Rathuun King of the Prairie Book Blitz #rabtbooktours

Frontier & Pioneer Western Fiction; US Historical Fiction; Action/Adventure

Date Published: March 20, 2026

 

With all the swagger of a classic western, a legendary buffalo claims his rightful place among the genre's most iconic heroes.

Meet Rathuun. Born in an idyllic canyon, tragedy strikes on his first day. A grizzly bear scatters the herd, devours his twin, and leaves him to shiver and die. But the buffalo calf with a white spot on his chin survives.

The plains are changing fast. Wagons roll west in endless streams. Telegraph wires stretch across the horizon. Locomotives scream down polished rails, slicing through the earth. Extinction

seems imminent when everyone wants to kill the biggest buffalo on the prairie. Native people shoot arrows and drive herds over cliffs. Hide hunters slaughter millions. An obsessed buffalo assassin is determined to wipe them all out and change the world forever. There's an army of barking rifles, and they're all pointed at Rathuun.

Will the hunters take Rathuun's head and leave his carcass to rot on the prairie?

This sweeping epic thunders across the American West, taking listeners to unforgettable western landmarks. If you like classic westerns, thrilling action, and high-stakes historical adventures, grab your copy by the horns.

Welcome to the prairie!

About the Author

David Fitz-Gerald writes frontier and pioneer western fiction from the wilds of western Vermont—about as far west as you can get without slipping into New York.

Though he’s never wrangled beeves to market, Dave was a top hand on his grandfather’s dude ranch in the Adirondack Mountains… before he turned ten. He’s lived most of his life on dirt roads. Whenever he gets the chance, he travels west to recharge his spirit on the windswept prairies.

He’s an Adirondack 46’er which means that he’s hiked to the top of every mountain in the park. In 2018, Dave completed the 1960s fitness craze by hiking 50 miles in one day. That’s one heck of a long walk, but not nearly as grueling as the iconic trails that he chases in his fiction.

Even after all these years, Dave still has his head in the clouds like Ken from MY FRIEND FLICKA, and a quiet, self-reliant spirit like Sam from THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN. That blend of wonder, heart, and spirit runs through the characters he portrays. His editor states he is “exceptionally good at creating real moments between characters”—and readers seem to agree.

Dave’s breakthrough series, Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail won Chanticleer’s Grand Prize for Book Series. He’s now the author of nearly twenty novels and counting, and as long as there’s coffee in the kitchen, Dave will be plotting one adventurous story after another.

 

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https://mybook.to/RathuunKingofPrairie

 

Eliza Waite Week Blast #rabtbooktours

Historical Fiction

Date Published: 05-16-2016

Publisher: She Writes Press

Celebrating the 10th Anniversary

After the tragic death of her husband and son on a remote island in Washington’s San Juan Islands, Eliza Waite joins the throng of miners, fortune hunters, business owners, con men, and prostitutes traveling north to the Klondike in the spring of 1898. When Eliza arrives in Skagway, Alaska, she has less than fifty dollars to her name and not a friend in the world—but with some savvy, and with the help of some unsavory characters, Eliza opens a successful bakery on Skagway’s main street and befriends a madam at a neighboring bordello. Occupying this space—a place somewhere between traditional and nontraditional feminine roles—Eliza awakens emotionally and sexually. But when an unprincipled man from her past turns up in Skagway, Eliza is fearful that she will be unable to conceal her identity and move forward with her new life. Using Gold Rush history, diary entries, and authentic pioneer recipes, Eliza Waite transports readers to the sights sounds, smells, and tastes of a raucous and fleeting era of American history.

Excerpt

September 1, 1896

Cloudy, first fall chill. Deer in garden again. Need to mend fences.
 

“Good fences make good neighbors,” her aunt used to say.

Eliza examines her muddied property and stifles a snort. There are no neighbors, no cheery hellos or help at harvest time, no shared secrets or meals offered at the door when grief steals joy clean away. No, her neighbors are all gone from this windswept island plagued with relentless autumn rains that close in on the coming darkness.

