Set in the late 1890’s, The Brothers Brown - a family saga, Part 2 - For
the Sake of Family is a sweeping frontier saga of love, guilt, and redemption
- an unflinching portrait of a man’s descent into madness amid the
unforgiving wilds of Indian Territory.
When Matt Brown boards a northbound train, he carries more than a pistol. He
carries the weight of his brother’s death, a marriage strained to its
breaking point, and a conscience at war with itself. A doctor’s brown
vial of medicine offers fleeting relief but soon draws him into a darker world
where pain and guilt blur into something far more dangerous.
His wife, Milla, proud and rooted in her Choctaw heritage, stands as both his
anchor and his judge as the world around them shifts under the weight of
change and loss.
From Fort Smith, Arkansas, to the wooded banks of Bokchito Creek, two families
are bound by tragedy and love, vengeance and mercy. A celebration meant to
heal ignites old resentments. A family gathering ends in bloodshed. And a
winter dance turns deadly, forcing each to face the cost of survival,
forgiveness, and the ties that bind them.
Steeped in the spirit of the Choctaw Nation and the rough mercy of the Old
West, For the Sake of Family is a haunting tale of madness, murder, and the
fragile hope that redemption can be found on the far side of ruin.
About the Author
Raised on the beaches of South Texas, R.G. Stanford has always been
drawn to stories that transcend time. That passion was ignited in 1976 with
the discovery of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, and deepened
with The Feast of All Saints just a few years later. Though historical fiction
wasn’t an immediate calling, a personal journey into genealogy changed
everything.
With no close relatives nearby, R.G. Stanford turned to online resources in
search of extended family. That search became a twenty-year journey through
genealogy websites, Federal Census records, the National Archives, and old
newspapers. Along the way, R.G. Stanford uncovered incredible stories about
her family and the people who once lived in the Choctaw Nation, Indian
Territory.
Compelled to record the truth of her family in the lore, sprinkled with
imagination, R.G. Stanford is a history lover, a research buff, and a
passionate genealogy enthusiast. She is also a mother, a grandmother, and a
teller of stories, now living near Orlando.
Set in the late 1890’s, The Brothers Brown - a family saga, Part 2 - For
the Sake of Family is a sweeping frontier saga of love, guilt, and redemption
- an unflinching portrait of a man’s descent into madness amid the
unforgiving wilds of Indian Territory.
When Matt Brown boards a northbound train, he carries more than a pistol. He
carries the weight of his brother’s death, a marriage strained to its
breaking point, and a conscience at war with itself. A doctor’s brown
vial of medicine offers fleeting relief but soon draws him into a darker world
where pain and guilt blur into something far more dangerous.
His wife, Milla, proud and rooted in her Choctaw heritage, stands as both his
anchor and his judge as the world around them shifts under the weight of
change and loss.
From Fort Smith, Arkansas, to the wooded banks of Bokchito Creek, two families
are bound by tragedy and love, vengeance and mercy. A celebration meant to
heal ignites old resentments. A family gathering ends in bloodshed. And a
winter dance turns deadly, forcing each to face the cost of survival,
forgiveness, and the ties that bind them.
Steeped in the spirit of the Choctaw Nation and the rough mercy of the Old
West, For the Sake of Family is a haunting tale of madness, murder, and the
fragile hope that redemption can be found on the far side of ruin.
Excerpt
Closest to the flames was an old man with long, stringy hair. He wore a blue cotton pullover shirt, collarless and loose, with colorful ribbons sewn to the front and sleeves. The ribbons swayed with his motions as he chanted and stepped in place to the timing of the chant. He held two sticks about a foot and a half long with strands of beads tied to the ends and struck them together in time with the chant.
With each step, the old man’s ankle rattles shook. The dried tails of rattlesnakes fastened to leather strips grew louder and faster as his steps grew heavier. Many of the men had rattles tied to their ankles as well, while the women’s moccasins tingled with strands of beads hanging from the fringe.
Matt watched in awe as the people danced.
“Way-yak-un-way-yak-a,” the leader sang, striking the sticks in measured rhythm, one-and-a, two-and-a, one-and-a, two-and-a. On the twelfth beat, each pair of dancers turned to one another, their right foot kicked dirt inward as they voiced a loud, “woah.”
