Shortgrass

 

A Novel of World War II

by John J. Dwyer

Mennonite farm boy Lance Roark’s faith is as big as the challenges he faces on his family’s drought-ravaged Dust Bowl spread on the old Chisholm Trail. He can also run over, around, and away from people on the football field and is a natural-born aviator. These abilities lead him to college gridiron glory and bring him into contact with famed aviators Charles Lindbergh and Wiley Post, entertainment icons Will Rogers and Bing Crosby, best-selling young author John F. Kennedy, and President Franklin Roosevelt.

As war clouds gather across the seas, Lance finds romance first with teenaged Chickasaw cowgirl and stunt flying sensation Sadie Stanton, then with beautiful oil heiress Mary Katherine Murchison, whose mesmerizing voice carries her to the heights of Big Band Era stardom. Nearly all of this crashes against his pious, peaceable ways. And it leads him into the dangerous world of America First, the Lindbergh-led organization that opposes the popular Roosevelt’s covert drive toward American involvement in World War II, now ablaze in both Europe and the Pacific.

When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, Lance, with his lifelong commitment never to raise his hand against another human being, faces his ultimate decision—whether to accept command of a B-17 Flying Fortress in which he would face, and inflict, mass slaughter in Nazi-occupied Europe amidst history’s most fearsome war. (350 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Hat Creek
Genres:
Historical

Tags:
books on audio, World War II novels, WWII novels

About the Author

John J. Dwyer

John J. Dwyer is longtime Adjunct Professor of History and Ethics at Southern Nazarene University. He is former History Chair at a classical college preparatory school, newspaper publisher, and radio host. His books include the non-fiction historical narrative The War Between the States: America’s Uncivil War and the novel When the Bluebonnets Come, both from Bluebonnet Press; the historical novels Stonewall and Robert E. Lee from Broadman & Holman Publishers; the two-book historical narrative The Oklahomans: The Story of Oklahoma and Its People from Red River Press, and the upcoming Shortgrass sequel, Mustang from Galway Press. John is a native Texan who grew up in Oklahoma. He graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma, did post-graduate studies in history at OU, and earned his masters degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He lives with Grace, his wife of 29 years. They have one daughter, Katie, and one grandson, Luke.

Other Books By John J. Dwyer

Montana Fire

 
by Velda Brotherton

Heat level–Hot! This adult contemporary romance contains explicit sexual content and graphic language. Not intended for those under the age of 18. GENRE: Romantic erotica medical romance, mystery/suspense/terrorism involving a nurse and a very hot arson investigator.

No good deed goes unpunished. Free clinic nurse, Jamie Henderson, has been slogging through life in cement-filled boots for the past six months. It’s been damned hard to get past her recent betrayal, but she’s determined to try. When two men chase her, she manages to escape, but the near attack shakes her to the core. Now more than ever, she needs to take back control of her life. Arson investigator, Max Gruden, is called to a blaze at an abandoned warehouse only to learn a man was found clinging to life inside. After the victim is rushed to the hospital, Jamie, a woman who has intrigued Max for a while, tries to cross the police barrier, searching for answers about her friend who was burned in the fire. What starts out as a simple friendship between Max and Jamie quickly turns into a blaze of passion. When she finds herself a target in a terrorist plot, Max is enraged and promises to do everything in his power to keep her safe. (184 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Radiance
Genres:
Romance, Western

Tags:
western romance

About the Author

Velda Brotherton

Velda Brotherton has a long career in historical writing, both fiction and nonfiction. Her love of history and the west is responsible for the publication of 25 books and novels since 1994.

But she’s not about ready to stop there. When the mid-list crisis hit big city publishers, she turned first to writing regional nonfiction, then began to look at the growing popularity of small presses as a source for the books that continue to flow from her busy mind. Those voices simply won’t shut up, and so she finds them a home.

First she obtained a conversion of rights for her out-of-print historical romances and published all six to Kindle. Within a matter of months, she placed a western historical romance, Stone Heart’s Woman, with The Wild Rose Press, an award winning publisher of both print and E books; then a mainstream paranormal, Wolf Song, was accepted by SynergE Books.

Not satisfied that her career might level off, she produced an audio book of Montana Promises along with Jeff Justus. The Montana series is also available as a boxed set. A novella, The Legend of the Rose, based on the true story of Cimarron Rose, is available on Kindle. Stone Heart’s woman is also available in audio.

While Wild Rose Press continues to publish her western romances, including Wilda’s Outlaw: The Victorians, and the second in the series, Rowena’s Hellion, in a change of pace, the press published her Vintage love story, Once There Were Sad Songs. The most thrilling experience in her writing career came when Oghma Creative Media contracted her book, Beyond the Moon, a story she has treasured since its first writing in 1985, and signed her to a four-book contract. One is to reprint the Ozark cookbook containing recipes from her mother’s collection and stories of growing up in Arkansas during the depression,

The most fun she’s had came when owner/designer of Oghma Creative Media, Casey Cowan, suggested a new brand. Sexy Dark and Gritty so well fits her writing style that it was quickly adopted.

This busy writer who has co-chaired a large weekly critique group since 1988, also gives two yearly all-day workshops and mentors promising young writers, plus teaches at conferences in a four-state area. She isn’t sure what will come next. With all those voices in her head, she’s bound to let some of them out to play before long.

