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.
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.
Zane Carter and his sons, eleven-year-old Ty and thirteen-year-old
Joseph, venture one hundred miles into the Idaho wilderness with only a knife
and the knowledge of their Nez Perce ancestors. Danger awaits at every
deadfall and lurks in every snowy shadow as the boys hunt, fish, make weapons,
and build shelter, learning to survive, taking only what they need from the
land, and leaving no trace.
During their eighteen-day journey, Zane’s determination to fulfill a
promise to his grandfather, an Indigenous warrior who exemplified the tenets
of a wise and spiritual existence, is thwarted by a fatal encounter that
transports Zane into an ancient realm as he straddles the thin line between
life and death.
He wonders what has become of his boys. Have they learned enough patience,
resourcefulness, and courage to complete this rite of passage? Will they make
it out of the wildlands alive? Or will the unforgiving forces of the natural
world take them too far from home to ever return?
About the Author
After high school, Aaron Anderson set out to see the world, embarking on
adventures through North America, Europe, and North Africa. He enjoyed
traveling as a bicyclist, motorcyclist, train passenger, and even as a
hitchhiker, reveling in the excitement of the unknown.
At the age of twenty-two, Aaron returned to the US and worked on oil rigs in
Wyoming. He later became a carpenter and eventually a real estate appraiser.
However, his true passions have always been writing, developing powerful
friendships, and exploring new country.
During the 1980s he and his two sons hunted, hiked, and camped throughout the
western states. Here, his love for the natural world and respect for
Indigenous people prompted him to write his second novel, Never Lost.
Zane Carter and his sons, eleven-year-old Ty and thirteen-year-old
Joseph, venture one hundred miles into the Idaho wilderness with only a knife
and the knowledge of their Nez Perce ancestors. Danger awaits at every
deadfall and lurks in every snowy shadow as the boys hunt, fish, make weapons,
and build shelter, learning to survive, taking only what they need from the
land, and leaving no trace.
During their eighteen-day journey, Zane’s determination to fulfill a
promise to his grandfather, an Indigenous warrior who exemplified the tenets
of a wise and spiritual existence, is thwarted by a fatal encounter that
transports Zane into an ancient realm as he straddles the thin line between
life and death.
He wonders what has become of his boys. Have they learned enough patience,
resourcefulness, and courage to complete this rite of passage? Will they make
it out of the wildlands alive? Or will the unforgiving forces of the natural
world take them too far from home to ever return?
About the Author
After high school, Aaron Anderson set out to see the world, embarking on
adventures through North America, Europe, and North Africa. He enjoyed
traveling as a bicyclist, motorcyclist, train passenger, and even as a
hitchhiker, reveling in the excitement of the unknown.
At the age of twenty-two, Aaron returned to the US and worked on oil rigs in
Wyoming. He later became a carpenter and eventually a real estate appraiser.
However, his true passions have always been writing, developing powerful
friendships, and exploring new country.
During the 1980s he and his two sons hunted, hiked, and camped throughout the
western states. Here, his love for the natural world and respect for
Indigenous people prompted him to write his second novel, Never Lost.
Native American Literature, Family Saga Fiction, Western, Biographical
Fiction, Western
Date Published: 06-01-2025
You can almost feel the red dust clinging to your skin and catch the
faint scent of jasmine in the air. This is Indian Territory at the edge of
everything—law and lawlessness, hope and heartbreak, where the lines
between right and wrong blur with every sunset.
Told with vivid detail, this is the story of a man caught between loyalty and
his past, between a brother’s shadow and the light of his own becoming.
A tale of love, betrayal, and the quiet courage it takes to change your fate.
From a stagecoach town in Tennessee to the first railroad towns of the Indian
Territory, we delve into the lives of the charismatic and flawed brothers,
Matt and Robert. Their sibling dynamic shapes the lives of the entire Brown
family, steering them down a road of familial struggles and cultural clashes.
Matt always idolized his oldest brother, Robert – a smooth-talking
charmer who taught him at a young age to live hard and win big. Following
Robert’s footsteps, Matt is drawn into a life of high-stakes games and
deception. Then he meets Milla. Sharp-eyed, brave, and unafraid to speak the
truth, Milla is a woman rooted in her Choctaw heritage, carrying both strength
and sorrow in equal measure. For the first time, Matt imagines a different
future. But the past doesn’t let go easily and buried secrets never stay
buried for long, clawing their way back to the surface when you least expect
it. Now, Matt must choose between what consumes him and the life he wants to
build.