Eliza removes her nightclothes and rushes into her undergarments, woolen skirt, muslin blouse, and thick socks. She gathers up her skirt, and pushes out through the cabin’s rickety door, inhaling wood smoke and counting her memories, both blessings and curses.

I do not know if I can endure another winter here, especially after what happened last year.

Before the epidemic there had been a store, and a post office, and a cannery, and a school. And—of course—a church. On those long ago Sundays, Eliza had squirmed each time Jacob mounted the stairs to the simple wooden pulpit at First Methodist on tiny Cypress Island, his pompousness preceding him. Eliza sat stiffly in the front pew with Jonathan close beside her. Jonathan’s delicate hands held hers and his small brown leather boots dangled over the front lip of the wooden bench. If she tries hard enough, Eliza can still hear Jonathan’s warbling voice stumbling over the words of the ancient hymns.

        After Sunday services, Eliza and Ida Lawson had poured weak coffee into china cups at opposite ends of the cloth-covered table in the basement of the church. They adjusted the china cups, filling in spaces when others were served. They checked the sugar bowls. They rearranged the teaspoons, and placed them symmetrically. They exchanged glances and shared private conversations in between parishioners.

Did you hear the foreman killed a Chinaman over at Atlas Cannery?

Another parishioner would interrupt. Pleasantries. Then another interruption. More pleasantries.

Did you see Sly Chapman walking Adelaide Winters home from school on Wednesday?

There was always scuttlebutt about the townsfolk, or the trappers, or the fishermen, or the loggers. And always about the Chinamen. In the kitchen, Eliza and Ida would mimic the Chinamen, taking small steps and bowing to each other. They stifled their laughter. Only once had they had an awkward and guarded conversation about the intimacies of marriage.

IDA’S COFFEE CAKE

This is one of the best of plain cakes, and is very easily made.

Take one teacup of strong coffee infusion, one teacup molasses, one teacup sugar, one-half teacup butter, one egg, and one teaspoonful saleratus. Add pinch of salt.

Add spice and raisins to suit the taste, and enough flour to make a reasonably thick batter.

Bake rather slowly in tin pans lined with buttered paper. Tops with cinnamon sugar and serve warm.

But those days are long past. Now all Eliza has is a heap of gravestones to visit.
 

 

About the Author

 

 Multi award-winning author Ashley E. Sweeney’s fourth novel, The Irish Girl, released December 2024. Her previous novels, Eliza Waite, Answer Creek, and Hardland, have won a total of 20 awards, including the Nancy Pearl Book Award, Independent Press Award, WILLA Literary Award, and New Mexico-Arizona Book Award. Sweeney, a native New Yorker and graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, spends winters in Tucson and summers in the Pacific Northwest.

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Eliza Waite Week Blast #rabtbooktours

Historical Fiction

Date Published: 05-16-2016

Publisher: She Writes Press

Celebrating the 10th Anniversary

After the tragic death of her husband and son on a remote island in Washington’s San Juan Islands, Eliza Waite joins the throng of miners, fortune hunters, business owners, con men, and prostitutes traveling north to the Klondike in the spring of 1898. When Eliza arrives in Skagway, Alaska, she has less than fifty dollars to her name and not a friend in the world—but with some savvy, and with the help of some unsavory characters, Eliza opens a successful bakery on Skagway’s main street and befriends a madam at a neighboring bordello. Occupying this space—a place somewhere between traditional and nontraditional feminine roles—Eliza awakens emotionally and sexually. But when an unprincipled man from her past turns up in Skagway, Eliza is fearful that she will be unable to conceal her identity and move forward with her new life. Using Gold Rush history, diary entries, and authentic pioneer recipes, Eliza Waite transports readers to the sights sounds, smells, and tastes of a raucous and fleeting era of American history.

Excerpt

September 1, 1896

Cloudy, first fall chill. Deer in garden again. Need to mend fences.
 

“Good fences make good neighbors,” her aunt used to say.

