. . Thirteen year old Ephraim Wright suffers the depredations of war along with the white family who reared him. Raised with the family since he was two years old, he is never once required to call Jonathan Wright, his benevolent owner, "master." His speech, manners and outlook on life are more akin to his white "siblings than the other slaves in the community who chide him for being a "pet" and "talkin' like white folk." He is stranded between two worlds; that of free whites, and of enslaved blacks. His life is irreversibly changed when Confederate conscript officers take the family's oldest son at gun point and a bushwhacker gang guns down Jonathan Wright. The law forbids a slave to touch a firearm, because a “negro with a gun is a nervous thing to white folks.” But where his family is concerned, Ep is never one to care about what the slave laws say. By seeking to send men to hell, will Ephraim send himself there as well?Advance Praise for The Secret of Wattensaw BayouWhile reading the book my feelings of anger and resentment toward the institution of slavery and those who fought to protect such rights were sometimes overwhelming and required me to take a deep breath. Nevertheless, the story from a historical perspective, although it was a work of fiction, was masterly woven and I found myself with the urge to continue reading. . . The book is well written and the author provides a fascinating glimpse into the everyday existence of many Southern families during the Civil War. Commander Harold Barnes (US Navy, retired)

    Eyes of the Hawk, winner of the Spur Award for Best Western Novel, is an outstanding tale of Texas--filled with authentic characters and history, and telling the story of the outstanding courage and determination of the men and women who challenged an unyielding wilderness to build a frontier legend.Thomas Canfield descends from a line of Texas's earliest settlers. A proud man with a fierce-eyes stare, he inspires the Mexican of Stonehill, Texas to call him el gavilan--the "hawk". When Branch Isom--an insolent, dangerous newcomer--seeks to build his fortune at Canfeild's expense, an all-out feud ensues. Hurtling the town toward a day of reckoning that will shake the entire town to its very roots. Eyes of the Hawk is a classic tale of Western history, told by one of the most critically acclaimed writers of the American West.

    She loves the wide-open countryside, where she rides and trains animals. With her twenty-first birthday approaching, her family pressures her to return to the city and take up the lavish lifestyle her uncle has planned for her. But another option piques her curiosity –a matchmaking agency’s recommendation that she begin correspondence with a handsome farmer.Hardworking, twenty-seven-year-old, Leo Weaver, is a man of many talents. He’s helped his father develop a successful farm. Loyal to Carrie town, he volunteers as a deputy sheriff. But handsome and charming, Leo’s become the target of several well-meaning ladies in the community who have submitted his name for a new matchmaking venture.Willow craves the outdoors. Leo loves community life and wants to live in town. Can a matchmaking agency really help two independent people realize the opposing desires of their hearts?

    Lord Vye's daughter might be thought to want for nothing, but life isn't easy on fifty guineas a year, with a jealous stepmother watching one's every move. Eugenie's passionate nature and unerring ability to get hold of the wrong end of the stick land her in trouble as she follows her heart: from elegant Swallowcliffe to the streets of fashionable London, by way of rural Ireland, glamorous belle époque Paris and an idyllic artists' retreat at Giverny. She hurtles from one near-disaster to another, rescued only by a sense of humour, unquenchable optimism and her dear American friend Julia - until finally discovering love was right under her nose all along.

    Enthralled at first by these strangers, he begins to discover their dark and dangerous side, touching off a decades-long struggle against determined explorers, aggressive traders, land-hungry settlers, and ruthless officials. If his own people are to survive, the boy-turned-man must use his wits, build alliances, and draw on unique skills to block the rising tide of the white "salt people."Ambition and fear, love and loathing, mutual respect and open contempt bring Europeans and "savages" together in the untold story of the founding of New York City and the fabled island at its heart: Manhattan.If you have a passion for the historical fiction of Ken Follett, James Michener, or Edward Rutherfurd, you'll savor this rich and meticulously researched novel.A novel based on true events.(This Omnibus Edition includes updated and revised versions of the four short ebooks in The Manhattan Series plus new added content.)

    It takes guts, grit, gunslinging--and one hell of a woman . . .MEET TENNESSEE SMITH: SHE SHOOTS FROM THE HIP.There aren't many options for an eighteen-year-old girl in the Old West. Especially an orphan like Tennessee Smith. She can either sell her body in a seedy saloon or take her chances as a mail-order bride. Tennie chooses the latter. Joining a wagonload of women across Indian territory, she arrives in the God-forsaken town of Ring Bit, Texas. Her husband-to-be is surprisingly decent. But after tying the knot in a quickie ceremony, he pops even more surprises on her. First, he introduces Tennie to his three young sons. Then he drops dead on their wedding night . . .Some women would hightail it out of there. Not Tennie. She'll do whatever it takes to save the ranch and raise those boys. Rusty is thirteen, Lucas is ten, and Badger is six. They need a mother. Tennie needs a job. And the town needs a marshal. Sure, the local gamblers, outlaws, and thieves have no use for the law. Then again, they never met a lawman, or woman, like Tennessee Smith . . .

