Short Westerns

Headlined by the legendary storyteller Diana Palmer, this Christmas, the best kind of trouble comes in threes: Three bestselling authors. Three stories of holiday romance. And three rugged cowboys who are ready for love—whether they know it yet or not.

Buffalo Bill Cody, Bat Masterson, and other legendary heroic figures of America's Old West get the royal treatment in White Hats, a collection of stories by esteemed Western authors. This anthology is expertly compiled by Robert J. Randisi, who has gathered extraordinary stories of those who wear the white hat from well-known authors like John Jakes, Richard S. Wheeler, James Reasoner, and others.

From the windswept plains and dusty streets of Dodge City, to the rocky arroyos of Arizona's Verde Valley, to the early summer green of the Little Bighorn Valley, these small gems give the listener a taste of all that made up the West. Saddle up with the inimitable Dusty Richards as he spins his yarns of lawmen, cowboys, Indians, miners, and the women that loved them. Weep for love lost and love found, and laugh until you cry. Most of all, though, sit back and relax as Dusty Richards, the master storyteller, brings to life the West as it really was.

This collection of short stories has several stories and only one of the stories is not about the old west. A woman searching for some substance in her life ventures into the Devil's own canyon. A huge crippled grizzly turns man eater in "The Brute".

When it comes to boiling up a pot of coffee or stirring up a pot of stew, Old Laramie’s about as good a man as you’re going to find. But other than cooking three squares a day for the cowpunchers over at the Lazy G ranch, Laramie’s not good for much. But Laramie’s luck - and life - are about to take an amazing turn. Quite by accident, he somehow manages to save a family of Mexicans from bandits, and as a token of their gratitude they give him The Magic Quirt - a horsewhip that he’s told will turn him into a new man.

Mart Kincaid may be the fastest gun in the state, but it does him no good - because his gun and his life are not his own. They belong to Gar Malone, the King of Concha Basin, a ruthless rancher driven by his thirst for power, wealth, and conquest. Now Gar has set his sights on the Singing Canyon spread - the richest land in the basin - and he commands Kincaid to run its true owners off. If not, he threatens to reveal a dark secret that could ruin Kincaid's brother.

They call him Suicide, Smoke, or simply Sudden Death. His name is Kit Gordon, and from the banks of the Mississippi to the shores of the Pacific, he is King of the Gunmen. And Kit’s about to discover that sometimes it takes more than a quick draw and a sure aim to stand up like a man. Falsely accused of murder and one step ahead of a lynch mob, Kit escapes to the next county over - and a whole new identity. He changes his name and his whole outlook, teaming up with a lawman out to bring the rule of law to this untamed corner of Arizona.

Saddle tramp Petey McGuire doesn’t have much to live for. The trail in front of him stretches out long and hot, and there’s no end in sight. He’s been beaten down, beaten up, and kicked around so long, he’d run away from his own shadow if he could. But there’s one fight he can’t run from - the fight against hunger. Petey needs a job quick, before he drops dead in the dust. But the only way to get one is to act cool and talk tough - in other words, become the exact opposite of Petey McGuire.

Jon Talbot is a history professor who makes sense of the past by examining facts. He also knows how to speculate about the what-ifs. Jon’s doing both following the death of his wife, Pax. Driving home late from a volunteer assignment, she plunged off a mountain highway and died. The police find nothing suspicious about the facts: a deer in the road, a blown tire, a broken neck. But the what-ifs are leading Jon down a twisting trail of secrets. After five years of marriage, he is finally getting to know his wife.

Some men look to keep the peace. Others look to make trouble. But sometimes even the most law-abiding of men are compelled to cross the line. Easy Bill Gates is just such a man - quick with a smile and as slow to anger. He’s a model of restraint...until he’s forced to strap on a holster and kill the outlaw who murdered his brother. But more than his honor is at stake. A ruthless land baron is out to grab Bill's ranch and he's hired a gang of gunslingers to get Bill out of the way.