Eliza examines her muddied property and stifles a snort. There are no neighbors, no cheery hellos or help at harvest time, no shared secrets or meals offered at the door when grief steals joy clean away. No, her neighbors are all gone from this windswept island plagued with relentless autumn rains that close in on the coming darkness.

Eliza removes her nightclothes and rushes into her undergarments, woolen skirt, muslin blouse, and thick socks. She gathers up her skirt, and pushes out through the cabin’s rickety door, inhaling wood smoke and counting her memories, both blessings and curses.

I do not know if I can endure another winter here, especially after what happened last year.

Before the epidemic there had been a store, and a post office, and a cannery, and a school. And—of course—a church. On those long ago Sundays, Eliza had squirmed each time Jacob mounted the stairs to the simple wooden pulpit at First Methodist on tiny Cypress Island, his pompousness preceding him. Eliza sat stiffly in the front pew with Jonathan close beside her. Jonathan’s delicate hands held hers and his small brown leather boots dangled over the front lip of the wooden bench. If she tries hard enough, Eliza can still hear Jonathan’s warbling voice stumbling over the words of the ancient hymns.

        After Sunday services, Eliza and Ida Lawson had poured weak coffee into china cups at opposite ends of the cloth-covered table in the basement of the church. They adjusted the china cups, filling in spaces when others were served. They checked the sugar bowls. They rearranged the teaspoons, and placed them symmetrically. They exchanged glances and shared private conversations in between parishioners.

Did you hear the foreman killed a Chinaman over at Atlas Cannery?

Another parishioner would interrupt. Pleasantries. Then another interruption. More pleasantries.

Did you see Sly Chapman walking Adelaide Winters home from school on Wednesday?

There was always scuttlebutt about the townsfolk, or the trappers, or the fishermen, or the loggers. And always about the Chinamen. In the kitchen, Eliza and Ida would mimic the Chinamen, taking small steps and bowing to each other. They stifled their laughter. Only once had they had an awkward and guarded conversation about the intimacies of marriage.

IDA’S COFFEE CAKE

This is one of the best of plain cakes, and is very easily made.

Take one teacup of strong coffee infusion, one teacup molasses, one teacup sugar, one-half teacup butter, one egg, and one teaspoonful saleratus. Add pinch of salt.

Add spice and raisins to suit the taste, and enough flour to make a reasonably thick batter.

Bake rather slowly in tin pans lined with buttered paper. Tops with cinnamon sugar and serve warm.

But those days are long past. Now all Eliza has is a heap of gravestones to visit.
 

 

About the Author

 

 Multi award-winning author Ashley E. Sweeney’s fourth novel, The Irish Girl, released December 2024. Her previous novels, Eliza Waite, Answer Creek, and Hardland, have won a total of 20 awards, including the Nancy Pearl Book Award, Independent Press Award, WILLA Literary Award, and New Mexico-Arizona Book Award. Sweeney, a native New Yorker and graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, spends winters in Tucson and summers in the Pacific Northwest.

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Rathuun King of the Prairie Teaser #rabtbooktours

Frontier & Pioneer Western Fiction; US Historical Fiction; Action/Adventure

Date Published: March 20, 2026

 

With all the swagger of a classic western, a legendary buffalo claims his rightful place among the genre's most iconic heroes.

Meet Rathuun. Born in an idyllic canyon, tragedy strikes on his first day. A grizzly bear scatters the herd, devours his twin, and leaves him to shiver and die. But the buffalo calf with a white spot on his chin survives.

The plains are changing fast. Wagons roll west in endless streams. Telegraph wires stretch across the horizon. Locomotives scream down polished rails, slicing through the earth. Extinction

seems imminent when everyone wants to kill the biggest buffalo on the prairie. Native people shoot arrows and drive herds over cliffs. Hide hunters slaughter millions. An obsessed buffalo assassin is determined to wipe them all out and change the world forever. There's an army of barking rifles, and they're all pointed at Rathuun.

Will the hunters take Rathuun's head and leave his carcass to rot on the prairie?

This sweeping epic thunders across the American West, taking listeners to unforgettable western landmarks. If you like classic westerns, thrilling action, and high-stakes historical adventures, grab your copy by the horns.