Website: veldabrotherton.com

Other Books By Velda Brotherton

Back to Bremen

 

One Girl's Journey to Freedom Through the War-Torn Ruins of the Third Reich

by Cecelia Wilson

Edith Röpke, her seven siblings, and their mother have learned to be silent and live inconspicuously….

It is 1939. On the cusp of World War II, the city of Bremen holds its breath with quiet unease. For years, the Jews have been excluded from everyday life, persecuted at the hands of the Nazis. Now, all of Germany will suffer for their Führer’s mad ambitions. In his quest for an Aryan utopia, Adolf Hitler invades Poland and Britain declares war on Germany.

As Bremen’s ports and factories bear the brunt of payloads from RAF Wellington and Lancaster bombers, Edith‘s childhood is shaped by unrelenting Allied bombing raids, streets strewn with dead bodies, and the ever-present reminder to trust no one outside the family.

Seen through Edith’s eyes as a child and through her memories as an adult seventy years after the war’s end, Back to Bremen depicts her harrowing nine-week journey through war-torn Germany. It’s the story of the fear of a child and the sheer determination of a mother risking it all so she and her children can return home. Most of all, it’s a vivid reminder of how war creates countless victims, but hope can make heroes of the most common among us. (206 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Otterford
Genres:
Historical

Tags:
historical fiction, historical fiction novels, World War II novels, WWII novels

About the Author

Cecelia Wilson

For more than a decade, Cecelia Wilson has been the Feature Writer for Searcy Living magazine. Over the years, she has penned articles introducing readers to governors, senators, Grammy Award-winning musicians, and individuals from all walks of life. In addition to writing articles, books, and youth plays, Cecelia is a singer, pastor’s wife, play director, and acts in community theaters, commercials, film, and television. Born and raised in Batesville, Cecelia graduated from Batesville High School and earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Cecelia lives in central Arkansas with her husband, Dennis, but manages to check in often with her grown son and daughter, Cody and Cheyenne.

The Dream Merchants

 
by Harold Robbins

From the author of The New York Times number one bestseller The Carpetbaggers comes a novel of passion, intrigue, power, and money.

With 11 weeks on The New York Times best sellers list, The Dream Merchants provides a fascinating look at the early days of the world’s most glamorous industry—Hollywood. It was the latest “gold rush”—when ambitious, if unscrupulous, men and women flooded California to turn cinematic dreams into reality, regardless of the moral cost. Johnny Edge, a former carnival barker, schemes and plots his way to the top while Peter Kessler turns his back on a staid life of small-town stability to stake his fortune on the movie business. Beautiful starlet Dulcie Warren is willing to use her sexuality and to play dirty to get to the top, if that’s what it takes.

When the lives of these three ambitious, determined characters collide, they have the potential to build a dream—or shatter one to pieces.
More than 25 New York Times bestsellers later—many reaching the #1 spot—and with over 750 million copies sold to date, Harold Robbins became one of the most successful authors of all time. (558 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Rogue River
Genres:
Classics, Mainstream

Tags:
harold robbins books, harold robbins novel

About the Author

Harold Robbins

Harold Robbins (1916-1997) is one of the best-selling American fiction writers of all time, ranking 5th on the World’s Best-Selling Fiction Author List just behind William Shakespeare and Agatha Christie. He wrote over 25 bestselling novels, sold more than 750 million copies in 42 languages, and spent over 300 weeks combined on The New York Times bestseller list. His books were adapted into 13 successful films and television series that garnered numerous Oscar® and Golden Globe® nominations starring Steve McQueen, Elvis Presley, Laurence Olivier, Bette Davis, Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, and more. Robbins’ personal life was as fascinating to the public as his novels. An enthusiastic participant in the social and sexual revolution of the 1960s, Robbins cultivated a “playboy” image and maintained friendships with stars including Frank Sinatra, Clint Eastwood, Tony Bennett, and Sammy Davis, Jr., and was one of the first novelists to be prominently featured in gossip magazines, earning him the title of “The World’s First Rock Star Author.”

Other Books By Harold Robbins

Montana Dreams

 
by Velda Brotherton

The Path to Our Dreams is Often the Most Difficult.

An orphan and veteran of the Civil War, Ben Poole lives wild and free. When he’s not raising hell, he works as a guard for a freight wagon owned by Reed and Tressie Bannon. His freewheeling days come to an end, though, when he discovers an unconscious woman outside his cabin and takes her into town to get help.

Summoned by her parents, Dessa Fallon is on her way to Virginia City where they’ve found a clue to the whereabouts of her missing brother. Unraveling the tangle of intrigue surrounding her family and avoiding men eager to take her fortune, Dessa finds herself alone and injured in an unknown land with no one to turn to except the rugged man who saved her.

Tough and gritty, yet surprisingly tender, Montana Dreams is a story of two lovers from different worlds brought together in the untamed wilderness. (180 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Radiance
Genres:
Historical, Romance, Western

Tags:
historical fiction, historical fiction novels, western book series, western books

About the Author

Velda Brotherton

Velda Brotherton has a long career in historical writing, both fiction and nonfiction. Her love of history and the west is responsible for the publication of 25 books and novels since 1994.

But she’s not about ready to stop there. When the mid-list crisis hit big city publishers, she turned first to writing regional nonfiction, then began to look at the growing popularity of small presses as a source for the books that continue to flow from her busy mind. Those voices simply won’t shut up, and so she finds them a home.

