Independence Day, 1871. The Civil War is finished, but in "Bleeding Kansas," old wounds heal slowly. The shooting started in Kansas long before Ft. Sumter, and if some men have their way, it will continue, even six years after Appomattox Court House. Crill Falkner, a volunteer Union infantryman from New York, has come west to forget the war, and to try to leave behind the anguish he found at home after the fighting was done. With the help of Bonnie Little, an English widow whose travels, like his, have halted in Kansas, he has made the small town of Marietta his home. And he has reluctantly accepted the lawman's badge the town fathers pressed upon him. Alexander Chastain, a former Confederate guerilla and veteran of the border wars, is known to the residents of Marietta as Bernard Smith. He has come to town to settle a score. Chastain continued the fight against the hated free-soilers after the peace was signed. Due largely to the efforts of Crill Falkner, Chastain came to grief at Marietta in 1866, losing several men in the process, and more to the point, a large measure of his pride. He has kept his head down for a while, but now it's time to have another go at the Redlegs and their Yankee lawman. Falkner may have come out on top the first time they butted heads, but things are about to change.

Features the first three SURGE novels: Round Prairie Inferno, Senachwine Crossing and Four Cedars. Action and adventure set in the era of The House Divided. Second generation Illinois settler, Lycurgus Sherwood has been more concerned with the day to day business of his farm in Marshall County than he has with the numerous runaway slaves filtering up the Dixon Trail on the Underground Railroad. When his sister and her husband are ruthlessly murdered by Mississippi bounty hunters Surge is transformed. Includes a special introduction and map by the author.

She wore high heels and a .45 automatic, a tailored suit dress with a badge engraved SHERIFF pinned under the lapel.

She had an explosive temper and a glare that could split rocks, and she had light eyes, pale eyes, the color of a glacier's heart -- just like her ancestor, her Great-Great-Grandfather, the second Sheriff of Firelands County, Colorado.

When her husband found the Old Sheriff's personal journal in a hidden compartment of their roll top desk, Sheriff Willamina found a door through which she could step, a door that led to another world, another time.

Follow the Sheriff from the Northern Ohio farm country through the war that tore the young nation apart, through dirty little coal mining towns and corrupt Kansas villages, aboard steam boat and a plow horse, until a final confrontation with a corrupt official shows Sheriff Willamina Keller that she is cut of the same violent, uncompromising cloth as her pioneering ancestor."

Rifle closed the book and lay it in his coat. He unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it over his shoulders. He walked to the front of the wagon and sat on the axle to remove his boots. He set them under the canvas and laid his shirt across them. In the dark he removed his trousers and slipped into the still warmth below the wagon. He lifted the quilt he d spread there and crawled under it. He closed his eyes and waited. So silently did the canvas flap move behind him, he would not have known it had parted except he felt a cool, fresh breeze from outside the shelter. He felt the quilt lift and the overwhelming warmth which joined him from behind. An arm slipped around his waist and lips touched the back of his neck. That s one, the voice whispered. That one doesn t count, Rifle said. They only count above the chin and below the waist. He turned in Edward s arms and kissed him deeply. I ll have to teach you everything, I m afraid. I learn quickly. Rifle felt the tightness of their loins and the urgency building between then. The first lesson begins Don t talk. Nothing else was said before the morning. "Woodward's historical fiction, Symmetry, the story of Rifle McCormack, a half Cherokee, half Irish man, ...brings tenderness, romance and love to a tumultuous time. Rifle's community is torn apart in the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee Nation relocation in the early 1800s. Rifle lives in two worlds. In one he is Cherokee, sharing the heritage, traditions and ways of his people. In another he is white, or 'yoneg' as the Cherokee say, where he reads Shakespeare and poetry, serves as a diplomat to all and falls in love with another white man. Lieutenant Edward Hatcher...is intrigued by the Cherokee and unlike most other soldiers, he fights to move his group quickly to the new territory, with as few deaths as possible. Although Woodward's book is fictional, his ability to bring in a historical era makes...Symmetry...a genuinely moving romance that brings a different perspective to historical times. As the title suggests, it is a story about the balance of two worlds. It is about two men who fall in love, who are not always accepted, do not belong fully to any group, and who bring to life, sweetness and genuine hearts to an otherwise challenging and painful time." Christina Claassen Copyright 2005 ForeWordreviews.com

In Dodge City in 1878, Will Howard, U.S. Marshal, is well-known for his quick reflexes and awesome ability to destroy his enemies with his fists-to subdue law breakers and to make the Wild West a little less wild. They call him the Fighting Marshal, much to the chagrin of his devoted wife, Margaret, and completely ignored by his detached son, Tommy. Will is undefeated-until he finds himself beaten by a much stronger man. Then, during a chance meeting with the Korean diplomat and martial arts expert, Kim Lee, he learns the ancient fighting technique of Tung Soo Do, which could prove to be the key to his future success. When Will is challenged to a fight to the finish with a famous professional boxer, his reputation as the Fighting Marshal hangs in the balance. It could be a fight to the death. Will he be able to retain his title and his reputation as the one and only Fighting Marshal?