Spellbound, Matt watched, mouthing the chant under his breath along with the dancers. Then his breath caught. Milla stepped into the firelight, dancing beside a woman he had never seen before.
He gasped aloud, never having seen his wife like this, dressed in full traditional attire, her body moving gracefully in the fire’s glow. For an instant, she seemed a stranger, and yet more truly herself than he had ever known.
She turned her head, eyes lifting toward the trees. Matt stumbled backward, ducking for cover. He had to get out of there.
He spun around and nearly collided with John.
“Shhh.” John pressed a finger to his lips and grabbed Matt’s arm, guiding him quietly away from the gathering.
About the Author
Raised on the beaches of South Texas, R.G. Stanford has always been
drawn to stories that transcend time. That passion was ignited in 1976 with
the discovery of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, and deepened
with The Feast of All Saints just a few years later. Though historical fiction
wasn’t an immediate calling, a personal journey into genealogy changed
everything.
With no close relatives nearby, R.G. Stanford turned to online resources in
search of extended family. That search became a twenty-year journey through
genealogy websites, Federal Census records, the National Archives, and old
newspapers. Along the way, R.G. Stanford uncovered incredible stories about
her family and the people who once lived in the Choctaw Nation, Indian
Territory.
Compelled to record the truth of her family in the lore, sprinkled with
imagination, R.G. Stanford is a history lover, a research buff, and a
passionate genealogy enthusiast. She is also a mother, a grandmother, and a
teller of stories, now living near Orlando.
Set in the late 1890’s, The Brothers Brown - a family saga, Part 2 - For
the Sake of Family is a sweeping frontier saga of love, guilt, and redemption
- an unflinching portrait of a man’s descent into madness amid the
unforgiving wilds of Indian Territory.
When Matt Brown boards a northbound train, he carries more than a pistol. He
carries the weight of his brother’s death, a marriage strained to its
breaking point, and a conscience at war with itself. A doctor’s brown
vial of medicine offers fleeting relief but soon draws him into a darker world
where pain and guilt blur into something far more dangerous.
His wife, Milla, proud and rooted in her Choctaw heritage, stands as both his
anchor and his judge as the world around them shifts under the weight of
change and loss.
From Fort Smith, Arkansas, to the wooded banks of Bokchito Creek, two families
are bound by tragedy and love, vengeance and mercy. A celebration meant to
heal ignites old resentments. A family gathering ends in bloodshed. And a
winter dance turns deadly, forcing each to face the cost of survival,
forgiveness, and the ties that bind them.
Steeped in the spirit of the Choctaw Nation and the rough mercy of the Old
West, For the Sake of Family is a haunting tale of madness, murder, and the
fragile hope that redemption can be found on the far side of ruin.
About the Author
Raised on the beaches of South Texas, R.G. Stanford has always been
drawn to stories that transcend time. That passion was ignited in 1976 with
the discovery of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, and deepened
with The Feast of All Saints just a few years later. Though historical fiction
wasn’t an immediate calling, a personal journey into genealogy changed
everything.
With no close relatives nearby, R.G. Stanford turned to online resources in
search of extended family. That search became a twenty-year journey through
genealogy websites, Federal Census records, the National Archives, and old
newspapers. Along the way, R.G. Stanford uncovered incredible stories about
her family and the people who once lived in the Choctaw Nation, Indian
Territory.
Compelled to record the truth of her family in the lore, sprinkled with
imagination, R.G. Stanford is a history lover, a research buff, and a
passionate genealogy enthusiast. She is also a mother, a grandmother, and a
teller of stories, now living near Orlando.
In 1890s Missouri, secrets are a matter of survival.
Clairvoyant Sarah Richardson screams as her older sister Katherine is
forced into a straightjacket and thrust into a carriage bound for the St.
Louis City Lunatic Asylum. She is devastated to learn Katherine has been
blamed for her inadvertent role in an abused woman’s murder. Now, too
frightened to speak up, she hides the truth that it should have been her in
that carriage.
Sarah’s mounting guilt becomes too much, and she heads to St. Louis,
determined to regain her sister’s confidence and prove herself worthy
of forgiveness.
While working to heal their relationship, Sarah meets a timid housewife who
tries to hide her bruises. When troubling psychic visions of the woman begin
to affect her, she sees an opportunity to atone for her past mistakes.
