American Old West

The task for those in charge of professionalizing the military in the first half of the nineteenth century and transforming it from a militia-led army to a highly disciplined standing army was a difficult job. Americans had long supported a tradition of militia and distrusted professional soldiers.

When Anna Tibbits' new brother-in-law refuses to honor his promise to also provide for her, she is cast out with only a few dollars to her name, nowhere to go and no way to earn a living. Desperate, she agrees to become a mail-order bride to a farmer in Coldwater Creek, Montana. With hope in her heart, she travels west, only to discover that the man she agreed to marry is not the kind of man he seemed to be in his letters. Glenn Pruitt, Coldwater Creek’s only doctor, has no plans to marry. He’s far too busy to court a woman, even if there was one in town he was interested in. But his ...

A Minneapolis Reporter follows the boyhood dream to see Where Goes The River. On Memorial Day, 1925, he embarked from the headwaters of the Mississippi River-Lake Itasca, and spent the next 105 days on the river, becoming the first person to have made the complete 2500-mile journey by canoe. Averaging nearly 30 miles per day Tousley and his three separate companions, endured the elements and enjoyed the mighty grandeur of the river in the only way that one can truly experience it. . . by canoe. A 17-foot wood and canvas beauty named Charles H. Curly of St. Paul their canoe bore the brunt of...

Frontier Tales is an online ezine dedicated to bringing new Western short stories into view. Each month, readers vote on their favorite Tale for that month. At the end of the year, there are 12 stories they have selected as the best. The editor then picks one more to make a total of thirteen, a baker's dozen. These are the winning stories from the fifth year of the ezine's production. Enjoy!

Nominated as BOOK OF THE MONTH by Discovering Diamonds, a leading independent book-review site. "In A Town Called Paradox is one of those rare, glittering reads that traps the reader immediately and doesn't let go. Thank you for an emotional, gripping and utterly rewarding read." Selected as an INDIE BOOK WE LOVE by LoveReading, a top book-recommendation website. "This book will grab your attention from page one... I hope you will read and thoroughly enjoy it, as I did..." I WASN'T looking for Marilyn Monroe even though I knew she was in town filming River of No Return... So begins In A ...

In the wake of her father’s murder, Kayla Backer fled New York City and created a new life for herself in the Montana territory. As housekeeper and friend to Drew Pearson and Gideon Young, she has chosen a beautiful spot on their farm to build her own house—her first true home. Once a respected cattle drive foreman, Drake Meyers lost his job after the payroll he was entrusted with was stolen. Drowning in alcohol and self-pity, he has nowhere left to turn until his skill as a builder lands him a job building Kayla’s house. When Drew and Gideon travel to Missoula to assist Drew’s ...

Enjoy this sweet cowboy novel by small-town romance author Erin K. Wright… The love he needs might be the last thing he expects… Adam Whitaker has loved and lost more times than he can count. But as the town’s vet and the director of an equine therapy camp, life is finally going great – if somewhat lonesome. And then, in strolls Kylie VanLueven, his new receptionist. The last time he saw Kylie, she was just a kid. Now, she’s beautiful and all grown up, but he knows keeping things professional is the right thing to do – no matter what his heart is telling him. Especially because ...

“American Cowboy Poetry: Yarns and Tales of the Old West” is a collection of poems and images based on Kevin Lee McIver’s book, “Scouts, Cowboys, Indians, and Soldiers: A Collection of Short Stories.” In this innovative poetry book, Kevin uses artificial intelligence to create poems and images that were originally created based on family history and newspaper stories from before 1900. Like the original book, these poems reflect the history, love, war, and the peace of the American west.

Evan Chauncey, the long-lost sibling of the Chauncey clan, is poised to marry and thus secure his place in the family. His plans, however, are foiled at the last minute by the unexpected arrival of houseguests. *This book was previously titled Coming Home.*

***Edgy Inspirational Novel - Love scenes are consummated*** ***Western & Historical*** The year is 1886, Halona Ackerman’s life and land have been plagued with calamity for three long years. The country heiress knows most of her enemies, but there is no evidence to trace the frequent accidents and her father’s untimely death back to any of them. Until that happens, she has to keep her parents' legacy going even at the expense of her own dreams. A citified lawyer named Adam Thorpe shows up in the small town of Miskito, Nebraska with all the wrong intentions and a deep, dark secret to ...