Welcome to the prairie!

Excerpt

Rathuun heard a fierce roar that rattled between his ears.

He had just finished nursing for the first time since he was born a thrum, hours earlier. His mother’s warm breath had tickled his flank just moments ago.

It was a peaceful morning on the prairie, but in a flash, everything had changed.

The thunderous roar boomed again. The entire brum was on the move.

In his haste to lead his followers away from danger, Drumm sounded the alarm and leapt forward. The old bull crashed into Rathuun, sending the thrum sprawling.

Rathuun’s legs wobbled as he tried to stand. It was a miracle that the collision hadn’t broken him. There was an instinctive pull to follow the brum, and it was centered beneath his chin, between his front legs.

He blinked rapidly, whipping his head from side to side, searching for his mother. Moments ago, she had been beside him. “Hathah!” he bleated, searching for the young cow who was his whole world.

But he knew she was gone. Gone with all the others. Why had she left him behind?

He shivered at the realization that he was all alone. His heart throbbed against his ribs. It was a struggle to make sense of what had happened.

Everything turned upside down and sideways. The panicked brum quickly vanished as the plains swallowed the pounding hooves and flashing tails, leaving nothing but a faint echo of their distant bellows.

It was eerily silent in the wake of the wild scatter of the buffalos’ frenzied exodus. Rathuun took a tentative step forward, not knowing what to do or which way to go.

Dust choked the air. His third, translucent eyelid swept sideways across his eye, clearing away the grit kicked up by the fleeing brum. He stood, dazed and completely alone.

Or so he thought. The silence quickly gave way to horrible sounds.

Rathuun turned his head. Twenty feet away, something moved. A dark, hulking monster hunched over something. Rathuun’s blood pounded with fear. There was a heavy thump in his chest. Then he saw the creature.

It was a rumbler.

 

About the Author

David Fitz-Gerald writes frontier and pioneer western fiction from the wilds of western Vermont—about as far west as you can get without slipping into New York.

Though he’s never wrangled beeves to market, Dave was a top hand on his grandfather’s dude ranch in the Adirondack Mountains… before he turned ten. He’s lived most of his life on dirt roads. Whenever he gets the chance, he travels west to recharge his spirit on the windswept prairies.

He’s an Adirondack 46’er which means that he’s hiked to the top of every mountain in the park. In 2018, Dave completed the 1960s fitness craze by hiking 50 miles in one day. That’s one heck of a long walk, but not nearly as grueling as the iconic trails that he chases in his fiction.

Even after all these years, Dave still has his head in the clouds like Ken from MY FRIEND FLICKA, and a quiet, self-reliant spirit like Sam from THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN. That blend of wonder, heart, and spirit runs through the characters he portrays. His editor states he is “exceptionally good at creating real moments between characters”—and readers seem to agree.

Dave’s breakthrough series, Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail won Chanticleer’s Grand Prize for Book Series. He’s now the author of nearly twenty novels and counting, and as long as there’s coffee in the kitchen, Dave will be plotting one adventurous story after another.

 

Contact Links

Website

Facebook

Goodreads

Bookbub

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/RathuunKingofPrairie

 

Bloomers on Pikes Peak Book Blitz #rabtbooktours

Children's Historical

Date Published: 10-21-2024

Publisher: Solander Press

The mountain stood tall, daring anyone to conquer its peak.

Julia Archibald Holmes was not one to back down from a challenge, especially when it meant fighting for justice. Her journey to the top of Pikes Peak was just the beginning of her many adventures. In the mid-1800s, amidst the rugged terrain of the Rocky Mountains, Julia Archibald Holmes set out to make a name for herself. Her life was a series of daring escapades, all in the name of justice. Her involvement in the Underground Railroad, a perilous journey fraught with risk, was a testament to her unwavering commitment. Her later advocacy for Women’s voting rights was a continuation of this fearless spirit.

However, as Julia's diary reveals, her journey was not without its challenges. From facing dangerous obstacles to overcoming personal setbacks, her unwavering commitment to justice would be tested. Julia’s story provides a powerful message of determination, courage, and resilience that will leave a lasting impact on readers.

