Lives West

Shelly Manne [1920-1964] was an influential big band drummer with the Stan Kenton and Woody Herman Orchestras and along with Shorty Rogers and Jimmy Giuffre was one of the originators of the so-called West Coast Style of Jazz in California in the early 1950s. He went on to lead his own quintet, open a very successful Jazz Club - The Manne Hole - and become a major drummer and percussionist for many years in the Hollywood Studios. The book is a chronological biography as well as a collection of informed articles and interviews by many of the most respected authors in Jazz dealing with all ...

The days are turning colder, preparations are under way for the Winter Fest, and everyone is hoping for a little holiday magic on the Finfarran peninsula. And as Cassie Fitzgerald, fresh from Toronto, is about to discover, there’s more to the holidays on the west coast of Ireland than mistletoe and mince pies. Enchanted by the small town where her dad was born, Cassie makes friends and joins local librarian Hanna Casey’s writing group in Lissbeg Library. But the more she’s drawn into the festivities leading up to her first Irish Christmas, the more questions she wants to ask.

In many ways, the narrative of the Wild West has endured more as legend than reality, and a perfect example of that can be found in the legend of William Henry McCarty Jr., better known as William H. Bonney or "Billy the Kid". Indeed, separating fact from fiction when it comes to the life of the West's most famous outlaw is nearly impossible, due in great measure to the fact that the young man himself cultivated the image of a deadly outlaw and legendary gunman himself.

As a young widow with futures to secure for her two daughters, Glenda McKinley is torn between remaining at her beloved estate, Pinmuir, in the Scottish Highlands and following the plans her deceased husband made to join his brother in America. Though her inclination is to stay among all that is dear and familiar, she is forced to reconsider when her daughter Caitlin's health takes a turn for the worse and the family doctor suggests a change of scenery would do her good.

Thomas C. Squire, creator of the hit documentary series Frankenstein Among the Arts, one-time secret agent and founder of the Society for Popular Aesthetics, is attending an international media symposium in Sicily. It is here that he becomes involved with lovely, but calculating Selina Ajdina. Alongside the drama of the conference is the story of Squire's private life—the tale of his infidelity, the horrifying circumstances surrounding his father's death, and the threatened future of his ancestral home in England.

A woman out for justice… A cowboy with a heart for damaged youth… A man filled with greed who will stop at nothing When Hope Jennings’s aunt suffers a suspicious death, Hope heads to Copper Pass to accept a counseling position on the newly established youth healing center at the Rocking 7 Ranch. When it comes to light that more than her love of youth is behind her arrival, she finds herself under scrutiny. Houston Armstrong loves the ranch but wants more from life than cattle and horses. He’d once saved a little, white-haired girl from death, now she arrives on his doorstep with ...

This is the story of the author’s two paternal great-great-grandfathers, both of whom spent over forty years helping to save lives on the Isles of Scilly: Edwin Lewis Davis as the keeper of St Agnes Lighthouse and John Grenfell Moyle as the islands’ only doctor. It also follows the mariners, miners, preachers and teachers of the Moyle and Davis families as they become part of the great Cornish diaspora. We accompany them over the seven seas aboard speedy clippers, to the Antipodes during the gold rush, to the industrial north of England, to lighthouses along rugged coastlines and to the...

That ache in my heart? Nope, it never really healed…. High school sweethearts, remember? Here we are again, But I’m tangled up in family drama— My dad's fading health, my storied ranch. You, once a cocky cowboy, chasing rodeo glory— Now a hotshot firefighter, Return to our small town to fight an inferno, Rekindling that tiny ember burning inside me. But the years of "what-ifs" and grudges Are piled high like hay bales between us! A wildfire surrounds us—past wounds reemerge, But from the scars a fresh trust takes shape. Is it possible to let go of past resentments, Full of ...

Mitchell Tucker has come back to the small Texas town of Gila Rock looking for something Julianne Boyce has no intention of giving him: forgiveness. It's been eight years since Mitch went to jail for starting a fire that claimed her husband's life...and longer still since Juli and Mitch fell into a forbidden first love that their feuding families brought to an end. She's lost too much because of his thoughtlessness to let herself fall under that familiar spell again.

A delightful Christian romance that will leave you cherishing the heart of Christmas! As a runner-up in 27 competitions, Heather Francis tries to teach young contestants there's more to pageants than winning, even though her mother never got that memo. It's hard enough to focus and ignore the inner voice calling her a fraud without being attracted to Grizzly Gulch Resort's brooding temporary chef. Levi Esteban’s temp job as chef in Helena, Montana, and caregiver for his niece, Shelby, would be perfect if it weren’t for the Miss Snowflake Christmas festivities. Levi’s been against ...

