When sparks begin to fly, can a friendship cast in iron be shaped into something more? Mariah Stover is left for dead and with no memory when the Deadeye Gang robs the stagecoach she's riding in, killing both her father and brother. As she takes over her father's blacksmith shop and tries to move forward, she soon finds herself in jeopardy and wondering--does someone know she witnessed the robbery and is still alive? Handsome and polished Clint Roberts escaped to western Wyoming, leaving his painful memories behind. Hoping for a fresh start, he opens a diner where he creates fine dishes, but is met with harsh resistance from the townsfolk, who prefer to stick to their old ways. Clint and Mariah are drawn together by the trials they face in town, and Clint is determined to protect Mariah at all costs when danger descends upon her home. As threats pursue them from every side, will they survive to build a life forged in love?

Peering at a small band of Indians who depart with their wounded and dead companions, Clay moves cautiously to the crest of a hill. His intervention has sent the Indians racing for safety, but the danger is not over. He sees an overturned wagon resting on its stays, half in and half out of a streambed. Beneath it lay two terrified youths, their eyes wide, their mouths unwilling or unable to speak. One is Roberta, a teenage girl, and one Bobby, her little brother. Little does Clay know that the three of them will set out on a fighting flight, pursued by outlaws who would see them dead.

After a rough winter spent alone, Ursula Nordegren realizes she must overcome her fears of the outside world and begins a trek down Hope Mountain. Along the way she finds a badly wounded stranger and realizes God may have used her decision to leave as a way of saving the man. Wax Mosby was climbing Hope Mountain in part to atone for his terrible choices. He was hired to drive out the Warden family and now knows he was duped. But when he's wounded during the climb, the last person he expects to rescue him is a beautiful blond woman with the voice of an angel. As both Ursula and Wax weigh the costs of living new lives, the two find an unlikely bond. And they're joined by Ursula's sisters and the Warden family as the final showdown over the family ranch looms with the coming of spring.

She reluctantly lets her trusted stable assistant join her in a journey across the wilds of Northern California in the hopes of catching Silas for one final showdown. Stansel follows the chase and shares the story of the brothers' rise from hardscrabble childhood to their reign as the region's preeminent horse trainers, tracking the tense sibling rivalry that ultimately leads to the elder's death. A fully realised tale that challenges notions of the modern West, The Last Cowboys of San Geronimo will satisfy fans of Kent Haruf, Charles Portis, Molly Gloss, and Smith Henderson, and establish Stansel as a new voice in this grand tradition.

The Tenth Horse is the story of cavalry officer Clay Jordan and his beautiful wife Kathleen, who have been separated during the Civil War but are reunited afterward. Clay accepts an appointment to the newly formed all black Tenth Cavalry Regiment. They join the regiment in Kansas where Clay is given command of B Troop and starts training the raw recruits. The regiment is assigned the task of controlling the Kiowa and Comanche Indians recently forced onto a reservation in Indian Territory. The Tenth has to overcome many obstacles, including racism, but it earns the respect of the Indians, who call them buffalo soldiers. Kathleen, who originally had misgivings about being an Army wife, becomes the nurse to the troopers and is so revered by them that they will go to great lengths to protect her. The Tenth gets involved in the bloody situation in which Kiowa and Comanche raiders from the reservation are raping and plundering the Texas frontier and are retreating to the protection of the reservation. General William T. Sherman comes to the frontier to find a solution to the problem, and with the help of the Tenth, he does so. In the end the Tenth Horse becomes a proud regiment, and Clay and Kathleen play an important role.

He came west to the Rockies as a young runaway and grew into a legend among the already legendary frontier mountain men. Now, Preacher is the only man with the skills to lead a wagon train on the last leg of the rugged Oregon trail. And Preacher is determined to get the pilgrims through safely.

USA Today Bestselling author Leigh Greenwood takes us back to the lawless days of the Wild American West in this sweeping, epic story about: A loner turned gunslinger, working on the right side of the lawA desperate woman and her helpless sonA danger only the bravest hero can faceA reckoning neither ever saw coming.As the sheriff of Sycamore Flats, Hen Randolph has seen just about everything this lawless land has to offer. Quick in the saddle and quicker on the draw, he's cultivated a reputation for being a ruthless sharpshooter-and an unapologetic loner. Hen's had more than his fair share of complications and is happiest keeping his distance from the world. The trouble is, sometimes the world refuses to keep its distance from him. Laurel Blackthorne knows what dark and dangerous men are capable of, and she'll be damned if she lets another near her or her son again. But the sheriff seems different-an honest man despite his prickly exterior-and perhaps her only hope of saving herself from a dark past that refuses to let go. When danger comes calling, can she find it in herself to trust a man who always shoots true? And can this independent loner be convinced that he's ready for something truly worth fighting for? Previously published as Laurel