 

Bloomers on Pikes Peak won a Will Rogers Medallion Award and was the finalist for the Women Writing the West Willa Award.

 

 

About the Author

Clarissa Willis is an award-winning author, consultant, and professional developmental specialist. She provides workshops, keynote addresses, and customized professional development both nationally and internationally. She writes early childhood curricula, teacher resource books, and books for children.

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Lila's Journey Week Blitz #rabtbooktours

Historical Fiction

Date Published: 05-19-2024

Publisher: Mustard Seed Press

It’s 1866 on the Santa Fe Trail. Sixteen-year-old Lila Bonner is forced to make a life-changing decision that leaves her frightened and alone. With help from a kindhearted stranger, Lila reaches Council Grove, Kansas, where she hopes to build a new life. Fortified with determination, and tapping into a strength she didn't know she had, Lila deals with basic survival, Indian unrest, and an epidemic. As she develops into a wise, capable young woman, an unspeakably evil plot threatens her life as well as a blossoming romance. Her fate hangs in the balance between the person who betrayed her, the man she loves, and the woman she's become.

Excerpt from Lila’s Journey

She kept up a brisk pace through the wooded path as the sun peaked in and out of the clouds, shifting the shadows of the trees. Some of the trees had shed their leaves, but the mighty oaks still clung to theirs, and they rattled in the breeze. She kept her arms under her cloak for warmth but slowed momentarily when the sound of the rattling changed. She did a quick turnaround but saw nothing. “Must have been some critter scampering about,” she said, and picked up her pace again.

It happened so fast it scarcely registered.

Large hands overpowered her and grabbed her from behind, one covered her mouth, the other circled her waist. A surge of adrenaline triggered a painful heartbeat in her chest. She screamed through the clamped hand, but the sound was choked off. Lila struggled to free her arms from inside her cloak while she wildly kicked backwards. The harder she fought, the fiercer the grip. Lila raised her leg and shot it backwards again, this time hitting a shin. A rough voice cursed in her ear.

She was lifted off her feet and shoved against a tree, snapping the side of her head against the trunk. Pain shot through her head. Dazed, she made a feeble attempt to grab the arms. A hand slapped hard against her face. Spots danced before her eyes with the disappearing daylight, then nothing.

 

When Lila came out of the fog of unconsciousness, she found herself in darkness. She was blindfolded. She was on a horse with someone sitting behind her, someone with unspeakable body odor whose breath reeked of whiskey. What was happening? Who has done this? She had a throbbing headache, made worse with each step of the horse over the uneven ground.

Reaching for her head, she realized her hands were bound together. Why am I tied up? This makes no sense. She was a captive and there was nothing she could do to give herself any advantage. The realization sent her into a frenzy of fear, and tears swelled under her blindfold. Dear God, what am I to do?

Now fully awake, her heart pounded as she tried to clear her head. She had no idea how long she’d been unconscious, no idea where she was, no idea who sat behind her in the saddle. She shuddered to think who her captor was and what he had in mind.

 

About the Author

Award winning author Jane Coletti Perry’s second novel, Lila’s Journey, will be released summer 2024. Her short story “Lila’s Song” won Women Writing the West LAURA Award (2021) and is the prequel to Lila’s Journey. Her previous historical fiction novel, Marcello’s Promise (2019), was inspired by her family’s immigrant story. She loves nothing more than digging into history and discovering unique stories unless it’s bringing those stories to life through writing. An English major, Perry graduated from Iowa State University and participates in writer’s workshops, conferences, and local writing groups.

When she’s not writing, Jane is singing in a choir, exercising in some fashion, or soaking up nature from a shady spot in the yard with a good book. She and her husband live in Kansas and have two children and six grandchildren. She treasures time spent with their far-flung family and still entertains the fantasy of appearing on Dancing with the Stars for Grandmas, although the clock is ticking. . .

Jane is a member of Women Writing the West, Western Writers of America, and Wyoming Writers, Inc.

