The wit and wisdom of the West, as documented by Dalton Wilcox, poet laureate of the West.

     Six years ago she escaped from prison and lived on the run every since. Now her conviction has been overturned and she's returned home to try to rebuild her life. When a storm washes a school van into a raging river, Kimberly and private investigator Cooper Washington jump in and save the kids and driver...but one child is missing. Was she ever even on the school bus? If not, who took her? Kimberly's chance at a "real life" is jeopardized by the ghosts of the past and the suspicions of the present.

    It was supposed to be easy. Much easier than seeing his wife murdered by an Emporium hit team, leaving behind two motherless children.Chris soon finds himself using every ounce of his Renegade training in a desperate struggle to secure dangerous Emporium captives and to save the life of a friend. His “easy” job has become a nightmare, one he may not survive. But the woman he cares about needs him, and he won’t allow anything to stand in his way.Please note: Mortal Brother is a novella, not a full-length novel. It is separate from the main series and can be enjoyed at any time. However, the events take place in the Unbounded timeline simultaneously with The Cure (Unbounded Book 2) and extends several days past that novel, so readers may better appreciate Mortal Brother after reading The Cure.

    Fueled by her crooked grandfather s blood and her gold-digging grandmother s teachings, Kyla mastered the arts of manipulation and seduction at an early age. While other girls were learning simple addition and subtraction, Kyla was being trained to divide men from boys in hopes of multiplying her funds. As she propels through adolescence and into her teenaged years, Kyla s heartbreaking beauty and notorious sex appeal become her trademarks. The more attention she receives, the more she craves; and she seizes every opportunity to increase her status in her urban St. Louis community. Kyla truly believes that the world and everything in it is at her disposal. That is, until she meets Shard Phaylon, a suave and powerful young kingpin in the illegal drug trade. From the beginning, the mysterious Shard presents an alluring challenge that spoiled Kyla has never before had to face. In an effort to live up to her family name, she blindly and tirelessly pursues him and his many assets. Kyla s misguided affection quickly blossoms into complete devotion; and she soon finds herself acting as a witness and eventually, an accomplice in Shard s immoral and dangerous schemes. Her newfound love for him begins to eclipse her lifelong love for the Brown family, and she becomes completely torn between the two. Just when Kyla believes that she has her life all mapped out, though, she suddenly begins to unearth bizarre and unsettling clues about Shard s past and present. It is only after Shard commits the ultimate act of betrayal that Kyla discovers the disturbing truth about him and learns an even more disturbing truth about herself.

    When the doctor finally got through the nine-foot drifts of snow, mother and daughter were in a pretty bad way, but both the new-born Annie and her exhausted mother - a spinner in the cotton mill - were fighters, tough and determined not to let the world knock them down.They needed to be tough, for when Annie's father was killed in the war, Nancy married again. And Eddie Higson - once he'd courted and won Nancy Byrne - turned into a nightmare of a man, terrorizing the young girl with one secret evil after another.She had two friends who helped her through these bad years. Martin Cullen, rough, uneducated, loyal, who knew he wasn't good enough for her, and David Pritchard, the doctor who had supported her through the worst times and who had bad problems of his own.Together they watched her grow into a beautiful young woman, desperately fighting the legacy of her childhood.

    How to Fish is a gem of a book that gets to the heart of the passion for angling: that there's more to fishing than catching fish.

    But it’s here that Eve, her three siblings, and their parents will settle in July, 1875. Within a few years, Eve’s father, Hap, has made good on his assurances. They have a large, weathered clapboard house and a comfortable life, thanks to Hap’s job on a steamboat. Eve and her twin sister, Ivy, are blossoming into young women. Yet as Ivy grows more involved in medicine making under the tutelage of a neighboring black woman, her path leads away from the family.Eve, an aspiring writer, loves her home though she longs to see the wider world beyond its swamps and shores. But when she discovers a secret Ivy’s been keeping, Eve must decide between protecting the family name or saving her sister. With the help of a half-Creek Indian tracker, Max Harjo, Eve sets out to find Ivy, beginning a journey that will dare her to follow her ambitions and her passion wherever they lead.