Set against the raw beauty of the Choctaw Nation, this is a powerful story of blood ties and hard choices, of the people we love and the ones we betray. Gritty, tender, and unforgettable—this is where redemption begins.
Excerpt
Albert kicked the door once, twice.
The window lit up with the light of a lamp. Through the window he saw Milla jump out of bed. He kicked the door harder.
Milla wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and stood at the bedroom door. “I told you I don’t want you here anymore,” she yelled. “You can just go...”
“Milla, open the door! It’s Albert!” He kicked again, struggling to hold Matt upright. “Matt’s hurt bad!”
She dashed to the door and let her brother-in-law in.
Albert held Matt tight around the waist and draped Matt’s left arm over his shoulder as the pair stumbled across the threshold. “Help me get him to the bed. I’m going for Doc Poor.”
Milla lifted Matt’s other arm over her shoulder and sat him on the bed, holding him steady. “Hurry,” she gasped.
Albert grabbed the coat hanging by the front door and ran out of the house.
“What have you gotten yourself into, Matt?” Milla pulled his coat off and unbuckled his holster, laying it on the nightstand. The sight of his shirt and pants covered in blood and dried mud sent a chill through her veins. He fell sideways on the bed and then she saw it—the cut on the back of his shirt.
“Owww!” Matt cupped his hand protectively over his wound, but the pain was too intense. He cried out again.
“You hold on, Matt. Albert went to find Doctor Poor. You just hold on now.” It was an order.
Matt gasped for air, then spoke in fits of agony. “They... got... Robert.” He strained to sit up and failed. His body fell limp, then he fell silent.
“Who got him?” Milla tried to roll Matt over, but he wouldn’t budge. Gasping at the sight of the blood on the bed, she backed away, hands trembling.
Is he dead?
Did he die?
Albert bolted straight up in bed and strained to listen. What was that?He thought he heard a horse neigh, but all he heard now was the creaking of the loose shutter and his own breath. But there it was again, the sound of a horse.
He stretched to look out the window. And there it was, the shape of a horse in the front yard.
Throwing off the blanket, Albert fumbled for his pocket watch on the nightstand and held it to the window. In the moon’s light, he saw it was near two in the morning. The horse was neighing again, louder and longer this time.
Albert glanced out the window as he slipped on his pants; it was Matt’s horse, Girl. The moon lit the corner of the yard where she stood, stomping her front right hoof on the frosted ground in distress.
In his bare feet, he flung open the door and rushed to the panicked horse. Matt sat slumped in the saddle, unconscious or dead. He couldn’t tell.
“Matt?” Albert touched Matt’s leg, but he nearly slid from the saddle at Albert’s touch. “Matt?”
The blood on his coat and shirt told Albert all he needed to know. It was bad, and it looked like he’d been bleeding for a while.
Without thinking, Albert mounted the horse, wrapping his arms around Matt to hold him steady, and rode as fast as he could to Matt’s house. Doc Poor lived on the back side of the field behind Matt’s place. He would take Matt home, then go wake the doctor at once.
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.
ARMY APACHE SCOUT (The Apache Kid Chronicles-Volume 1)
Fiction / Indigenous / Historical Fiction / Native American
Date Published: 06-03-2015
Publisher: Hat Creek
From Army Scout to Outlaw, from Hero to Legend.
He survived the embers of the fires and murders at the Camp Grant Massacre
of the Apache. Young Has-kay-bay-nay-ntayl ("brave and tall and will
come to a mysterious end"), a child known by many names but later
feared and revered as the Apache Kid-grows up in two cultures where survival
means choosing between loyalty and betrayal, his people and their overseers.
Trained by the legendary Al Sieber and other former military officers, the
Kid makes a meteoric rise to prominence as a First Sergeant of scouts, a
warrior whose skill and leadership helps win the U.S. Army's fight against
renegades and maintain peace between Apache bands at San Carlos
Reservation.
But neither war nor peace are ever simple. When forced to make an
impossible choice between his own People or the Army, he chooses his People.
His choice leads the Army to imprison him at Alcatraz. Released early by the
Army, Arizona Territory tries to imprison him again but he, with seven other
Apache on the way to Yuma Penitentiary, escape and become the object of the
greatest manhunt in Arizona history. The only one to survive the manhunt,
Kid becomes both a ghost and a legend, the most feared border outlaw for the
next ten years before vanishing into Mexico.
Seen through Kid's eyes, The Apache Kid: Army Apache Scout brings to life
the thrilling and tragic journey of Apache Kid as a young man and the best
of the Army's Apache scouts.