Eighteen-year-old Lee Thompson has a chip on his shoulder and a mission in his heart to save his dad, an aging sheriff who’s lost control of his town. Old Diehard’s lost control of his town, and it seems every outcast and outlaw west of the Mississippi is on the prowl in Wolf River, Montana. Now Lee’s come all the way from Texas to stand up for his father, a man who hasn’t seen him since he was a boy and who doesn’t know him from Adam.

Forged in the hot sun and sand of the Arizona desert, Chinook Shannon is as tough as they come. But Chinook is far from home—in the north country of Montana—and facing a challenge as big as the territory itself. Following his grandfather’s suspicious death, he’s come to Montana to claim his inheritance—the family’s cattle ranch. But the territory’s crawling with bandits and bankers, and they all want a piece of Chinook’s land.

Widower Caleb Jefferson is the blacksmith in Cutter’s Creek with no desire to fall in love again. But after an incident at church, he finally sees his daughter needs a mother — and a mail order bride might be his best option. Audrey Norris has just learned her late husband had many secrets — including a house note she can’t pay. With her daughter and mother depending on her for support, her options are few and mostly undesirable.

Ever since Gabriel Brandon rescued her from a dark future, Michelle Godrey looked up to the rancher as her personal hero. Protecting her all her life, Gabriel served as Michelle's guardian angel—saving her from a broken family, supporting her and encouraging Michelle to go to college. Even as Michelle felt herself start to fall for her protector, both of them could agree the timing wasn't right. But four years later, Michelle is grown up and ready to work. An assignment takes her away from their hometown of Jacobsville, Texas, and she begins uncovering secrets from Gabriel's past.

Tim Beckdolt, rangy and self-reliant, is as American as the frontier itself. But after spending eight treacherous months digging $175,000 in gold out of Desperation Peak - all he has left is desperation. Two sadistic strangers have taken his gold, and now they want to take his life. He's on the run - the target of a Devil’s Manhunt.

Lance Gordon’s running out of room and time. Back in the Sierras he killed the man who murdered his father. Unfortunately that man turned out to be a Deputy Marshal, and now Lance has a price on his head. Like Alan Ladd as Shane, Lance wants only to live in peace, but he’ll have to go through hell to get there. Running from the law and the cavalry, Lance heads for the one place no sheriff or soldier will go—into the territory ruled by The Baron of Coyote River.

Whether in the Old West or the Australian outback, New England or the Great Plains, the lesbian cowboys in these stories work hard, ride hard, and play hard in the saddle and in bed. Contributors Radclyffe and Jove Belle depict the rough and tumble world of female rodeo riders, while Cheyenne Blue describes a charged encounter between a renegade cattle driver and national park ranger, and Delilah Devlin writes about a hired hand who may be a woman, but is more than a match for any man. Lesbian Cowboys is sexy, steamy, and crackling with erotic energy.

America's richest legends come from the frontier - from the land where the events of a single moment might erase the lines between law and lawlessness, between safety and mortal danger, between heroes and villains. The carefully selected stories in this collection are vibrant proof that the great American West is a fertile ground to storytellers. Here's the most varied collection of short stories, by 17 highly acclaimed Western writers.

After spending 10 years in a maximum-security prison, Jennifer Jane (JJ) Watson got early parole and a job on a remote Canadian cattle ranch playing housekeeper to three of the sexiest cowboys she’s ever met.... Spring has finally arrived at Moose Ranch and a single woman fresh out of prison shouldn’t be experiencing scorching ménages with her three sexy-as-sin cowboys. But JJ’s love for her men continues to grow as she gives into the fevered heat and scorching passions she feels for each of them. Life is perfect.

Lynn Taylor and his kid brother Frank may not be angels, but they’re not devils, either. They’re just a couple of men - two-fisted Texans who have landed on the wrong side of a corrupt lawman. Young Frank’s been framed for robbery, rustling, and murder, and if Lynn doesn’t think fast, his brother’s going to end up the guest of dishonor at a hanging party. Lynn cooks up a daring plan to clear his brother’s name and rope in the real outlaw.