The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta (1854) is a novel by John Rollin Ridge. Published under his birth name Yellow Bird, from Cheesquatalawny in Cherokee, The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta was the first novel from a Native American author. Despite its popular success worldwide-the novel was translated into French and Spanish -Ridge's work was a financial failure due to bootleg copies and widespread plagiarism. Recognized today as a groundbreaking work of nineteenth century fiction, The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta is a powerful novel that investigates American racism, illustrates the struggle for financial independence among marginalized communities, and dramatizes the lives of outlaws seeking fame, fortune, and vigilante justice. Born in Mexico, Joaquin Murieta came to California in search of gold. Despite his belief in the American Dream, he soon faces violence and racism from white settlers who see his success as a miner as a personal affront. When his wife is raped by a mob of white men and after Joaquin is beaten by a group of horse thieves, he loses all hope of living alongside Americans and turns to a life of vigilantism. Joined by a posse of similarly enraged Mexican-American men, Joaquin becomes a fearsome bandit with a reputation for brutality and stealth. Based on the life of Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo, also known as The Robin Hood of the West, The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta would serve as inspiration for Johnston McCulley's beloved pulp novel hero Zorro. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of John Rollin Ridge's The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta is a classic work of Native American literature reimagined for modern readers.

After marrying his childhood sweetheart, Virgil John Jordan is pulled into the Civil War as a captain in the Confederate Army. He is a dedicated and brave soldier-until news reaches him that his family, including his new wife, has been murdered by marauding Blue Coats. Rage takes over; as Virgil becomes a murderer, the man he once was disappears.

He becomes "The Rider," a vengeful, ghostly foe. Justice is decided by his hand, and he kills those he believes deserve to die. After killing four men who were abusing a whore, the Rider survives a terrible blizzard, only to end up in a town called Witchita. With his only companion-his horse, Gabriel-the Rider finds himself in a very strange place.

The "witch" in Witchita refers to Mesmerala, a powerful sorceress who runs things with the power of magic. It's not magic that breaks through the Rider's heart of steel, though; it's a gun-toting honey named Pistol Ann. Rider comes to realize he's in Witchita for a reason. His bloodlust can serve a purpose, but will he ever find his way home again?

From her ranch home in Montana in the 1920s, Nettie Brady dreamed of joining the rodeo circuit and becoming a star. Defying her mother's wishes and trading her skirts for trousers--and riding the range with her brothers and taking on the occasional half-ton steer in local rodeos--Nettie bucked convention to compete with men in the arena. When family hardship and tragedy threaten her plans, she turns back toward a more traditional life as a ranch woman, but chafes against its restrictions. Then she meets and falls in love with a young neighbor who rides broncs and raises rodeo stock. Can Nettie's rodeo dreams come true if she's also a wife and mother? Based on the life of the author's grandmother, a real Montana cowgirl, this novel takes on the big issues of a woman's place in the west, the crushing difficulties of surviving on a homestead, and the excitement and romance of a young girl aching to follow her dream.

Francis Lynde (1856-1930) wrote fiction set in the Carolinas concerned with mining and western expansion.

An enormously entertaining classic, THE WAY WEST brings to life the adventure of the western passage and the pioneer spirit. The sequel to THE BIG SKY, this celebrated novel charts a frontiersman's return to the untamed West in 1846. Dick Summers, as pilot of a wagon train, guides a group of settlers on the difficult journey from Missouri to Oregon. In sensitive but unsentimental prose, Guthrie illuminates the harsh trials and resounding triumphs of pioneer life. With THE WAY WEST, he pays homage to the grandeur of the western wilderness, its stark and beautiful scenery, and its extraordinary people.

This volume reprints a rare 1920 western novel by H. Bedford-Jones, one of the great pulp magazine writers.

From the creator of Zorro, Johnston McCulley, comes "A White Man's Chance," a western novel starring the dashing hero "Don Jose," set south of the border in Mexico. "A White Man's Chance" originally appeared in Munsey's Magazine. It was filmed in 1919. This book is a facsimile reprint from the 1926 G. Howard Watt hardcover first edition.

Owen Wister (1860-1938) was an American writer whose stories helped to establish the cowboy as an archetypical hero. Wister helped to create the basic Western myths and themes, which were later popularized by radio, television, and movies.

The Last Picture Show (1966) is both a rambunctious coming-of-age story and an elegy to a forlorn Texas town trying to keep its one movie house alive. Adapted into the Oscar-winning film, this masterpiece immortalizes the lives of the hardscrabble residents who are threatened by the inexorable forces of the modern world.

Owen Wister (1860-1938) was an American writer whose stories helped to establish the cowboy as an archetypical hero. Wister helped to create the basic Western myths and themes, which were later popularized by radio, television, and movies.