Excerpt
Redmond nodded down the arroyo. “I’ve already put some bottles
out for targets. They’re about fifty paces apart. You can just barely
see the glint off the one at three hundred yards. Which one would you like
Kid to use for a target, Al?”
Sieber leaned against the corral fence post and stared down the arroyo at
the little berms. He scratched the whiskers on his cheeks and made a face as
though deep in thought. “I can barely see that last bottle in this
light. Why don’t you just shoot the most distant one you think you can
hit. That ’73 Winchester you’re carrying would have to shoot
like the bullet was following a rainbow to hit anything at three hundred
yards. I don’t think that would be a fair test of your shootin’
ability. Go ahead and take a shot.”
I wasn’t sure what Sieber was talking about when he mentioned bullets
and rainbows, but I was sure I could hit the most distant bottle. I flipped
up the ladder sight and set the notch piece for three hundred yards. Sieber
watched me with one raised eyebrow that said I was going to make a fool of
myself. Redmond had a little smile. He’d heard enough stories about my
shooting from others that he believed he knew what I could do.
I levered a round into my rifle’s chamber, sighted at the distant
glint and, at half breath, squeezed off a shot. There was a short delay, and
then the bottle at three hundred yards exploded into many shattered pieces.
Sieber’s jaw dropped. He looked at me and then back where the bottle
was and shook his head. “Kid, that was one great shot. Can you do that
for the bottles at one and two hundred yards?”
I nodded, set the ladder notch to two hundred yards, levered a new round
and, taking aim, shattered that bottle. I flipped the ladder sight down
since the rifle was accurate without it at one hundred yards, levered
another round into the firing chamber, and quickly blew that bottle into
many sparkling pieces of glass.
Sieber looked at me and grinned. “You don’t miss, do you?
What’s your longest shot?”
I grinned back at him. “I no miss. Use Father’s buffalo gun.
Shoot deer on edge of clearing in Galiuro Mountains canyon. Father say best
shot he ever see with his buffalo gun.”
Sieber laughed. “I expect that it was. You must have exceptional
eyesight. Did you use a telescopic sight on the rifle?”
“Hmmph, I see far. Nothing on rifle. What is telescopic
sight?”
Sieber smiled and shook his head. Redmond said, “It’s a big eye
like those used in soldier glasses and another little eye attached to the
ends of a long brass tube. That combination makes things easier to see and
hit at a long range. Your People call this big eye in a tube a
‘Shináá Cho.’”
About the Author
W. MICHAEL FARMER blends over fifteen years of research into 19th-century
Apache history and Southwest living to create richly authentic stories. A
retired PhD physicist, his scientific work included laser-based measurements
of atmospheric aerosols, and he authored a two-volume reference on
atmospheric effects.
His fiction and essays have earned numerous honors, including three Will
Rogers Gold and six Silver Medallions, multiple New Mexico-Arizona Book
Awards, and a Spur Finalist Award. His novels include The Life and Times of
Yellow Boy, Legends of the Desert, and the award-winning Geronimo duology.
His latest novels include Trini! Come! and the Chato Duology, featuring
Desperate Warrior and Proud Outcast.
When his people are attacked by other villages, Rodney Knight uses his ability to interact with dead people’s spirits to help his community survive in a post-apocalyptic world.
Blurb
Rodney suffers through his earliest years in angst and rebellion when his father constantly rejects him. He enters young adulthood still bitter over how his father has treated him. Even so, his tribe needs the intervention of their only shaman in the Other Worlds for their very survival. As he acts out his anger, he accepts his duties and learns how to master them from a trusted mentor. Then he discovers that family isn’t limited to the blood ties, but can be so much more.
The San Francisco Book Review gave a nice summary:
“After the Great Quake of 2040, the forested lands and the lives of those in the Pacific Northwest are shaken. With both civil and social unrest still prevailing from the ideas of the 47th president, much of southwestern Oregon has been divided into tribal communities. Rodney Knight, the son of the founder of the Elk Creek Tribe, comes to age and into his own powers during this tumultuous time. At seven, he recognized his first spirits. First, a childhood friend was slain in an attack, and next, a beloved mentor lost during a battle. At seventeen, while on patrol with his unit, Rodney once again encounters a spirit that warns him of an ambush. Knowing that war is inevitable, the Elk Creek Tribe recognizes Rodney as their first Shaman. With advice from his Spirit Guide, Rodney helps lead his community through troubled times and towards the ideals that the founder had envisioned.”