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Call In the Dogs Teaser #rabtbooktours

Western/Cowboy,  Cherokee, Outlaw

Date Published: 02-26-2026

Publisher: Write the West Press an imprint of Paperback Press, LLC Springfield, Missouri

Levi Kuratowski, better known as “Little Kansas,” only thinks his days of carrying a gun are over. With a trading license approved by the Cherokee Nation he is determined to build a trading post on the banks of Spring Creek. Soon however he must set his hammer aside and take up his colt revolver. Upon receiving word that the outlaw Bill Kirby has escaped custody he prepares to face his old adversary.

Levi’s friend, Cherokee rancher Turon Turtle vows to offer aid and his rifle. Turon’s strong willed sister, Ruth, has a different vow in mind for Levi. Levi soon finds the determined Ruth as challenging as the inevitable showdown that has yet to come.

For the first time since leaving Europe three years earlier his has a sense of home. He finds customers in the neighboring Cherokee and travelers. More importantly he finds friends. Unknown to Levi is the whereabouts of the outlaw Kirby. Can Levi rely on his new friends and community? Will Levi be able to hold on to what he has built and face the man who thinks nothing except for the destruction of Levi and all he holds dear?

 
Excerpt

Queenie is out in front,” Turon Turtle said, reaching over to put a stick on the fire.

“Stump is close behind,” Ounce Pathkiller grunted.

The two Cherokee had been speaking mostly in English for the benefit of the third man, Levi. Known to most in the area as Little Kansas. A nickname he picked up while cowboying out West where he had met the Cherokee Turon Turtle.

Born and raised in a poor family in Poland, fox hunting was foreign to Levi Kuratowski. Only the rich had hounds. Here he sat with two Cherokee, a hemisphere away from home.

“How can you tell which dog is in the lead?” Levi asked while staring at the night sky.

“Each dog sounds different. Has its own voice,. as people do,” Ounce replied.

“Yeah, Queenie has a sharp tone. She’s the boss. Now, Ounce’s dog Stump has a deeper bark, as if he’s in a well. Also, he sounds as though he’s way behind Queenie,” Turon added while grinning and giving Ounce a sidelong glance.

Ounce spoke in Cherokee, too quick for Levi to understand the words, but he understood the gesture.

 “Stump catch that old fox, you’ll see,” Ounce added.

“Better be an old fox if Stump is going to catch it.” Turon pulled a tobacco pouch from a coat pocket and unrolled a small paper between his fingers.

Ounce once again grunted.

“I heard you priced Stump to Ned Foreman for fifty dollars,” Turon said, carefully dumping tobacco on the paper then rolling a cigarette.

“Yeah,” Ounce said while accepting the tobacco pouch and papers from Turon.

Reaching for a burning stick to light his cigarette, Turon asked, “What makes him worth fifty dollars?”

 “I traded two twenty-five-dollar fighting roosters for him.” Ounce built his own cigarette.

 

About the Author

 

 Born and raised on the Ozark Plateau. Charlie Amos grew up in the footsteps of outlaws, cowboys, and woodsmen. He currently lives in Oklahoma with his wife, children, and dog Banjo. When he is not tending cattle and kids he is reading and writing about the American West. Years of working in agriculture, forestry, trucking, and teaching school has laid the foundation of telling our American story through relatable characters. Writing westerns for westerners, and everyone else.

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Carrie Ingalls the Forgotten Sister Teaser #rabtbooktours

Non-fiction Chapter Book Juvenile Fiction

Date Published: 10-30-2025

Publisher: Solander Press

While her sister Laura chronicles their life on the frontier, Carrie Ingalls forges her own path. This is the story of the “forgotten” sister, a frail child who grows into a resilient woman of the American West. From the hardships of pioneer life, Carrie emerges as an independent journalist, newspaper editor, and landowner, quietly shaping the futures of fellow homesteaders and proving that strength comes in many forms.

Excerpt

 Chapter Six A Single Bag of Wheat

On October 15, 1880, a fierce blizzard struck the Dakota Territory. It soon became clear that the Ingalls family could not survive the coming winter in a one-room shanty.