First she obtained a conversion of rights for her out-of-print historical romances and published all six to Kindle. Within a matter of months, she placed a western historical romance, Stone Heart’s Woman, with The Wild Rose Press, an award winning publisher of both print and E books; then a mainstream paranormal, Wolf Song, was accepted by SynergE Books.

Not satisfied that her career might level off, she produced an audio book of Montana Promises along with Jeff Justus. The Montana series is also available as a boxed set. A novella, The Legend of the Rose, based on the true story of Cimarron Rose, is available on Kindle. Stone Heart’s woman is also available in audio.

While Wild Rose Press continues to publish her western romances, including Wilda’s Outlaw: The Victorians, and the second in the series, Rowena’s Hellion, in a change of pace, the press published her Vintage love story, Once There Were Sad Songs. The most thrilling experience in her writing career came when Oghma Creative Media contracted her book, Beyond the Moon, a story she has treasured since its first writing in 1985, and signed her to a four-book contract. One is to reprint the Ozark cookbook containing recipes from her mother’s collection and stories of growing up in Arkansas during the depression,

The most fun she’s had came when owner/designer of Oghma Creative Media, Casey Cowan, suggested a new brand. Sexy Dark and Gritty so well fits her writing style that it was quickly adopted.

This busy writer who has co-chaired a large weekly critique group since 1988, also gives two yearly all-day workshops and mentors promising young writers, plus teaches at conferences in a four-state area. She isn’t sure what will come next. With all those voices in her head, she’s bound to let some of them out to play before long.

Website: veldabrotherton.com

Other Books By Velda Brotherton

Remembrance

 
by Velda Brotherton

In a world of sin, can forgiveness and understanding lead the way to salvation for us all?

After the death of her son in a horrific drunk-driving accident, every day is a struggle for Rebecca. A struggle to get out of bed, to bathe, to live in a life devoid of color, joy, or meaning. When Lucas, the young man responsible for all this, is released from jail, Rebecca’s only thought is vengeance—to hunt the little bastard down and make him pay for what he took from her.

With the best of intentions, the young man’s counselor sets up a meeting between Lucas and Rebecca, thinking it will bring healing for them both. It’s not going to be that simple, though. Rebecca’s fight not to sink into hatred is destroying her marriage and her relationships with her other children, and forgiveness is something she doesn’t know if she can give. But life is complex, and people’s motives are never clear. Knowing a person’s background makes it far harder to hate them, no matter their crimes. Could the event that tore Rebecca’s family apart lead to redemption for them all? (312 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Radiance
Genres:
Mainstream

Tags:
family life

About the Author

Velda Brotherton

Velda Brotherton has a long career in historical writing, both fiction and nonfiction. Her love of history and the west is responsible for the publication of 25 books and novels since 1994.

But she’s not about ready to stop there. When the mid-list crisis hit big city publishers, she turned first to writing regional nonfiction, then began to look at the growing popularity of small presses as a source for the books that continue to flow from her busy mind. Those voices simply won’t shut up, and so she finds them a home.

First she obtained a conversion of rights for her out-of-print historical romances and published all six to Kindle. Within a matter of months, she placed a western historical romance, Stone Heart’s Woman, with The Wild Rose Press, an award winning publisher of both print and E books; then a mainstream paranormal, Wolf Song, was accepted by SynergE Books.

Not satisfied that her career might level off, she produced an audio book of Montana Promises along with Jeff Justus. The Montana series is also available as a boxed set. A novella, The Legend of the Rose, based on the true story of Cimarron Rose, is available on Kindle. Stone Heart’s woman is also available in audio.

While Wild Rose Press continues to publish her western romances, including Wilda’s Outlaw: The Victorians, and the second in the series, Rowena’s Hellion, in a change of pace, the press published her Vintage love story, Once There Were Sad Songs. The most thrilling experience in her writing career came when Oghma Creative Media contracted her book, Beyond the Moon, a story she has treasured since its first writing in 1985, and signed her to a four-book contract. One is to reprint the Ozark cookbook containing recipes from her mother’s collection and stories of growing up in Arkansas during the depression,

The most fun she’s had came when owner/designer of Oghma Creative Media, Casey Cowan, suggested a new brand. Sexy Dark and Gritty so well fits her writing style that it was quickly adopted.

This busy writer who has co-chaired a large weekly critique group since 1988, also gives two yearly all-day workshops and mentors promising young writers, plus teaches at conferences in a four-state area. She isn’t sure what will come next. With all those voices in her head, she’s bound to let some of them out to play before long.

Website: veldabrotherton.com

Other Books By Velda Brotherton

Riding the Shortgrass Country

 

A Short Story

by John J. Dwyer

Patrick O’Rourke and his six brothers have ridden a lot of trails since leaving Ireland. The Atlantic voyage, migrating west, soldiering alongside General Stand Watie and the Cherokee Mounted Rifles in the Indian Territory Civil War. Now only Patrick and his brother Joseph remain, driving longhorns up the Chisholm Trail. A ferocious band of Comanche warriors aims to stop them. (36 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Hat Creek
Genres:
Western

Tags:
short stories, western short stories

About the Author

John J. Dwyer

John J. Dwyer is longtime Adjunct Professor of History and Ethics at Southern Nazarene University. He is former History Chair at a classical college preparatory school, newspaper publisher, and radio host. His books include the non-fiction historical narrative The War Between the States: America’s Uncivil War and the novel When the Bluebonnets Come, both from Bluebonnet Press; the historical novels Stonewall and Robert E. Lee from Broadman & Holman Publishers; the two-book historical narrative The Oklahomans: The Story of Oklahoma and Its People from Red River Press, and the upcoming Shortgrass sequel, Mustang from Galway Press. John is a native Texan who grew up in Oklahoma. He graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma, did post-graduate studies in history at OU, and earned his masters degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He lives with Grace, his wife of 29 years. They have one daughter, Katie, and one grandson, Luke.