    Only twenty years old himself, he's been charged with the welfare of Lily, a sixteen-year-old mother-to-be and wife of his outlaw brother. But Lily keeps coming up with what Haywood needs. A horse. A gun. Money. Common sense. And before long Haywood recognizes that he has fallen in love with his brother's wife. "Good stuff . . . an intelligent, humane story about a guy with too much energy and too little sense. It rates an A."--Entertainment Weekly.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

     Frequently the two groups resorted to violence assert their rights to the lands. J. W. Wilbarger’s remarkable book Indian Depredations in Texas contains more than 250 separate narratives of attacks and counterattacks that occurred from the 1820s to the 1870s. Wilbarger, a pioneer who had emigrated to Texas in 1837, was fully aware of the dangers that he faced by living on the frontier of the American West as his own brother had miraculously survived being scalped and left for dead in 1833. Over the course of the next fifty years Wilbarger compiled accounts of Native American attacks that formed the basis of his book. Yet, rather than simply relying on hearsay and rumors of attacks, he sought out the victims and as he states in his Preface, many of the articles had been “written by others, who were either cognizant of the facts themselves or had obtained them from reliable sources." This book is fascinating work that remains an importance source covering the early settlement of the region by Americans, based on stories told by surviving pioneers. "unique among pioneer chronicles." — J. Frank Dobie J. B. Wilbarger was a Methodist minister, author and pioneer. He first moved West to Texas in 1837 at the urging of his brother Josiah Pugh Wilbarger. His book Indian Depredations in Texas was first published in 1889 and he passed away in 1892.

    While the pair have always maintained a close relationship, the dynamic she shares with her mother has proven much more challenging throughout the years. Now at seventeen years old, June has found herself contemplating life beyond working at her father’s shop. Though it isn’t until she is befriended by a ritzy, older customer that June begins to come out of her shell. The woman’s kindness and infectious energy are a welcome addition to her young life the summer before her senior year of high school. However, secrets from her mother’s past begin to threaten June’s newfound happiness - calling into question all that she has ever known. Confronted with the often-perverse intentions of the human heart, the teen must uncover the truth which has been concealed by years of deceit.

    . . THE LEGEND BEGINS When the Ridgeway family staked their claim on more than 40,000 acres of land in northwest Texas, they knew they had their work cut out for them. Located on a sharp bend of the treacherous Red River, their new home—the Rocking R Ranch—was just a stone’s throw away from Indian territory. It was as lawless and wild as the West itself, crawling with unsavory characters, cattle rustlers, horse thieves, outlaws, robbers, and worse. But still, the Ridgeways were determined to make the Rocking R a success—and a home—for their four remarkable children: Percy, Eli, Abigail, and Rachel. This is their story. Together, the Ridgeways could endure anything. Floods, tornadoes, Commanche raids in the dead of night. But when one of their own is kidnapped . . . that’s when all hell breaks loose. This is their story. The story of the American West.

    Now, Legend is preparing for his official coronation and Tella is determined to stop it. She believes her own mother, who still remains in an enchanted sleep, is the rightful heir to the throne.Meanwhile, Scarlett has started a game of her own. She’s challenged Julian and her former fiancé, Count Nicolas d’Arcy, to a competition where the winner will receive her hand in marriage. Finaly, Scarlett feels as if she is in complete control over her life and future. She is unaware that her mother’s past has put her in the greatest danger of all.Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun―with lives, empires, and hearts all at stake. There are no spectators this time: only those who will win...and those who will lose everything.

    This famous shipwreck was known as the Wreck of the Ten Sails. Jonathan was not lucky enough to survive the wreck along with eight other seamen. Problem was, no one ever knew he was even on board.Two centuries later strange sightings have been reported of ghost ships, screams and eerie lights off the east end of Grand Cayman. Brandon Wallace, a troubled teen seems to acquire a strange affliction and begins to have bizarre encounters from the sea where he befriends a mystical sea turtle who holds the secrets to the mysterious sightings as he plunges into the world of the paranormal . Here he is compelled to embark on a dangerous journey, risking his life to uncover the dark secret of Jonathan’s death. This task proves to be even more dangerous when one of Brandon’s closest friends has other plans for him.

    . .As Civil War bloodies the nation's ground, Texas Rangers Harp and Long John O'Malley patrol a vast, unguarded range, picking off the brutal Comanche while protecting the families of soldiers off fighting at the front.Bullet by bullet the O'Malleys distinguish themselves as two of the bravest gunfighters to ever wear the Ranger's star. At war's end, the Rangers are disbanded, but Harp and Long John are not through fighting yet. They sign on with a cattle drive that will take them across the most treacherous and deadly stretch of the American frontier: the long trail from Texas to Sedalia. Beset by ruthless enemies inside and outside the camp, Harp and Long John aim dead straight for the future--where a great ranching fortune awaits back in a Texas they will change forever.

    Her rescuer, the dashing Captain Slader, is a wrecker who specializes in salvaging cargo from sunken vessels. As a native New Englander, Virginia grew up in wealth but felt most comfortable on the docks, among the ships. This special connection to the sea is one of the few things the privileged heiress and the rugged captain share. But mixed with the captain’s handsome looks, could this passion be enough to drive Virginia’s marriage plans off course?Captain John Slader is no stranger to the winds of change himself. He’d once lost the thing he held most dear: his family. But now that those same winds have sent him the lovely Virginia, will he risk his heart yet again? Virginia’s fiancé, an up-and-coming politician, may be able to offer her a world of wealth and comfort—but could he cherish her as John would, with a love as boundless as the ocean itself?