Desperate to do whatever it takes to make things right, Sarah embarks on a
perilous journey that may cost her everything—including her own
life.
About the Author
Award-winning author Raquel Y. Levitt holds an MFA in creative writing and
a master’s degree in English. Her short stories have been published in
various anthologies and literary journals and reflect her passion for
writing about strong women finding their voice and their power. She is a
world traveler, an amateur nature photographer, and a collector of cool
rocks. Raquel and her husband live, work, and play in the Texas Hill Country
and Montana’s Bitterroot Valley. The Seer is her debut novel.
In this retelling of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge recounts the defining moments of his life, revealing his love affair with business partner Jacob Marley, the reasons why he hates Christmas so much, and what turned him into the scowling, penny-pinching old man we think we know so well.
Blurb
A Christmas Carol shows us one terrible day in Ebenezer Scrooge’s life, but have you ever wondered what came before his fateful encounter with the ghosts of Christmas time? What happened to turn him into the scowling, penny-pinching old man we think we know so well?
There is so much more to this character—possibly more than Charles Dickens himself could ever have imagined.
Scrooge’s own words sum it up best: “How delightfully queer life is.”
Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE
MERCY
1850
The phantom looms over my deathbed, his skeletal form shrouded in the same hooded cloak as the first time he appeared to me, on Christmas Eve some seven years ago. He is silent, as before, but his mission is a different one. Instead of the redemption he and his fellow spec- ters offered on their previous visit, he has come to collect and deliver me to the spirit world.
“Do not take me yet, Phantom.” My voice is as shaky as my resolve.
A tear trickles down my cheek, but I lack the strength to wipe it away. It lingers there, stalled halfway through its journey, just as I remain teetering at the edge of a desolate chasm between life and death.
It is not the fear of dying that keeps me here, for I know what awaits me in the afterlife. I redeemed myself after Jacob Marley and his ghosts left me with a soul churning in regret. I embraced my penchant for com- passion, loved and was loved in return, and undid some of the damage I had inflicted on the souls of others, as well as my own. It took the better part of my life to amass the courage needed to reject the moral constraints society imposed and overcome the obstacles I had embedded in my own path. True happiness came only when I gave myself completely to the person I loved most.
I earned my rightful place in eternity, and my heavenly sanctuary awaits just beyond the mortal realm. But I choose to endure, despite the agony, as spasms tear through my body and I shiver with cold, though the blankets weigh heavily upon me. I offer this suffering willingly in ex- change for the opportunity to revel in the memories of my seven decades on this blessed earth.
In my final moments, I wish to honor those who walked beside me through a lifetime comprised, in turns, of misery and happiness, selfish- ness and altruism, isolation and kinship, bitterness and love.
On my knees, hands clasped against my chest and head bowed to the towering shadow figure, I beg, “Grant me time enough to remember. Then I will surrender my soul. I will offer no resistance. Will you have mercy on your old friend Scrooge?”
A single nod is the phantom’s response.
Grateful for his gift of a temporary reprieve, I grip his bony hand.
“Lead on, generous spirit. Let us journey to the past.”
Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors
Ornery Owl's Review
Five out of Five Stars
I enjoyed listening to this audiobook while making my long drive from the small rural town where I live into the city to pick up the Thanksgiving turkey.
The narrator does an excellent job. The story has an authentic feel, as though it could have been written at the time in which it was set. It avoids straying into modern vernacular.
The author plausibly explains Scrooge's descent into bitterness during his later years. The listener can't help but feel sympathy for a man at the end of a long and troubled life. Although he has received the gift of redemption, there are still things he needs the world to know before he passes into the next world.
I enjoyed my journey into Ebenezer Scrooge's history. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started listening, but I was pleased with what I discovered.
About the Author
Unlike Scrooge, SARAH WHELAN loves Christmas: the decorations, the music, the traditions—everything. She is excited to make her own contribution to the holiday with a new twist on Charles Dickens’ classic tale. Sarah is a full-time professional writer, and her nonfiction has appeared in a variety of magazines. Her first novel, The Struggle Within, was published in 2018. She lives in Connecticut and loves spending time in her favorite city of Boston.