The book that inspired the epic movie, Dances With Wolves, and its sequel, The Holy Road, together in one volume for the first time. 1863. The last occupant of Fort Sedgewick, Lieutenant John Dunbar watches over the American frontier. A thousand miles back east, his comrades are locked in battle with the Confederates, but out here he is alone. His desolate posting will bring him into contact with the lords of the southern plains - the Comanche. He has no knowledge of their customs but Dunbar is intrigued by these people and begins a transformation from which he emerges a different man. A man called Dances With Wolves. The story continues, 11 years later in The Holy Road. Times are hard for the Comanche. The white man is closing in from all directions, claiming land, driving the tribes on to reservations. Should the Comanche fight or make peace? Misunderstanding and duplicity lead to raids and atrocities on both sides that can have only one conclusion. The man that was John Dunbar must go to war again.

The story of Valentino takes place internationally, as one lucrative and unintentional connection after another takes a young man on a whirlwind ride to riches, sex, and excitement that he never could have imagined. Valentino Black begins his story as a young man just starting out in the world, but an unforeseen interaction with a gorgeous woman in an airplane bathroom leads his life on a path that he could only have dreamed of. Soon he finds himself a guest at a highly formal gala, and then a regular at five star restaurants, country clubs, and private estates. Through his dedication and intelligence, a one-time airline steward comes to enjoy the finest things in life, including the companionship of amazingly beautiful and influential women. If you enjoy reading of the high life, of the struggles one must endure to make the climb, and of sexual banter, then you will love the story of Valentino Black.

In this bittersweet visit to a simpler time in the American Southwest, Ralph Reynolds crafts a fictional story based on an old oral tradition that the Wild Bunch, an outlaw gang, invaded a New Mexico village near their hideout and shot up its Mormon church. Sparks fly when church bishop, Jim Nathan, a former lawman, confronts the gang and its leader, Butch Cassidy (a notorious fallen Mormon). Another of the outlaws, Clem, becomes smitten with the church beauty, named Deseret. He leaves the gang and joins storyteller, Scottie Abner, and Deseret in a dangerous attempt to halt a cattle drive that threatens the area. High adventure and suspense follows. There s a dramatic face-off between Bishop and Butch when the gang finds a need for Clem and comes back to get him. Praise for other works by Ralph Reynolds I think "The Killvein White" is breathtaking. It has richness, tidy and neat discrimination about the different characters, and more suspense than even George Stewart could manage in his novels about weather disasters. Glenn Leggett, author of "The Prentice-Hall Handbook for Writers" In "Growing Up Cowboy," Reynolds draws the wild beauty of his surroundings without getting trapped in cliches. Every loving description of the countryside shows his visceral attachment to the land of his birth. "Davenport Times," Iowa

In 1872, thirteen-year-old Will Curtis isn't prepared for the changes that are about to occur in his young life. His mother died six months ago while giving birth to his youngest sister, Anne. Will is not pleased when his Pa, a cantankerous self-ordained minister, introduces him to his new stepmother, eighteen-year-old Mary. Will initially resents the pretty young woman, but he is eventually overcome by her charm.

Soon after Mary's arrival, the family is guided by Will's forty-year-old uncle, Zeke, as they leave their West Virginia home to forge a new life on the Kansas frontier. Will is saddened when he has to leave his best friend, Skeeter, and his dog, Crusher, behind. The long journey by steamboat, train, and wagon is not an easy one, but their struggles are only the beginning. While besieged with natural disasters, family conflict, outlaws, and death, the Curtis family also becomes involved in a deadly vendetta.

This coming-of-age Western demonstrates Will's determination and dedication to his family as he matures on the hardscrabble Kansas homestead. In his five-year journey, Will reaps the rewards of hard work, faces his foes, and discovers the wonder of love in Into the Heartland.