Other Books By John J. Dwyer

Footprints in the Snow

 

A Short Story

by Staci Troilo

Christmas used to be Ben Lyndon’s favorite holiday. It represented everything he held dear—friends, family, love. Now, thanks to one mistake, it’s all gone. And not only from the holidays, but from his whole life.

A surprise visit from a former lover brings hope of rekindling some of the enjoyment, some of the passion. But will Ben’s desire to recapture what he had prevent him from being able to find fulfillment in what he has in front of him? (30 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Radiance
Genres:
Mainstream

Tags:
literary fiction, short stories

About the Author

Staci Troilo

Staci Troilo grew up in Western Pennsylvania writing stories and poetry in her free time, so it was no surprise that she studied writing in college. After receiving creative and professional writing degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, she went on to get her Master’s Degree in Professional Writing, and she worked in corporate communications until she had her children. When they had grown, she went on to become a writing professor, and now she is a freelance writer and editor living in Arkansas with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.

Staci is a multi-genre author and an Amazon bestseller. Her fiction combines dark, dangerous heroes and strong, capable heroines woven together into a contemporary tapestry of tantalizing romance. Compelling villains and gripping mysteries engage the reader from page one of her novels and her short stories feature ordinary characters conquering the odds in extraordinary situations.

When she isn’t reading or writing, she’s probably playing with her dogs, relaxing poolside, or working in the kitchen. She loves to cook and bake and is an award-winning recipe developer.

Other Books By Staci Troilo

One Last Image

 

A Short Story

by Velda Brotherton

It’s a terrifying thing to go to war when you’re just seventeen... and even harder if you’re a girl and your job is to take photographs of men shooting and killing one another. Allie sets off to the bloody fields of the Civil War, and soon learns that it's often hard to tell the difference between friends and enemies.

Published:
Publisher: Hat Creek
Genres:
Western

Tags:
civil war, photography, short stories, western short stories

About the Author

Velda Brotherton

Velda Brotherton has a long career in historical writing, both fiction and nonfiction. Her love of history and the west is responsible for the publication of 25 books and novels since 1994.

But she’s not about ready to stop there. When the mid-list crisis hit big city publishers, she turned first to writing regional nonfiction, then began to look at the growing popularity of small presses as a source for the books that continue to flow from her busy mind. Those voices simply won’t shut up, and so she finds them a home.

First she obtained a conversion of rights for her out-of-print historical romances and published all six to Kindle. Within a matter of months, she placed a western historical romance, Stone Heart’s Woman, with The Wild Rose Press, an award winning publisher of both print and E books; then a mainstream paranormal, Wolf Song, was accepted by SynergE Books.

Not satisfied that her career might level off, she produced an audio book of Montana Promises along with Jeff Justus. The Montana series is also available as a boxed set. A novella, The Legend of the Rose, based on the true story of Cimarron Rose, is available on Kindle. Stone Heart’s woman is also available in audio.

While Wild Rose Press continues to publish her western romances, including Wilda’s Outlaw: The Victorians, and the second in the series, Rowena’s Hellion, in a change of pace, the press published her Vintage love story, Once There Were Sad Songs. The most thrilling experience in her writing career came when Oghma Creative Media contracted her book, Beyond the Moon, a story she has treasured since its first writing in 1985, and signed her to a four-book contract. One is to reprint the Ozark cookbook containing recipes from her mother’s collection and stories of growing up in Arkansas during the depression,

The most fun she’s had came when owner/designer of Oghma Creative Media, Casey Cowan, suggested a new brand. Sexy Dark and Gritty so well fits her writing style that it was quickly adopted.

This busy writer who has co-chaired a large weekly critique group since 1988, also gives two yearly all-day workshops and mentors promising young writers, plus teaches at conferences in a four-state area. She isn’t sure what will come next. With all those voices in her head, she’s bound to let some of them out to play before long.

Website: veldabrotherton.com

Other Books By Velda Brotherton

Saturday Night Bushwhack

 
by J.B. Hogan

The Tucker boys had been at loggerheads with the authorities for the best part of a year – two of their clan had even been shot down by the law. Late one Saturday in the summer of 1881, just as Marshall Will Parsons and his deputy Ed Sharman crossed the town square in the near pitch blackness of night, shots suddenly broke the stillness of the air. Had the Tuckers finally claimed their revenge? (18 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Hat Creek
Genres:
Western

Tags:
short stories, western short stories

About the Author

J.B. Hogan

J. B. Hogan is a prolific and award-winning author. He has published over 270 stories and poems.

His books, including Living Behind Time, Losing Cotton, The Rubicon, Fallen, Tin Hollow, and many more, are available from Oghma Creative Media and Amazon.com.