Charles Robert Fox is an experienced professional narrator, performer and general storytelling wizard. He has over 100 titles listed on Audible. Location: England, United Kingdom.
For centuries, the Chevaliers de Rouen pledged to fight the monsters that inhabit France until their last breath. In the mid 1800s, Michel-Leon Parisee is the last of his line. The whispering memories of the chevaliers who passed before him offer help but have also driven other chevaliers mad with their constant advice, so Michel-Leon is forced to maintain a careful balance. When an ancient hunger threatens Paris, Michel-Leon must gather every tool he has to fight a terrifying threat that has eluded destruction before.
Constantin Severin is fey kissed, a man who walks the line between the fantastical and the mundane. He is determined to kill the magicman, the monster who destroyed his childhood, and rescue its young victims. In doing so, Constantin is in danger of becoming what he hates most. He needs a chevalier, but Michel-Leon is consumed with his own battle. Constantin must set aside old suspicions and his wandering ways if he is going to bargain for the help he needs.
Together, they can find the strength they need to battle their respective demons. They can learn they don’t have to fight alone, but it will take trust. It will take letting down long erected barriers, and it will take love. If they fail, Paris will be destroyed by the creatures that threaten it when the swarm hatches and decimates the city.
Dusk settled over the forested hills and rounded knobs of the mountainside as Michel-Leon Parisee crouched on an overlook and waited as patiently as any other predator waiting for its prey’s nose to peek out of hiding. An early April snowstorm had blown through several days ago, and evidence remained by the snow lingering around gnarled roots and the bite that clung to the air.
“That’s often the reaction when two worlds collide.” Michel-Leon spared a glance for her. Rumors and whispers had abounded since she was a girl that she was his bastard half-sister. Their coloring was similar, though her hair was more of a true red and his gilded with gold and brown. She had a riot of curls she never could tame, and his tended more toward tousled waves. They both had the same long, lean body and warm smile, and though their temperaments were quite often opposite, they complemented each other.
He thought of her as a sister, and she wished for it for all the wrong reasons.
Another pair followed the first eyes and then a dozen until the mountain holes were lit like a swarm of fireflies. Michel-Leon straightened and glanced over his shoulder at the small group of men gathered outside the abandoned chapel doors. “Is the tribute ready?” he asked.
A low grumbling answered him as he turned his attention back to the waiting eyes. “Oui. But I don’t see why we ought to give up the food we tilled and toiled for to a mob of troublesome creatures. You’re a chevalier. Blow them out or bury them deep. Isn’t that why we called you here?”
The other way would be bloody and long, and they’d never be sure they got them all. If even one goblin survived, the stunts it would pull afterward would make the villagers long for the days of kicked over milk pails and holes bored in fences.
The grumbling returned. “What’s to keep them from picking up their pranks and tricks again after you leave? The supplies won’t last long. We don’t figure to keep doing this each month.”
“Don’t worry, if they agree to the terms of the pact, they won’t bother you for a long time.” Michel-Leon patted his pocket to check if his surprise was still there. If this didn’t cause a stir of interest among the creatures, nothing would. He started to walk away and then paused. “I’d wait in the chapel if I were you. Some of the more mischievous among them might see you as friendly targets to play with when they come to collect their booty. Staying out of sight is best. I’ll let you know when it’s over.”
“Not everything different is monstrous.” A fact Michel-Leon believed fervently and one that had set him apart from other chevaliers when he was in training.
Free use image by Wolfgang Eckert on Pixabay
Ornery Owl's Review
Rating: Five out of Five Stars
This gothic thriller feels like it could have been written in the time period in which it was set. Magical elements meld seamlessly with mystery. Threats seem to lurk in every shadow. This is a wonderfully atmospheric story relying much more on suspense than gore to have the reader peering nervously around corners wondering what might be hiding there. It is a thought-provoking, imaginative tale that readers will be sorry to have reach its end.
Because of horror elements and adult themes, the story is suitable for older teens and adult readers.
Marguerite Labbe loves to spin tales that cross genre lines, where stubborn men build lifelong ties of loyalty, friendship, and family no matter the odds thrown against them, and where love is found in unexpected places.
When she’s not working hard on writing new stories, she spends her time reading novels of all genres, enjoying role-playing and tabletop games with her friends, and taking long walks with her dog.