These days, we remember Zane Grey for his ninety novels set in America's West, including "Lone Star Rangers" and "Riders of the Purple Sage." We may know that he was an inductee to the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

But the thing you really need to know about "The Rainbow Trail" is that it's the sequel to "Riders of the Purple Sage," which may well be Grey's most-remembered work. Here John Sheppard is a preacher who becomes good friends with the Venters -- who always seemed haunted. Eventually, Mr. Venters reveals that he was once a horse rider for a woman named Jane Withersteen -- a rich Mormon -- and her adopted daughter Fay Larkin. However, Jane's churchmen were displeased with her association with non-Mormons -- and the evil Mormons drove them into a narrow valley, and trapped them there.

Venters had always intended on returning to the valley to search for the Jane and Fay, circumstances have prevented him from doing it. John Sheppard is fascinated by this story and wants to what he can to relieve the haunted look he sees in the eyes of Mr. and Mrs. Venters -- so he attempts to discover what happened to Jane and Fay. He discovers that Fay Larkin may still be alive -- and that her life has become the stuff of adventure, including kidnapping! And that somehow she has the strength to survive the most terrible of circumstances. . . .

Sam Heggarty returns home to hunt for the gunmen who robbed and executed his father. As he makes his way back, he witnesses another murder and stumbles across a clue to the people responsible for his father's death. Sam becomes caught up in the chase to track down an escaped prisoner as he partners up with ageing lawman, County Sheriff Lewis Leeming. He discovers that the one person who may hold the key to the identity of his father's murderers is someone that everyone else is intent on killing. Heggarty will have to save the life of a man involved in his father's death.

Along with their children, Tom Gannon, a handsome master carpenter and frontiersman at heart, and his wife, Helen, set out to explore the less populated middle America-Chambers, South Dakota, on the banks of the incredible Brule River.

There in Chambers, two thirteen-year-old boys-Tom's son, John, and James Blue Eagle, the Mandan Chief's son-bond in a lasting friendship cemented by a one-room school, athletics, and unusual frontier adventures. In so doing, they help their small frontier town grow in stature during a time of mistrust and uncertainty, ultimately launching their own destiny.

While the gifted Tom Gannon matures in frontier banking episodes, the Gannon women use their talents in the world of opera and art, leading them to Chicago and Europe-strong magnets that nearly rupture family unity just as young John and James prepare to enter high school in Kansas City, Missouri.

The first in an exciting new series, "Monmouth in the Morning" follows the Gannon family and their friends on an epic journey of adventure, challenge, and triumph.

A woman is kidnapped from Fort Henry by a band of renegades and hostile Ohio Valley Indians. Now, Lewis Wetzel and Jonathan Zane take pursuit. With no hope of survival, they follow the trail into the unknown wilderness, vowing it to be their last venture. At trail's end, they will face their bloodiest battle.

Some hot property Mal's crew desperately need another payday, but not desperately enough to transport a Blue Sun flightcase to Badger, no questions asked, when the area is swarming with Alliance spacecraft equally keen to regain the stolen property. Yet Jayne refuses to miss out, and sneaks the case aboard Serenity. Lucid dreams Within hours of secreting the case Jayne suddenly finds himself back on the Cobb homestead with his brother Matty miraculously cured of the damplung. Wash is at the controls of the highest-spec cruiser money can buy, the billionaire head of a 'verse-spanning business empire. All of the crew but River are soon immersed in vivid hallucinations of their deepest desires, while their bodies lie insensible on the ship. Fantasies gone sour Wash's empire begins to crumble; the Cobb ranch is under attack by merciless bandits. As everyone's daydreams turn nightmare, Serenity floats on a crash course towards a barren moon, with only River standing between the crew and certain oblivion.

Sam Clay ( formerly Samuel Samuelson Jr.) is banished from his father's Paris, Kentucky tobacco farm because of holding opposite views on slavery. After he discloses his intention to enlist in the Union Army, his obstinate, opinionated father sends him away, telling him, he would be shot if he returned. With a horse and rifle borrowed from a sympathetic neighbor, he rides to Cincinnati, Ohio and enlists in an Infantry Regiment. With his Regiment he marches to Virginia and fights in several battles, before he is wounded and discharged. Following his discharge, he returns to Cincinnati, and finds a job as a guard on a wagon train bound for Natchez Mississippi. During this long, and adventure filled journey, he becomes friends with a Confederate Soldier, Cody Travis, who has escaped from a prisoner of war camp. When they arrive in Natchez, Sam accepts Cody's invitation to accompany him to his home in Marfa, Texas. After all, he had no other place to go. In Marfa he finds work, first as a quicksilver guard, and later, as a mail rider. FOR INFORMATION ON OTHER BOOKS BY GOSSETT GO TO www.westernadventurenovels.com