Other Books By J.B. Hogan

Jailbreak

 

A Short Story

by J.B. Hogan

Theo Murray had no interest in being a bushwhacker, but the gang that took him off his family farm made him one, anyway. Now he’s doing time in the Vernon County Jail, wishing for freedom and the chance to start his life anew. Some of the other boys locked up with Theo have the same idea—but wishing isn’t all they plan on doing… (22 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Hat Creek
Genres:
Western

Tags:
short stories, western short stories

About the Author

J.B. Hogan

J. B. Hogan is a prolific and award-winning author. He has published over 270 stories and poems.

His books, including Living Behind Time, Losing Cotton, The Rubicon, Fallen, Tin Hollow, and many more, are available from Oghma Creative Media and Amazon.com.

Other Books By J.B. Hogan

Fingernail Moon

 

A Short Story

by Pamela Foster

Soldiers killed his family and imprisoned Montega and his sister, Niabi, with the Black Robes. While Montega struggled to preserve his Osage spirit amidst beatings and teachings about the dead god of the white man, his sister Niabi had terrors of her own to endure. On a crescent moon night, the boy asked the spirit of his ancestors for help, gathered his sister and made his last run toward freedom. The escape went bad from its first moments and a white man lie dead on the floor of a dirty barn. The children ran for their freedom, for their souls, for their very lives. (31 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Hat Creek
Genres:
Western

Tags:
short stories, western short stories

About the Author

Pamela Foster

Pamela Foster lives in her hometown of Eureka, California in the coastal fog and rain of the west coast. A popular speaker and award winning author of contemporary fiction, historical fiction, memoirs and a collection of essays, Foster is currently working on a book of essays about caring for her husband as, together, they deal with the long-term, human costs of war.

Other Books By Pamela Foster

Stand-Alone Books

Book Cover: Boogie with Chesty
Boogie with Chesty
Clueless Gringos in Paradise - cover
Clueless Gringos in Paradise
Cover: Fingernail Moon
Fingernail Moon

Series: Bigfoot

Cover: Bigfoot Blues
Bigfoot Blues
Cover: Bigfoot Mamas
Bigfoot Mamas

Series: Noisy Creek

cover: Noisy Creek
Noisy Creek

Series: Soldier's Heart Trilogy

Cover: Soldier's Heart
Soldier's Heart

The Promise

 

A Short Story

by John T. Biggs

Nelva Riley’s smile broke up at the edges when she heard a transmission grind into a lower gear—the sound of trouble driving up a mountain road. She stepped outside and watched a cloud of dust follow her best friend’s pick up truck into her dooryard. The expression on Arizona Begay’s face told her everything she needed to know. Her babies’ daddy was looking for her again.

Love is understanding that your baby’s life is more important than where he lives it. (32 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Hat Creek
Genres:
Western

Tags:
short stories, western short stories

About the Author

John T. Biggs

Everything John T. Biggs writes is so full of Oklahoma that once you read it, you'll never get the red dirt stains washed out of your mind. The tribes play a significant role. No authentic discussion of the state is possible without them. Traditional Native American legends are reworked and set in the modern era, the way oral historians always intended. One of John's stories, "Boy Witch" took grand prize in the 80th annual Writer's Digest Competition in 2011. Another won third prize in the 2011 Lorian Hemingway short story contest. Eighty of his short stories have been published in one form or another, along with several of his novels.

Other Books By John T. Biggs

Last Ride to Devil’s Hole

 

A Short Story

by Velda Brotherton

In the West in the 1800s, men own their women—and treat them any way they want. Rand’s way was to knock his around. Marly’s taken it for years, but now, six-gun in hand, she’ll take no more. Sooner or later, her “loving” husband will come home from drinking himself stupid, and find out just what it means to hit his wife once too often. (32 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Hat Creek
Genres:
Western

Tags:
short stories, western books

About the Author

Velda Brotherton

Velda Brotherton has a long career in historical writing, both fiction and nonfiction. Her love of history and the west is responsible for the publication of 25 books and novels since 1994.

But she’s not about ready to stop there. When the mid-list crisis hit big city publishers, she turned first to writing regional nonfiction, then began to look at the growing popularity of small presses as a source for the books that continue to flow from her busy mind. Those voices simply won’t shut up, and so she finds them a home.

First she obtained a conversion of rights for her out-of-print historical romances and published all six to Kindle. Within a matter of months, she placed a western historical romance, Stone Heart’s Woman, with The Wild Rose Press, an award winning publisher of both print and E books; then a mainstream paranormal, Wolf Song, was accepted by SynergE Books.

Not satisfied that her career might level off, she produced an audio book of Montana Promises along with Jeff Justus. The Montana series is also available as a boxed set. A novella, The Legend of the Rose, based on the true story of Cimarron Rose, is available on Kindle. Stone Heart’s woman is also available in audio.

While Wild Rose Press continues to publish her western romances, including Wilda’s Outlaw: The Victorians, and the second in the series, Rowena’s Hellion, in a change of pace, the press published her Vintage love story, Once There Were Sad Songs. The most thrilling experience in her writing career came when Oghma Creative Media contracted her book, Beyond the Moon, a story she has treasured since its first writing in 1985, and signed her to a four-book contract. One is to reprint the Ozark cookbook containing recipes from her mother’s collection and stories of growing up in Arkansas during the depression,

The most fun she’s had came when owner/designer of Oghma Creative Media, Casey Cowan, suggested a new brand. Sexy Dark and Gritty so well fits her writing style that it was quickly adopted.

