all Cal has to do is get the reprobates convicted. Given who is leading the prosecution, success is far from a certainty. When the corrupt attorney general is thrown off ...

Americans have long been fascinated by the Civil War, marveling at the size of the battles, the leadership of the generals, and the courage of the soldiers. Since the war's start over 150 years ago, the battles have been subjected to endless debate among historians and the generals themselves. The Civil War was the deadliest conflict in American history, and had the two sides realized it would take four years and inflict over a million casualties, it might not have been fought.

In the booming frontier city of Denver, 1873, U.S. Marshal Sam Slick finds himself on high alert as the arrival of the railroad has transformed the town, swelling its population to 25,000 and bringing an influx of newcomers, opportunity, and peril. Amid this surge of strangers, a darkness stirs in Denver’s streets. Amid the bustling chaos, a new terror grips the city—a twisted serial killer who calls himself the Rocky Mountain Reaper. Cold and calculating, the Reaper targets not only innocent women but seems fixated on Sam and his family, leaving gruesome clues and cryptic warnings. ...

Comprised of four heroic crowns of sonnets, Alicia Mountain’s Four in Hand is both formal and experimental, ranging from lyric romantic and familial narratives to blank verses of reconfigured found text pulled from financial newsletter emails.

A Visceral tale of survival, with the soul of a love story. Not long after the first World War, an abandoned boy is rescued from a life on the streets of La Paz by a mysterious Spaniard. As the years pass, it becomes clear that he has become ensnared in a life of violence and crime. The boy grows into a man. He is young and handsome, fierce and loyal, and completely naive about the world that exists just beyond the boundaries of La Paz. Then he meets Gisele. Andalusian Legacy is a tale of forbidden love, betrayal and revenge, and a desperate escape to seek one's own unique destiny. It ...

Rhodes McBride needs a woman in his bed … and this time he's after someone faithful who knows how to keep her legs shut! Catch is the only prospect in their isolated mountain town is not only too young but she is even more messed up than he is. But beggars can't be choosers. Cause one thing is for certain Rhodes isn't about to make the mistake of caring for anyone … again. Hell no, he's been to hell and doesn't want a return flight. Sheltered and secluded, Leo knows she should stay far away from the dark temptation of the wounded, broody rancher. She was reared with certain obligations....

Veterans in rural communities face unique challenges, who will step up to help? Beginning with a brief scenario of a more gentle view of rural life, the book moves through learned information about families, children, and our returning National Guard and Reserve civilian military members. Return experiences will necessarily be different in rural and frontier settings than they are in suburban and urban environments. Our rural and frontier areas, especially in Western states with more isolated communities, less developed communication and limited access to medical, psychological and social ...

John Hardin is the WITSEC identity of a pilot who runs a small aerial photo business flying his Cessna out of Asheville, North Carolina.He's restoring a log home on a ridge overlooking the Great Smokies village of Maggie Valley, and does house repairs to bolster his income. He shares his place with octogenarians Hank and Hattie Gaskill, and has an independent Cherokee girlfriend who rides her own lipstick-red motorcycle.Brandon Doyle, a burly biker friend of theirs, runs afoul of a drug lord who sells synthetic equivalents of cocaine, heroin, and ecstasy. John and Kitty try to help Doyle, ...

As the 1950s' Mau Mau war breaks out in the foothills of Mt. Kenya, Wambũi, a 14-year-old girl, leaves her besieged village to join a prestigious boarding school, a half day’s journey away by train. There, she becomes aware of her extraordinary mathematical abilities discovered by her teacher Eileen Atwood. Initially, Wambũi views Eileen’s attentions with suspicion and hostility, but over time, the two grow close and form a lifelong friendship.

An American Giallo short story series consisting of three connected stories: "Street Stalker", "Macabre Motel", and "Ghost Town 2012: Graveyard" with colorful characters, violence, and a strange motel in the small town of Elkmont, Tennessee.

Hotshot pilot John Hardin has a dark history. He and his beautiful Cherokee girlfriend, Kitty Birdsong, are enjoying life in the Great Smoky Mountains when Nolan Rader, a former BATF agent, emerges from John’s violent past and demands help to save his younger brother, Clint Rader, from the vengeance of the Satan’s Ghosts outlaw motorcycle gang. A warped genius called Brain controls the Satan’s Wraiths, an elite cadre of trained hitters within the worldwide gang, and Brain is privately conducting psychological research on Clint prior to killing him. John must agree to help Nolan Rader ...

Since liquor was easily transportable and widely desired, saloons were one of the first businesses to arrive on the Rocky Mountain mining frontier. The earliest establishments were crude tents or haphazardly constructed shacks. Over time, saloon owners upgraded to more permanent facilities and added ornate decorations, expensive mirrors, and billiard tables imported from the East. In, The Saloon on the Rocky Mountain Mining Frontier, Elliott West stated, “The physical evolution and diversification of the drinking house . . . paralleled the growth of the mining town and its search for a ...

Reagan Dawes doesn't want a man, but she's about to get one--the hard way. Kidnapped by her only kin, she soon finds herself at a fur trappers Rendezvous in the Rocky Mountains. Her stepfather figures to find her a husband, and to fill his pockets in the bargain. Yet, instead of a nightmare ending, Reagan finds herself in the middle of her own private fairytale, complete with a handsome benefactor with a host of problems of his own. Jackson Broussard is a man with a scar on his face and a turbulent past. Accused of murdering his brother, estranged from his father, he must now prove his ...

"SOMETIMES BEING BEHIND BARS IS BETTER THAN BREAKING OUT!" When two murderous cop killing cons doing life sentences at New York's Dannemora Maximum Security Prison decide to make dramatic, almost Hollywood style prison break, Jack Marconi, a private investigator and former prison warden, is called in to locate the two killers. But during the course of their investigation in Upstate New York's thick woodlands, what Marconi and his trusted sidekick, Blood, discover going on inside in the basement depths of the maximum security prison, is nothing less than shocking and deadly. For fans of ...

Voted the favorite stories of readers around the world! This baker's dozen of short stories with a Western flavor is the anthology of the third year's Readers Favorites from Frontier Tales, the online magazine of frontier and Western yarns. Join with others who've said these are some of the best short stories about the West that they've seen.

Combining historical anecdotes, scientific knowledge, and personal stories, Harvesting American Ginseng celebrates the heritage of the Smoky Mountains while providing an indispensable resource for botanists, herbalists, and nature enthusiasts.

Six linked short stories of the American Southwest. A Regular Evening at Eddie C's The Cold Hard Facts of Life The Proper Ritual Two Cowboys Standing With Horses in a Small Indian Village Ten Shots Quick The Katsina Cool, funny, sympathetic, and gritty. The dialogue in these stories is pitch-perfect.