Orphan Daliah Owens has been working for the Smithfield bank for two years without a problem at least until the new manager arrives and her drawer suddenly comes up short. Dismissed from her job and disgraced by a crime she didn't commit, Daliah seeks a second chance with an elderly couple heading to Texas on a wagon train. Facing the hardships of the trail with bravery, compassion, and faith Daliah quickly endears herself to not only her employer but many of the other members of the band as well. Invaluable in her knowledge of herbs for healing and nutrition she is soon recognized as an ...

By the autumn of 1883, the wild country west of Holt County was getting organized. Brown County was carved out of Holt and Long Pine precinct early in the year, and the railroad reached Stuart and Bassett and rolled on to Valentine. Telegraph lines ran between the cities, and newspapers--Lord, the newspapers!--were everywhere with their blaring headlines. Progress, every place you looked. But when Augustus "Gus" John is caught between the vigilantes of the new Niobrara Protection Association led by Cap Burnham and old loyalties to his friend, Albert Wade, newly released from jail and ...

Voted the favorite stories of readers around the world! In tales from heart-warming to bone-chilling, authors from across the country take us back to the lives and times of the western frontier, where the new culture met the old and battles were fought, love born, and dreams achieved—or lost. This collection of the Tales voted Best by readers each month at www.FrontierTales.com, plus an Editor's Choice, make 13 wonderful stories of the Old West. Meet civil war soldiers, sheriffs, grifters and gunslingers, natives and ne'er-do-wells, and the women and men who pioneered this vast new land. ...

Voted the favorite stories of readers around the world! Frontier Tales is an online ezine dedicated to bringing new Western short stories into view. Each month, readers vote on their favorite Tale for that month. At the end of the year, there are 12 stories they have selected as the best. The editor then picks one more to make a total of thirteen, a baker's dozen. These are the winners from the fourth year of the ezine's production. Enjoy!

It has been four years since the Civil War ended, and westward expansion seems imminent. Thirsty for adventure, Patrick Mulligan, a young Irish immigrant, learns of gold being discovered in Colorado Territory, so he moves his family from Pennsylvania farmland to the wilderness. Gold lust lures him to the small town of Breckenridge, where he befriends several Irish immigrants and miners. One man in particular, Silas Garvey, strikes Patrick’s fancy and the two become fast friends. But Silas has a dark secret, and is doomed due to chronic illness. Although Patrick adores the old man, he ...

A spring morning in Montana is shattered when Joseph Smith emerges from his tepee and his young wife is shot dead at his feet. He races after his wife's murderer but kills Three Pigs before he finds why the man murdered his bride. He returns to Bannack, where his three other wives fall victim to the plot against Smith and where Smith and his sidekick extract a bloody, Old West-style revenge.

Good Girls Often Get Into Trouble A woman cannot enter the 1885 National Marksman Association championship. But that won’t stop Tessa Harris. When her manly disguise is revealed, she is banished by her family and society. Desperate to make the best of her new situation, she becomes a member of the bad girls' club. Only, the man she out gunned refuses to accept defeat. Seth Robinson, the mayor’s son is now determined to make her pay for her wicked ways. Seth Robinson lost the championship to a damn woman. His loss is a blow to his reputation as Fort Worth’s biggest womanizer. Suddenly ...

Can Beauty Tame the Wildest of Hearts? Ella Dillard is the perfect schoolteacher—prim, proper, and well-respected in Blessing, Texas. But beneath her calm exterior, she longs for a family of her own. When her brother’s reckless mistake lands him in trouble, she’s given an impossible choice: marry two Texas Rangers who can help him—or watch her brother go to jail. Warren Alley and Clinton Flowers have one year to wed and produce an heir, or they’ll lose the sprawling ranch Warren’s grandfather left behind. Ella is everything they never knew they needed—but she doesn’t even ...

Charlie Winters, a skilled physician with a thirst for adventure, jumps at the chance to leave her routine behind when she spots an unusual ad. Trading in her medical practice for the unknown, she heads west with no hesitation, eager to face whatever challenges the wild frontier throws her way. What she does not expect is to meet someone who will turn her life upside down. Martinique LaFleur runs from a life he wants to leave behind, adopting a new name—Martin Larson—and a new identity. Searching for a fresh start, he believes he will find it out in the west. But when an unexpected ...

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.