This busy writer who has co-chaired a large weekly critique group since 1988, also gives two yearly all-day workshops and mentors promising young writers, plus teaches at conferences in a four-state area. She isn’t sure what will come next. With all those voices in her head, she’s bound to let some of them out to play before long.

Website: veldabrotherton.com

Other Books By Velda Brotherton

The Palimpsest

 

A Clementine Novella

by John T. Biggs

Inside the Jack Fork Installation is a high tech civilization maintained by a pair of mad scientist clones. Outside, humanity has degenerated to a stone age culture. The world is wild and dangerous. A thousand years has passed since the apocalypse. It may be another thousand years before humanity recovers. Perhaps they never will.

Clementine is the most important clone of all. Her central nervous system is the only one that can be programmed again and again. She can learn all the skills necessary to take high tech civilization across the galaxy to a new planet the scientists have chosen. But the cost is slavery for her and for everyone who follows the New World Plan.

How will Clem choose to use her special brain? Will she start over with the savage human race outside the installation? Or will she help the scientists build a brave new world that includes every comfort but freedom—even an immortality of sorts?

Her only advisers are the ghosts of a few old friends who speak only inside her mind. And she suspects they might be her imagination. (63 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Dragonbrae
Genres:
Science Fiction

Tags:
post-apocalypse

About the Author

John T. Biggs

Everything John T. Biggs writes is so full of Oklahoma that once you read it, you'll never get the red dirt stains washed out of your mind. The tribes play a significant role. No authentic discussion of the state is possible without them. Traditional Native American legends are reworked and set in the modern era, the way oral historians always intended. One of John's stories, "Boy Witch" took grand prize in the 80th annual Writer's Digest Competition in 2011. Another won third prize in the 2011 Lorian Hemingway short story contest. Eighty of his short stories have been published in one form or another, along with several of his novels.

Other Books By John T. Biggs

Ghost Radio

 

A Clementine Novella

by John T. Biggs

When Clementine goes into a trance and predicts WWIII at a meeting of a rural spiritualist church, the congregation is convinced she is a prophet with a direct connection to the other side.

Carl, a scientist with a nearby secret lab, has other ideas. He’s certain she has a special kind of epilepsy that opens a previously unknown channel of communication—just the thing he needs to produce clones who’ll be the key to the survival of the human race. But first, he has to “get a close up look at Clem’s fascinatin’ little brain.”

It sounds like she’s about to become some kind of lab rat, but Clementine narrowly escapes him the night the atomic bombs start falling. None close enough to set her little corner of the world on fire, but cities go up in smoke and modern technology is ruined forever‚ no power, no transportation, no communication. Through it all, Clem she stays one step ahead of Carl and the ragged survivors of the holocaust.

After a few months of close calls and near disasters, though, Clem knows she can’t keep running. Her only way out is to meet Carl face to face. If he wins, it might mean the end of Clementine. If she wins, it might mean the end of the world… (80 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Dragonbrae
Genres:
Science Fiction, Thriller

Tags:
novella, post-apocalypse, science fiction books

About the Author

John T. Biggs

Everything John T. Biggs writes is so full of Oklahoma that once you read it, you'll never get the red dirt stains washed out of your mind. The tribes play a significant role. No authentic discussion of the state is possible without them. Traditional Native American legends are reworked and set in the modern era, the way oral historians always intended. One of John's stories, "Boy Witch" took grand prize in the 80th annual Writer's Digest Competition in 2011. Another won third prize in the 2011 Lorian Hemingway short story contest. Eighty of his short stories have been published in one form or another, along with several of his novels.

Other Books By John T. Biggs

Pride and Fall

 
by Staci Troilo

Fear unchecked cripples. Fear conquered liberates.

Faith Keller has suffered much in her life—the murder of her sister, the near-destruction and almost-ruin of her family, a traumatic abduction. It’s no wonder she battles the effects of PTSD on a daily basis. The last thing she needs is to be the subject of an intense police investigation for the very crime her father was blamed for years before. Yet, despite her family’s staunchest efforts, she finds herself on the hot seat with a tenacious officer—but one whose attention she actually relishes.

Carter Emerson takes his job seriously. It’s the only tribute he can make to honor his fallen brother, and he’s determined to do the title “police officer” justice. When he sets his sights on Faith Keller, he’s torn. His mentor tells him he’s got it all wrong, but the evidence doesn’t lie. The worst part? He doesn’t want her to be guilty. He just wants her.

A story of healing and personal growth, Pride and Fall ends the Keller Family trilogy with action, deception, and a revelation readers won’t see coming. (340 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Radiance
Genres:
Mainstream, Romance

About the Author

Staci Troilo

Staci Troilo grew up in Western Pennsylvania writing stories and poetry in her free time, so it was no surprise that she studied writing in college. After receiving creative and professional writing degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, she went on to get her Master’s Degree in Professional Writing, and she worked in corporate communications until she had her children. When they had grown, she went on to become a writing professor, and now she is a freelance writer and editor living in Arkansas with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.

Staci is a multi-genre author and an Amazon bestseller. Her fiction combines dark, dangerous heroes and strong, capable heroines woven together into a contemporary tapestry of tantalizing romance. Compelling villains and gripping mysteries engage the reader from page one of her novels and her short stories feature ordinary characters conquering the odds in extraordinary situations.

When she isn’t reading or writing, she’s probably playing with her dogs, relaxing poolside, or working in the kitchen. She loves to cook and bake and is an award-winning recipe developer.

