"Gathering Strays is a collection of vignettes about Kansas, Great Plains, and Western life--historical and contemporary. Jim Hoy has gathered short essays into sections: Cattle Towns, Outlaws, The Cowboy, and several others. He introduces us to folks we've not met--such as failed train robber Elmer McCurdy, whose arsenic-embalmed body went on tour and made money for the undertaker, Joseph Johnson of Pawhuska, KS--and those with whom we're more familiar,...

In 1848, Cord Bennett, leaving his family behind to stake his claim in California, arrives in the gold-rich canyon of Rio Oro, controlled by deadly and ruthless criminals, where he discovers in a land of opportunity, not all that glitters is gold.

Spring, 1850. After a brutally long winter in the Rockies, Mack Harrigan and his growing family have learned to manage the harsh realities of frontier life. Their new friends, the Shoshone, have taught them the skills they need to survive in this rugged land, from tracking and hunting to fishing and foraging. But the skills they need most are those of the Shoshone warrior ... when their camp is attacked by an enemy tribe. Sometimes there is a need...

"First introduced in Vaughan's A Rambling Man, Lucas Cain is back in the saddle, searching for some peace of mind and some solace after the loss of his wife and newborn child. He has continued his traveling from town to town, an itinerant lawman focused on capturing the bad guys for whatever amount is on the wanted papers for them. Local sheriffs and marshals, though initially wary of him, come to love him because does what he does without pay-other...

"Beaten and humiliated, young Richard Hamilton is dropped, bound and filthy, onto the deck of Dave Green's boat, the Maria. In no time, he's looking into the barrel of Green's pistol as the trader contemplates shooting the worthless philosopher as a means of motivating his men. Captured by Packrat, Heals Like A Willow dreams of the White Mist Dog and fights a battle of wits with the Pawnee as he transports her eastward in search of his father. Meanwhile,...

"In 1857 a young midwife braves the perilous journey west from New York City to Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory in this captivating epic from Sara Donati, the international bestselling author of Where the Light Enters. Carrie Ballentyne's life was upended in 1845 when she had to leave the only home she'd ever known in the mountains of upstate New York. With her are her widowed mother and younger brother Nathan, but the separation from Bonner, Ballentyne,...

When Elizabeth leaves her comfortable life in the city to move to a frontier town, she finds new purpose and love. "Inspired by the award winning author Janette Oke (the Love Comes Softly series) comes more heartwarming and romantic adventures in the When Calls the Heart Year 10 edition. The journey continues with new stories of love, hope, courage, and faith on the Canadian frontier. Following the life of the beloved school teacher Elizabeth Thatcher...

America, 1911. The Wild West is dying. When federal agents threaten his family, former outlaw John Marsten is forced to pick up his guns again and hunt down the gang of criminals he once called friends. Experience an epic fight for survival across the sprawling expanses of the American West and Mexico, as John Marsten struggles to bury his blood-stained past, one man at a time.