BOOK 2
Book Title: The Second Book of the Knight Shamans
Part Two of the Apocrypha of the Knight Shamans Series
Peter Williams faces a deadly world where the Trumpian government has abandoned the west after a series of massive earthquakes has devastated the land.
Blurb
The great quakes of 2040 led to the downfall of civilization in the Pacific Northwest. Here is a tale of the days of destruction and the survival of one small family that then shaped the future for a thousand years after.
Peter is just one year old when his family is stranded in the wilderness after the quakes destroyed roads, bridges, buildings, and civility. His father and mother struggle to bring him home to their city of Sutherlin through a nine-year odyssey.
Then, at the very gates of their home, they find themselves under attack by the townsmen they counted on for refuge.
Follow Peter, and Wayne and Carrie Williams as they struggle for survival in a post-apocalyptic world, meeting friends and foes all of whom set the path ahead for young Peter to either survive or perish.
The Apocrypha of the Knight Shamans is an entire series devoted to explore methods to break people out of the deep programming that civilization and culture impose on them. In short, when nearly half the people in the United States have been convinced that “Woke” is evil and anyone who is “Woke” should be severely dealt with, this series will not only show how to escape the mind-prison of our culture, but will also offer some ideas of what the human spirit gains in being truly “Woke” as opposed to what the ignorant masses have been indoctrinated to believe.
The works of Don Miguel Ruiz, Elaine Pagels, and references to the Gnostic Gospels are intertwined in this work of fiction to create a new culture, with new values, and new paradigms, thus leaving the old views of the far right behind them and becoming Paradigm Lost.
To be even more clear: MAGA's this stuff ain’t for you!
Do you dare to look at the alternatives a new paradigm can bring into existence?
Excerpt
The Second Knight Shaman
“The President of the United States,” the announcer read in a somber tone, “has said that the West is on their own. Here’s a recording of his statement.”
“We don’t have any resources to bail out the blue states over there,” the Trump Heir said. “If they had any sense and were willing to support my rule, I’m sure we could come up with some support, but knowing how opposed they are to my rule, there’s just no point. God speed and thoughts and prayers to those godless heathens.”
“And that’s the position of the United States government on the western states,” the announcer said. “We’ll pause now for station identification.”
“Be sure to stop by your local Toyota dealer for the extended and extended again Toyotathon event!” an enthusiastic spokesman said as Wayne shut down the auxiliary power.
“What are we going to do?” his wife Carrie asked him while rocking their one-year-old son Peter.
“I don’t know, honey,” Wayne said. “We’ll have to figure out what’s next when we get more information. For now, I think we should get clear of the Jeep in case another round of quakes hits. We don’t want to be in here if it sinks any further.
Ornery Owl's Review
Five out of Five Stars
I read the second book in the series. It gives a good introduction to the story, explaining the events of the first book, so make sure not to miss that part if you haven't already read the first book.
While I enjoy fantasy based on English mythology, it was a welcome change of pace to read a fantasy story rooted in American Indian stories. This post-apocalyptic tale doesn't linger too long in explaining the world's technology. Instead, it focuses more on how people survive in a world that has been so changed by devastating natural disasters.
I couldn't help chuckling at the dig at #45/47's overt desire to become some sort of dynastic emperor. Citizens of what remains of the United States can only expect help if they bow down to the heir of 45/47. However, not too much time is spent talking about that unpleasant subject.
The relationship between Peter and Rodney develops in a way that makes sense. However, the aspect of the story I enjoyed most was the relationship Peter develops with nature and his ability to communicate with animal spirits.
The story ends on something of a cliffhanger. I don't have a problem with cliffhangers. This one provides a good segue for a forthcoming third book in the series.
This book is suitable for older teens and for adults. There are no overt descriptions of sex acts, but the potential for sexual and romantic entanglements between adult characters is not glossed over.
About the Author
Roderick Rowe studied writing in college for several years, working as assistant editor and then editor for his school’s literary magazine. He also spent a term as copy editor for the campus newspaper. He is a gay man and uses this “affliction” to build characters and situations in his fictional work. Rowe has published several short stories and an occasional poem. After ending a twenty-year career unexpectedly in 2015, Rowe decided to write his first novel. “Jamari and the Manhood Rites, Part I” was completed in two months, then he settled in to conduct editing – complete new landscape design with a new Koi pond, a new library built into the spare room in his home, the cleanest his house had ever been – but the editing eventually got completed.
