Will Bucklett walked away from the brutality of Marysville prison, determined to put the atrocities of the senseless war forever in the past. His one desire was to return home to a loving family and with brighter expectations. But little did he realize Fate had a very different idea for his future. As he and his younger brother bury their mother, they received demoralizing information. Their father, Salas Bucklett, was being held captive by John Bullard, of the late Union Army. Who having lost his commission as colonel, turned into a barbaric terrorist. Major Salas Bucklett of the Confederacy had previously outwitted Colonel John Bullard of the Union Army out of a shipment of gold bullion for the South. Bullard holds Bucklett personally responsible for his disgraceful downfall. He is accompanied by Evie Plummer, his malicious mistress, whose morals are lower than a snakes belly and has a heart colder than the snowcapped Rocky Mountains; she's matched only by the coldblooded killer and militant deserter, Elkhart, Bullard's ferocious and vicious second-in-command. Will, his brother, Dain, and their half-breed friend, Booger Red, trailed the merciless cutthroats through the Indian Nation, across the high plains of north Texas, and into the mountain backwoods of Colorado. During their search, they are ambushed by remnants of Bullard's desperados, fought off a war party of Cheyenne warrior at a Purgatory way station; thereby rescuing the lovely Trin Houghton. Seemingly, fighting off misfortune at every turn in their search to find and free their father. Persistence and the six-guns can be convincing tools, but without the courage and tenacity of the beautiful Juanita, and the resourcefulness of a whorehouse madam the outcome of Bucklett's Pursuit could have been devastating.

Englishman Jerome Westphal has come to the antebellum Illinois prairies on a hunting excursion, bagging elk, wolf, bear and panther. When a legendary white buffalo calf is born, many see it as a prophetic sign, but Westphal sees only a chance to add to his trophy list. When Lycurgus (Surge) Sherwood confronts Westphal and attempts to protect the calf, the Englishman is undeterred and abducts Sherwood's most trusted friend, his loyal wolf companion Lupa. Includes the short story Child of the Storm, in which Lycurgus first encounters the wolf, Lupa.

A man scuttles out of the brush -- and Drew only half sees the figure snapping a gunshot at him . . . Feeling the sickening impact of the bullet in his middle, suddenly Drew cannot pull any air into his straining lungs. The reins fall from his hands -- but he clings to the saddle as the mule leaps braying ahead. Abruptly from beneath the mule's hoofs the ground gives way -- tumbling both of them into the icy stream Drew plunges into instant blackness, shutting out the terrible agony shaking him. ." . . dead," says someone above the boy. Famed storyteller Andre Norton, in Ride Proud, Rebel , relates the gripping tale of a boy thrust at too young an age into the bloody battles of the Civil War, riding under General Morgan

Jeb never learned that he was an illegitimate child. Those who knew him did not dare call him bastard. He was gentle. He was tough. With little effort, he took care of himself, having learned by being brought up in isolation, deep into the timber of the Ozark Mountains. Exhibiting these traits, he did both good and bad things, both of which tended to be excessive, even in the midst of war and lawlessness.

In 1861, Jimmy Carl Gray and Lew McManus travel west to escape the horrors of the American Civil War and to seek silver, wealth, and peace. Their plans are changed, however, when the Texas Brigade invades the New Mexico Territory. The ambitious miners are forced to join the Confederate Army, unable to avoid the war they left behind.

Although mired in violence, Jimmy and Lew make the acquaintance of several intriguing characters. They meet a Mescalero Apache healer named Rodrigo Red Water, an unforgettable Colorado gold miner named Dirt Bradshaw, and even Wild Bill Hickock before he became a legend.

The Southwest is a wild place, full of diverse people, who face battles and other struggles as their various stories unfold. In this wild and colorful journey through their lives, these characters discover love, fear, greed, and the thirst for revenge as they struggle to live through a war that tore a country apart.

John Lee Johnson has just retrieved his Texas ranch from the nefarious Purvis Brothers, with considerable help from Federal Agent Levi Brown. Unfortunately, the ex-Confederate has little time to enjoy his ranch before he feels obligated to fulfill a promise he made to a Union officer after a bloody skirmish in Lexington, Tennessee. Before he departs for Ohio, the sheriff warns him about Ridgeway Large, a self-proclaimed half-breed who kills without remorse.

Six days into his dangerous journey, John encounters a girl who leads him to the gruesome scene of her parents' brutal murders. After determining Ridgeway Large is the likely suspect, John leaves the girl with friends, ignores his previous obligations, and begins a dangerous quest to find the murderer and kill him. But as soon as surly Union officer Frank McGrew learns of John's mission, he wants nothing more than to exact his revenge for his brother's murder and send the Texan straight to the gates of hell.

In this historical thriller, a fierce battle ensues between the indomitable will of rebel John Lee Johnson and the overwhelming hatred of McGrew as both seek retribution. But in the end, only one will stay true to his principles.

"Ain't he the one killed Lee and Frank Lewis over some Mormon . . . a girl?" Joey was careful not to say what he was thinking. It was Judge that said all women were whores, and a lot of Mormon women were real pretty whores, especially Clara Williams, even if she was Jeremiah Beck's Joey certainly wasn't afraid of Jeremiah Beck, even if his Uncle Jim had said Jeremiah Beck was dangerous Nonetheless, unsure if Nate and Patrick would back him, Joey didn't move. "If I know Frank and Lee . . . they asked for it. Leave him to Clay . . . or Windel after Windel grows up . . ." Jim Davis turned to face Jeremiah. "That right . . . old friend . . . I mean about Frank and Lee asking for it?" "You know me. I'd never kill a man ain't tried me . . ." Jeremiah's feet were set, and his open coat revealed his two pistols. "Apart from Mexico . . . when we all had to kill without giving a man a chance . . . but even then you never liked it none . . ." "Not like Judge. He always said killing's . . . killing " "If he was here . . . you know he wouldn't agree with me stopin' the boys. He and Frank was real close . . . don't matter none that Frank asked for what he got . . ."

The Sheriff, opens with an aging Sheriff Donovan coming to terms with his recent diagnosis of terminal cancer. Desperate to maintain his tenuous grasp on Three Chop, the town he willed into existence, Donovan enters into a bargain with a faction of rural Christian Prohibitionists, agreeing to shutter the local saloon and brothel. But his plan to cement his legacy in the eyes of God soon meets resistance from the town's business elite, whose livelihoods depend on liquor sales. With a band of notorious outlaws descending on Three Chop, the dispute ignites into a furious battle that forces residents to take sides, to choose between the town's past and future.

Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin was born in Talbingo in central New South Wales, in 1879. Her parents belonged to the "Squattocracy" - Europeans who lived off the land because they were the only ones there, but had no land rights. She wrote her first novel in her teens - My Brilliant Career -and it was hailed as the 'first great Australian novel', it could only be written by someone who lived and breathed Australian life. She was committed to writing in a distinctively Australian style. Similarly, "Up The Country" is a tale about mid-19th-century pioneer families in New South Wales and is characterised by authenticity. Reading it, we live and breathe the pioneer life, the challenges and benefits of community and the harshness of the environment. There are disasters and difficulties but there are also picnics, dances and other enjoyable experiences, in amongst the raising of cattle, mining camps and lush natural wonders of Australia.