    Haunted by the tragic fire that orphaned them years ago, the boys left town to find fame and success. Now they're coming home. But surprising revelations about that fateful night--and the love of a few good Southern women--will heal their hearts and change their lives forever.Forgiving Jackson: When a devastating fire at one of his concerts reopens old wounds for country superstar Jackson Beauford, he heads home for some peace and quiet--only to discover that stubborn Southern magnolia Emory Lowell has planted herself at his family estate, bringing chaos in her wake.Nickolai's Noel: An ice storm traps hockey pro Nickolai Glazov with quilt shop owner Noel Verden one fateful Christmas. As these two strong-willed folks fall in love then fall apart, they'll learn that home is the place you hang your heart (not just your quilt or your hockey stick).Reforming Gabe: Once the NFL's best wide receiver, Gabe Beauford's been dropping the ball this season--literally. After his team loses the Super Bowl, he heads back to Beauford to hide and brood, but crossing paths with independent and talented jewelry maker Neyland MacKenzie puts a new gleam in his eye. She needs saving, and he needs a project... But will his not-so-deft touch ruin her dreams and their chance at real love?Redeeming Rafe: Bull riding, cliff diving, plane jumping--if it makes most men quake in their boots, Rafe Beauford does it eagerly. But his wild lifestyle comes to a halt when he discovers he's the father of toddlers. Taking his twin girls back to Beauford, he plans to leave them there to grow up with a nanny, but the woman he hires, widowed mom Abigail Whitman, is determined to show him the importance of family--and love.Heath's Hope: Ambitious and career-minded Hope MacKenzie left Heath Beckett with a bleeding heart years ago. Now she's back in town because her family's bank needs her desperately. When she gives a personal loan to the women who own the local knitting shop without consulting Heath, who has helped them with their finances for years, the two must work together to ensure the ladies' business plan is in tip-top shape. But will sharing their time lead to deeper feelings being re-awakened?Healing Beau: Sick of being babied his whole life, youngest brother Beau joined the army as soon as he could. He thought he'd be a lifer, but an injury sends him back to Beauford without peace or a purpose. Knowing he can't heal until some truths come to light, his old friend Christian Hambrick, who always held a torch for him, wages a full-scale war on the past--and emerges with the secrets about what really happened the night of the fire.Sensuality Level: Sensual

    The women are now in their seventies and time is rendering its Accounts Payable: arthritis, cataracts, forgetfulness, and departures.From the dawn of the new millennium - at which the anti-Christ unaccountably fails to appear, despite evangelist Gayle's predictions - Peggy soldiers on through new upheavals, including her ex-husband Vern's Alzheimer's diagnosis, and the death of one of her live-in friends. Then, on a clear blue day in September 2001, the US Air Force scrambles too late to save America from four hostile attacks, and for the first time Peggy wonders if being a USAF wife - the constant worry about your husband, the faraway postings in Alaska, Norfolk, Siberia, the lack of control over your own life - was worth it.You're getting very negative in your old age, Peggy Dewey, says Lois. Sure it was worthwhile. Leastways we're not speaking Russky. And besides, we had some fun. Didn't we have some fun?

    Calvin eats dirt.  He never actually swallows it, just places loose clumps onto his tongue and sucks, I think....He knows better, my son, but he is stillyoung and needs to be watched.So goes the poignant journey of discovery for Gordon Nash, a journey that began two years ago when his wife suddenly walked out on him, leaving him alone toraise their son.  Calvin is now four, fragile yet stubborn, devoted to his pet, a dead Portuguese man-o-war he calls Mom.  Faced daily with the struggle andjoys of raising this bright little boy, Gordon learns the vast reaches of his affection and the limits of his patience.  He plumbs the deep well of rage within himself, to find there disturbing echoes of his own father.  And he comes to understand that nothing is as important as this complex, imperfect love--a lesson he must turn to when his wife reappears one day, threatening to turn his and Calvin's world upside down once again

    Her novels and short stories speak to women and men about their most intense relationships and heartfelt feelings.In this collection of five short stories and a novella, Ms. Godwin is at her best. In the title novella, "Mr. Bedford," a young would-be writer spends time in England under the strange and watchful eye of a rather unusual elderly couple; in "Amanuensis," a charming college student cares for a famous but blocked novelist, with unpredictable results; and in "The Angry Year," a rebellious student is drawn to two different kinds of men until she discovers what she has been running to and from.