In the midst of the Great Depression, seventeen-year-old Lanie Freeman hopes to keep her family together, become a writer, and find love. But an unexpected health crisis and a devastating town scandal leave the Freeman family reeling. Will their faith uphold them as they struggle to survive?

Twenty-three years since Syrie and Noah made their vows before family, friends, and their Cayuse community. The Rafter S – their ranch in Rye Valley, Oregon – has seen them raise six children. Lucreta, adopted by Syrie along the Oregon Trail, ranches with husband Noah Crow, son of Ten Crows, and their children. Theresa, the girl carried on the trail, now single-handedly proves up her own ranch – The Rafter T. Their oldest son, Daniel, is in law school at Harvard, near Syrie’s family. Younger sons, Benjamin and Michael, look after the horses and cattle. Early-teen Abigail is finding ...

This book invites you on a fascinating journey through timeless Chinese idioms that hold immense practicality in our everyday lives. Spanning a diverse range of themes such as strategic thinking, effective communication, meaningful relationships, the art of learning, emotional wellbeing, and the pursuit of achievement and success, these idioms resonate deeply in our modern existence, transcending cultural boundaries to offer universal wisdom.

Sarah and Thomas Woodford travel west in search of a better life. En route Thomas takes ill and dies leaving Sarah to look after herself. Remaining for a time with the wagon train, a man she befriended betrays her and she soon discovers she's alone in the frontier town of Parish without much except for her meagre savings. Lodging at Parish's sole hotel, Sarah must eke out a living to survive, hoping all the while she'll save enough money to pay for her passage home. When things don't work out as planned, Sarah is forced to make a choice she'd never have considered possible. A Sporting Life ...

Book 1 - Silkworm Secrets Series 'The ancient trees with their rough bark wrap around me like silk cocoons. Their solid trunks and tendril roots grip the ground as if to say, I will hold you, I will not let go.' In the 1960s the rural suburbs of Brisbane should have been an idyllic place for Ruby and Bobby to grow up. Their treehouse retreat, set high in a mulberry tree is a place to share friendship and watch the events of the yards nearby. However as the two become teenagers, the naive Ruby is exposed to the sinister events that Bobby has to deal with in his family life. As the years pass...

If your office building were on fire, would you lock the door and keep working? If you were unhappy with your career, would you pedal a rental commuter bike cross-country to see what else was out there? What if a bloodthirsty axe murderer punched you in the face? Is that the city where you’d start a new business? Jeffrey Tanenhaus makes a lot of questionable decisions in pursuit of a fresh start, but they add up to one wild ride in this true story of the all-American adventure that has everyone talking.

People may not have heard of Robert Leroy Parker or Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, but everyone in America—and most of the rest of the world—have heard of their better-known aliases: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. This infamous duo carved out their place in American history stealing horses and cattle, and ingeniously robbing numerous banks, stagecoaches, and trains.

Cows wandering on roads are an everyday hazard in rural South Africa. They appear suddenly, and their movements are unpredictable. Hitting them can have dire consequences. Dodging Cows is one man's journey from carefree childhood to lazy student to conscripted soldier to passionate farmer, buffeted by the fault lines in South Africa’s history. Gritty and uncompromisingly authentic, this thought provoking novel stirs all the emotions. Part One Follow the adventures of a young boy, Luke Ayres growing up on a farm in southern Natal barely aware of a country divided along racial lines. Part ...

***** BEST WESTERN NOVEL AWARD ***** “Brilliant!” “Hard to put down." "Destined to be a best seller.” "Funny...laughing out loud.” These are just some of the many wonderful reviews given to Len Francis Monahan’s novel Rattlesnakes, Ghosts and Murderers. This first in a series of Western Adventure Tales opens up against a backdrop of murder and insanity and goes on to chronicle the adventures of Colt Barnett, a hard-working, self-reliant, orphan boy and his relationship with Helen McKenna, the woman who adopted him. “Adventure, murder, and paranormal activity...comic humor and ...

Incluso el deseo más pequeño puede ser peligroso. Por eso Los devorasueños te vigilan siempre. Un mundo oculto donde los deseos son robados y los sueños tienen un precio. Giovanni Markson, Van para los amigos que no tiene y Minivan para los niños del cole que le hacen la vida imposible, es un chico de 11 años que siempre se fija en los detalles. Ya sea por su deficiencia auditiva o por su naturaleza inquieta, Van siempre está alerta, y gracias a ello encuentra pequeños tesoros, como un muñeco astronauta o una canica marmolada, que guarda en su caja de tesoros.