First, Charles took his haystacks to town in the wagon. Then he returned to the shanty, and he and Caroline packed the wagon with their few pieces of furniture, bedding, and clothes. They returned to town and moved back into the rooms above the small store Charles had built. The good news was that Laura and Carrie could go to school.

A lot had changed over the summer while they lived in the shanty. The school had been completed and opened on November 1, 1880. Laura and Carrie were two of the first fifteen students to attend De Smet School. When another blizzard hit during a school day, Laura and Carrie struggled to find their way back to where they lived.

Settlers depended on the train for their supplies. Not only did they get food delivered daily by train, but they also received mail and, most importantly, coal for fuel. Charles and the other men from town often shoveled snow from the tracks so the train could reach the station.

As the blizzards continued into January 1881, the railroad made a decision that significantly affected Carrie and her family. They would not deliver more supplies until spring and would cease operations for the winter.

The school was shut down because there wasn’t enough coal to keep the children warm, and soon food became scarce in the town. Food prices rose sharply, with flour costing $50 a pound, and the last few pounds of sugar selling for $1 a pound. Without coal, the Ingalls burned hay twisted into bundles. As their kerosene ran low, they burned the oil lamps less and less at night. But a good deed by Charles may have saved the family.

About the Author

 

 Award-winning author Clarissa Willis writes children's books. She has authored four picture books and one chapter book. Bloomers on Pike’s Peak, the story of Julia Archibald Holmes, received a Will Rogers Medallion Award and was a finalist for the Women Writing the West 2025 WILLA Literary Award in Children's Picture Books. Her book Fast as the Wind: The Story of Johnny Fry Pony Express Rider won a Will Rogers Medallion in 2023. The Three Little Pigs and the Not So Big Bad Wolf, released in early 2025. It tells a familiar story with a new twist. She believes childhood is a journey and strives to make it joyful through her books and public speaking.

Clarissa loves traveling and has a special connection to the American West. She finds inspiration in the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona, and the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. In fact, her next book, Not from Around Here, is set in Sedona and chronicles an unusual friendship between a young cowboy and his friend from far away.

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A Vicious Love Burns Release Blitz #rabtbooktours

 

House of Croft, Book 5

 

Murder Mystery Romance

Date Published: October 28, 2025

Danger isn't just coming—it's personal…

 

Adrian Croft has sacrificed everything to protect his family. But when a brutal string of murders rock London, he's briefly distracted from the ruthless heir of an Irish crime lord—an enemy with ties to Adrian's darkest past. With Bow Street floundering and innocent lives at stake, Adrian steps back into the fray… and the cost is more than he ever expected.

Five months pregnant and desperate to be by her husband's side, Samantha Croft returns from her wintry retreat in the country—only to find herself in the crosshairs of the man determined to destroy her husband. Finn O'Leary doesn't care who he has to break to bring Adrian down, and Samantha may be his most valuable target.

 

House of Croft Series

A Vengeful King Rises

House of Croft, Book One

 

A Tainted Heart Bleeds

House of Croft, Book Two

 

A Ruthless Angel Weeps

House of Croft, Book Three

 

A Deceptive Game Ensues

House of Croft, Book Four

 

A Vicious Love Burns

House of Croft, Book Five

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKHWD83L

 

 

About the Author

USA TODAY bestselling author Sophie Barnes writes historical romance novels in which the characters break away from social expectations in their quest for happiness and love. Having written for Avon, an imprint of Harper Collins, her books have been published internationally in numerous languages. With a fondness for travel, Sophie has lived in six countries, on three continents, and speaks English, Danish, French, Spanish, and Romanian with varying degrees of fluency. Ever the romantic, she married the same man three times—in three different countries and in three different dresses.

When she’s not busy dreaming up her next swoon worthy romance novel, Sophie enjoys spending time with her family, practicing yoga, baking, gardening, watching romantic comedies and, of course, reading.