    Imprisoned for mass-murder, he escapes with the help of two strange men and a mysterious benefactor. Unfortunately for Drake, they don’t just want a piece of the action. They want it all. Gift Horse: Mutilated by rival convicts, Marco Vance is brought back from the brink of death. Outfitted with the latest cybernetic enhancements, he returns to the Regional Atlanta Metroplex as the conquering criminal kingpin. But, his savior demands that he deliver a message to repay his debt. A message that no one will forget.Money Is Everything: Street gangs hunt a deposed crime boss carrying a case of cash. Pursued and friendless, he can trust no one. Except someone he can buy. Luckily, Noose the genetically engineered dwarf mercenary is always for hire. But, what is his price?Total length about 15,000 words.Includes a free 8000 word excerpt of the full-length novel DEAD DWARVES DON'T DANCE.

    After years of being a victim of domestic violence, Skye is caught between their extravagant lifestyle and his controlling behavior, but knows she has to get out. In a desperate attempt, Skye flees the abusive marriage with her three children in tow, and vows never to go back. She even begins a new life with a new identity, but lives in fear, knowing that Sandino won t rest until he finds them. Brace yourself as a shattered woman is determined to rebuild her life and protect her family at all cost, even if it means death. Besides, who wouldn t fight against their most treacherous enemy; even if it is your own husband?

    A heavy snowstorm is blowing through Manhattan and the economy is on the brink of collapse, but none of that matters to a handful of guests at a posh holiday party. Five years after their college graduation, the fiercely devoted friends at the heart of this richly absorbing novel remain as inseparable as ever: editor and social butterfly Sara Sherman, her troubled astronomer boyfriend George Murphy, loudmouth poet Jacob Blaumann, classics major turned investment banker William Cho, and Irene Richmond, an enchanting artist with an inscrutable past.Amid cheerful revelry and free-flowing champagne, the friends toast themselves and the new year ahead—a year that holds many surprises in store. They must navigate ever-shifting relationships with the city and with one another, determined to push onward in pursuit of their precarious dreams. And when a devastating blow brings their momentum to a halt, the group is forced to reexamine their aspirations and chart new paths through unexpected losses.Kristopher Jansma’s award-winning debut novel, The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards, was praised for its  “wry humor” and “charmingly unreliable narrator” in The New Yorker and hailed as “F. Scott Fitzgerald meets Wes Anderson” by The Village Voice. In Why We Came to the City, Jansma offers an unforgettable exploration of friendships forged in the fires of ambition, passion, hope, and love. This glittering story of a generation coming of age is a sweeping, poignant triumph.

    Meandering through the narrow streets she finds herself at the door of one of the city's most renowned and reclusive mystics and discovers her father's top rabbinical student, Russian immigrant Moshe studying forbidden Kabbalistic texts. She has a disturbing vision of a tree of prayers growing up inside the house, and the prayers all seem to be talking to her. The prayers become a giant bird, and chase her from the house. Malka has unwittingly uncovered a great mystical gift. Kabbalists believe that since the world was spoken into existence, if they can hear and understand that original Divine language, they can use it themselves, to shape and manipulate reality. Once in a millennia, a kabbalist is born with this ability. It turns out that Malka is one of them. After a disastrous first date with Moshe, Malka flees Jerusalem for Safed where she is drawn into a cult called Mystical Encounters, run by charismatic cult leader Avner Marcus. Avner is unsettled by Malka's authenticity, and she is not allowed to attend classes. Her only friends are former night club singer Shira, and traumatised ex-soldier Evven. Malka sets up her own mystical retreat in the woods, at an abandoned construction site. When she reveals this to Avner, he forces her to take him there and tries to rape her. Malka manages to evade him, and then burns down the cult after manipulating the Modern Hebrew word for Electricity, Chashmal Malka heads for Tel Avi, and sleeps rough on the beaches of the mixed Arab-Jewish city of Jaffa. Here she is discovered by legendary Arab chef Rukh Baraka, who is seeking to rekindle his career by training Arab and Israeli street children to create extraordinary food for his new restaurant, the Leviathan. Malka bonds with fellow runaway Mahmoud, who is escaping the wrath of his Imam father at his "deviant" sexuality. Mahmoud reveals the city behind the city, the hidden Palestinian history of which Malka has been ignorant. Moshe has been trying to find Malka and is forced to confront some of his own demons, including the disappearance of his younger sister when she was in his care. Moshe swears that he will not lose another girl he loves.