Other Books By Staci Troilo

Bigfoot Mamas

 
by Pamela Foster
Cover: Bigfoot Mamas
Part of the Bigfoot series:
View on Goodreads

At thirty-two, Samantha has hit her stride. Most days, she splits her time between keeping up her hole-in-the-wall waterfront bar and managing the Humboldt County Bigfoot Hunters. Throw in her rambunctious twin daughters, Victoria and Dharma, and her gentle giant husband, Bubba, and you have a woman with her hands full. You couldn’t call it an ordinary life, but it’s stable and happy. Still waters, however, often run deep. When an all-too-human specter from the past shows up, Sam and her oddball band of friends—including the tall, hairy, forest-dwelling ones—are confronted with a monster of a very different kind. As the darkness grows and threatens to destroy them all, they’re faced with a choice. Can they put their differences behind them and fight together for what they love? Or are some scars just too deep to be forgotten?

With a voice as unique and lyric as Steinbeck’s, Pamela Foster paints her native California Redwood Country as a living, breathing part of her story and everything in it. You’ll take every step through the mists and ancient forests with Samantha and her motley crew, feel every cold shiver, see every stunning vista. With a natural flair for understanding the ties that bind us, Bigfoot Mamas weaves a touching, complex tale of love, healing, and redemption, and answers the age-old question of just how far a mother will go to protect her children. (234 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Radiance
Genres:
Mainstream

Tags:
bigfoot books, sasquatch books

About the Author

Pamela Foster

Pamela Foster lives in her hometown of Eureka, California in the coastal fog and rain of the west coast. A popular speaker and award winning author of contemporary fiction, historical fiction, memoirs and a collection of essays, Foster is currently working on a book of essays about caring for her husband as, together, they deal with the long-term, human costs of war.

Other Books By Pamela Foster

Stand-Alone Books

Book Cover: Boogie with Chesty
Boogie with Chesty
Clueless Gringos in Paradise - cover
Clueless Gringos in Paradise
Cover: Fingernail Moon
Fingernail Moon

Series: Bigfoot

Cover: Bigfoot Blues
Bigfoot Blues
Cover: Bigfoot Mamas
Bigfoot Mamas

Series: Noisy Creek

cover: Noisy Creek
Noisy Creek

Series: Soldier's Heart Trilogy

Cover: Soldier's Heart
Soldier's Heart

Montana Promises

 
by Velda Brotherton

An epic adventure of love and revenge as vast and wild as the untamed land…

After the death of her mother in childbirth, Tressie Majors is left alone in a soddy on the vast great plains. Struck by gold fever, her father has abandoned his family and set out for the gold strike near Virginia City, Montana. Tressie buries her mother and the child on her own, vowing revenge… But from out of the distance a horse and rider appear. Could this be her way out of a life she’s come to hate? She can’t know that Reed Bannon and his horse are near death and will be lucky if they make it to the soddy. Montana Promises is a love story set on the wild western frontier filled with passion, vengeance, loss, and love. (176 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Radiance
Genres:
Western

Tags:
western book series, western books

About the Author

Velda Brotherton

Velda Brotherton has a long career in historical writing, both fiction and nonfiction. Her love of history and the west is responsible for the publication of 25 books and novels since 1994.

But she’s not about ready to stop there. When the mid-list crisis hit big city publishers, she turned first to writing regional nonfiction, then began to look at the growing popularity of small presses as a source for the books that continue to flow from her busy mind. Those voices simply won’t shut up, and so she finds them a home.

First she obtained a conversion of rights for her out-of-print historical romances and published all six to Kindle. Within a matter of months, she placed a western historical romance, Stone Heart’s Woman, with The Wild Rose Press, an award winning publisher of both print and E books; then a mainstream paranormal, Wolf Song, was accepted by SynergE Books.

Not satisfied that her career might level off, she produced an audio book of Montana Promises along with Jeff Justus. The Montana series is also available as a boxed set. A novella, The Legend of the Rose, based on the true story of Cimarron Rose, is available on Kindle. Stone Heart’s woman is also available in audio.

While Wild Rose Press continues to publish her western romances, including Wilda’s Outlaw: The Victorians, and the second in the series, Rowena’s Hellion, in a change of pace, the press published her Vintage love story, Once There Were Sad Songs. The most thrilling experience in her writing career came when Oghma Creative Media contracted her book, Beyond the Moon, a story she has treasured since its first writing in 1985, and signed her to a four-book contract. One is to reprint the Ozark cookbook containing recipes from her mother’s collection and stories of growing up in Arkansas during the depression,

The most fun she’s had came when owner/designer of Oghma Creative Media, Casey Cowan, suggested a new brand. Sexy Dark and Gritty so well fits her writing style that it was quickly adopted.

This busy writer who has co-chaired a large weekly critique group since 1988, also gives two yearly all-day workshops and mentors promising young writers, plus teaches at conferences in a four-state area. She isn’t sure what will come next. With all those voices in her head, she’s bound to let some of them out to play before long.

Website: veldabrotherton.com

Other Books By Velda Brotherton

Bigfoot Blues

 
by Pamela Foster
Cover: Bigfoot Blues
Part of the Bigfoot series:
View on Goodreads

Samantha is a young woman looking for a sign. Born and raised in the heart of Bigfoot Country, she learned the ins and outs of hunting for the Big Guy at her father’s knee, driving the backroads in an old Humboldt Creamery truck fitted with a giant cage and an unshakable belief in things unseen. Sometimes though, faith alone isn’t enough. Sam struggles with the need to experience more in life than Bigfoot hunts and the rundown waterfront bar she runs in her father’s stead. Things reach critical mass when a handsome young journalist arrives in town and sweeps Sam off her feet, forcing her to face her choices head-on in the process. Can she find her own faith in a creature most call mythical? Or is she better served cutting ties entirely with the traditions of her youth… along with everyone and everything that goes with them?