 

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Pintsized Pioneers at Play Teaser #rabtbooktours

 

Homemade Frontier Fun and Danger written by Preston Lewis and Harriet Kocher Lewis

Young Adult Nonfiction

Date Published: 11-04-2025

Publisher: Bariso Press

Pintsized Pioneers at Play: Homemade Frontier Fun and Danger explores the forgotten world of how kids lived, laughed—and sometimes limped—through their childhood years in the Old West.

While their parents settled the land, these pintsized pioneers explored it, creating their own adventures with homemade toys, daring games, wild animal encounters, and risky escapades. This engaging sequel to the award-winning Pintsized Pioneers: Taming the Frontier, One Chore at a Time shines a spotlight on the joys and perils of play in a land still being tamed.

From exploring the prairie and wrangling critters to celebrating frontier holidays and watching traveling circuses, this book reveals how children carved out fun and entertainment in a rough-and-tumble world. Learn how railroads and mail-order catalogs brought new toys, how schools and churches doubled as social hubs, and how a simple game could end in laughter—or injury.

Written for young adults but fascinating for readers of all ages, Pintsized Pioneers at Play is packed with history, heart, and a hint of danger. Written at a tenth-grade reading level perfect for curious minds, Pintsized Pioneers at Play includes a glossary of related terms.

Perfect for fans of Western history, educators, homeschoolers, and lovers of untold American stories!

Excerpt

Not even Christmas Day could rouse John Taylor Waldorf from his bed at two o’clock in the morning, but the annual arrival of the circus train in Virginia City, Nevada, was a different matter altogether. Waldorf and his friends arose early and willingly on circus day when on any other morning it “would require at least three calls and the threat of a ‘dose of strap oil’ to make me crawl out from under the covers.”
And why not? The circus provided an entertaining escape from daily hardships, much like the frontier theater, but much more exciting, as it combined the elements of an art exhibit, a traveling zoo, a professional band, a parade, a sideshow with oddities, a gymnastic meet with acrobats and aerialists, an equestrian show, a fashion show with performers and animals in exotic costumes, an occasional history lesson, and a three-ring environment awhirl with amazing activities and prankish clowns.
“Several thousand people are in the city from neighboring towns and from the country,” proclaimed the Evening Kansan of Newton in May 1897. “Circus day is equal to any legal holiday of the year, and today might have been a legal holiday so far as appearances were concerned. Nothing is quite of so much interest to everybody as a circus.”
The spectacle offered children a brief glimpse of the world beyond the boundaries of their farms or small communities. A circus was a childhood delight, allowing frontier youngsters to see exotic animals like elephants, lions, tigers, camels, zebras, monkeys, and even an occasional rhinoceros, giraffe, or hippopotamus.

 

About the Author

 

 Preston Lewis is the award-winning author of more than sixty western, historical, juvenile, and nonfiction works. In 2021 he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters for his literary achievements. The Will Rogers Medallion Awards named him the 2025 recipient of the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the literature of the American West.

Western Writers of America (WWA) has honored Lewis with three Spur Awards, one for best article, a second for best western novel and a third one for YA nonfiction in 2025. He has received eleven Will Rogers Medallion Awards (seven gold, two silver and two bronze) for written western humor, short stories, YA nonfiction, short nonfiction, and traditional Western novel.

Harriet Kocher Lewis is a retired physical therapist and PT educator. As an assistant clinical professor of physical therapy at Angelo State University, she taught documentation and scientific writing among other topics as the department’s coordinator of clinical education.

After retirement she became the publisher of Bariso Press and in that capacity an award-winning author and editor. Books she has edited have earned a Spur Award, Will Rogers Gold and Bronze Medallions for YA nonfiction and western humor, a Literary Global Book Award for cookbooks, and an Independent Author Award for western nonfiction. Other books she has edited have been finalists for Spur Awards in juvenile nonfiction and for Independent Author Awards for both memoirs and humor.

Kocher Lewis is co-author with her husband of the Spur Award-winning Pintsized Pioneers: Taming the Frontier, One Chore at a Time and three books on artificial Intelligence, all published by Bariso Press. They live in San Angelo, Texas.

 

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