With her signature poetic style, Pamela Foster paints the landscapes of California Redwood Country so vividly, you’ll swear you can feel the cold whisper of the mist on your skin as you rollick through the wilderness with Samantha and her tribe. Humorous as it is poignant, Bigfoot Blues delivers a delightfully quirky look into one woman’s journey down the indistinct trails of identity, faith, self-understanding, and the unquenchable human drive for something more. (232 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Radiance
Genres:
Mainstream

Tags:
bigfoot books, sasquatch books

About the Author

Pamela Foster

Pamela Foster lives in her hometown of Eureka, California in the coastal fog and rain of the west coast. A popular speaker and award winning author of contemporary fiction, historical fiction, memoirs and a collection of essays, Foster is currently working on a book of essays about caring for her husband as, together, they deal with the long-term, human costs of war.

Other Books By Pamela Foster

Stand-Alone Books

Book Cover: Boogie with Chesty
Boogie with Chesty
Clueless Gringos in Paradise - cover
Clueless Gringos in Paradise
Cover: Fingernail Moon
Fingernail Moon

Series: Bigfoot

Cover: Bigfoot Blues
Bigfoot Blues
Cover: Bigfoot Mamas
Bigfoot Mamas

Series: Noisy Creek

cover: Noisy Creek
Noisy Creek

Series: Soldier's Heart Trilogy

Cover: Soldier's Heart
Soldier's Heart

Recommended Posts

Somebody Ought to be Crying

Part memoir, part mayhem, all heart.

Somebody Ought to Be Crying isn’t your typical memoir-it’s a rollicking ride through a life that’s equal parts outrageous, heartfelt, and utterly unique.

In more than 80 vignettes, award-winning author J.B. Hogan invites you to sit down, grab a drink (you’ll need it), and explore a personal history written with humor, heart, and just a touch of chaos. From laugh-out-loud misadventures to poignant moments of self-reflection, this memoir is proof that every life-yours included-is worth recording.

Think of it as the guidebook you never knew you needed for writing your own story. The author has spent years encouraging others to capture their histories because, as he’ll tell you, “Someone, someday, will want to know who you were, what you did, and how in the world you managed to pull it all off.” This is his version of that advice, turned inward-and upside down.

Serious when it needs to be, irreverent the rest of the time, Somebody Ought to Be Crying, is a celebration of the messy, unpredictable, and glorious business of living. Whether it’s Grandma So-and-So, Uncle What’s-His-Name, or just plain old you, everyone has a story worth telling.

So grab a chair, settle in, and get ready for a memoir that might just make you laugh, cry, or say, “Wait, what?”

 

Trini! Come!

Held captive by the Apache, a young girl discovers the courage to survive… and the strength to choose her own path.

In the rugged borderlands of northern Sonora and southern Arizona, twelve-year-old Trinidad Verdín’s life is forever changed when a brutal Apache raid claims her family and leaves her a captive of the legendary Geronimo. Taken by the Naiche-Geronimo band, Trinidad is thrust into a world of survival, resilience, and unexpected bonds.

Under the supervision of Geronimo and his wife, She-gha, Trinidad discovers a new sense of belonging. She forms a surprising friendship with Garditha, a ten-year-old Apache boy, as they teach each other their languages and skills. Together, they navigate the perils of life on the run-from scalp hunters to relentless soldiers-each day a fight to stay alive.

But when a surprise attack by Mexican vaqueros throws Trinidad into chaos, she faces an impossible decision. She can follow Geronimo and remain with the Apache who have become her family or risk everything by running toward the vaqueros who might mistake her for an enemy.

Award-winning author W. Michael Farmer masterfully blends riveting historical detail with unforgettable characters to bring to life the courage, resilience, and humanity of a young girl caught between two competing cultures. Trini! Come! is a powerful tale of survival, identity, and the strength it takes to find one’s place in an unforgiving world.

 

Red Sky Storm

All he wanted was to ride into the sunset. Fate had a different plan.

Lummy Tullos has witnessed the darkness of war and carried its weight on his soul. After years of bloodshed, he longs for peace and a quiet life with his family on the farm in Choctaw County. But the past refuses to release its grip, and the tranquility he craves remains always just out of reach.

As Lummy seeks solitude, hoping to escape the war-torn memories that haunt him, his old friend, Rainy Mills, is pulled into a new battle against a growing threat-the ruthless Tom Kimbrell. Seeking revenge for the death of his friend and fellow outlaw, John West, Kimbrell targets the family Rainy and Lummy have come to share, unleashing a relentless crusade of cruelty and destruction.

With Kimbrell’s campaign of vengeance escalating, Rainy is thrust into a fight he never sought. Leading a new generation into the fray, he embarks on a dangerous mission to stop Kimbrell-but with danger at every turn, sacrifices will be made and lives forever changed.

A tale of redemption, family, and unyielding courage, Lummy must confront his inner demons while Rainy battles threats from without, as both men discover that the path to peace is often forged through the most difficult choices.