The American Civil War was by far the most dramatic time in U.S. history. No one could escape its influence who lived in America while it was fought; indeed, we can still not escape its influence today. It was a contest for the soul of the nation, to define who and what America was to be.And that's a heck of a great setting for a story.This volume is a collection of several Civil War short stories I've written over the years, as well as stand-alone excerpts from three novel...

Army sergeant Max Blackwell and his brother, Texas Ranger Jake Blackwell, lead an expedition to rescue a woman and her daughter who have been taken captive by Comanches. The pursuit will lead them across the Llano Estacado to Ransom Canyon -and the notorious comanchero leader Dutch John...Read the whole Blackwell series! "Blackwell's Run" was nominated for the 2011 Peacemaker Award for best western short story!

Duke Blackwell, California outlaw, is trying to go straight -but his efforts are complicated by a string of stage robberies by someone impersonating him. Now he has to catch "the Blackwell Gang" before the law catches him...Read the whole Blackwell series! "Blackwell's Run" was nominated for the 2011 Peacemaker Award for best western short story!

Caleb Blackwell found no luck in the California gold mines... but there is a new rush, in a place called Australia. Unfortunately, Blackwell arrives just in time to be caught up in one of the most violent uprisings in that land's history...Read the whole Blackwell series! "Blackwell's Run" was nominated for the 2011 Peacemaker Award for best western short story!

When Charles Weaver's investigative reporting got too close to mobster Albert Rossi, the gang leader ordered him killed. Weaver survived, but lost everything -including the love of his life. Now he plans to repay Rossi in kind -by destroying the one good, decent thing in the mobster's life, his daughter. But he may destroy his own soul in the process...

Murder and Intrigue in 5th century Ireland!Conor MacCormac, the new King of Connacht, had not wanted a Christian church in his territory, but the High-King – a new convert – had insisted. Now the priests have been slaughtered by raiders from the northlands – or so it seems. Conor must unravel the mystery, and he fears the truth may rock the Emerald Isle

From the dark streets of Knoxville to the hills and hollers of the Smoky Mountains... dead rednecks are stacking up like cordwood. Private eye Howard Qualls, fearless paragon of justice, is on the case... and his older, smarter, tougher ex-con brother Hoss is tagging along to make sure Howard doesn't get himself killed.Book 1: Dead Rednecks Are My SpecialtyEx-con Hoss Qualls and his eccentric brother Howard (who has watched too many Bogart movies) set out to prove their cous...

From the dark streets of Knoxville to the hills and hollers of the Smoky Mountains... dead rednecks are stacking up like cordwood. Private eye Howard Qualls, fearless paragon of justice, is on the case... and his older, smarter, tougher ex-con brother Hoss is tagging along to make sure Howard doesn't get himself killed.Book 3: Dead Rednecks on a Friday NightHoss Qualls doesn't take it kindly when a couple of thugs lean on his little brother Howard – it seems Howard's investi...

Award winning author Troy D. Smith presents six stories of the Blackwell family, originally from Tennessee, in this second volume of the Blackwell Chronicles. This volume of short stories follows a set of brothers and their kinfolk on their adventures (or misadventures, in some cases) from the American West and Frontier to the Australian Gold Rush.The stories in this collection include: "Blackwell Down Under," Caleb Blackwell seeks gold in Australia; "Blackwell the Highwayman," Duk...

Traditionalist Christians who oppose same-sex marriage and other cultural developments in the United States wonder why they are being forced to bracket their beliefs in order to participate in public life. This situation is not new, says Steven D. Smith: Christians two thousand years ago faced very similar challenges.Picking up poet T. S. Eliot’s World War II–era thesis that the future of the West would be determined by a contest between Christianity and “modern paganism,” Smith ar...

Orphaned and mentally challenged, Bobby Devane's cruel uncle called him "slow and backward." But Bobby had a very special ability –and the Cheyenne band that takes him in can recognize what no one he knew before ever could…A short story by Peacemaker and Spur Award winner Troy D. Smith

Strong Bear, a proud Cheyenne Dog Soldier, refuses to be forced onto a reservation. He decides to resist to the last, choosing his own fate –staking himself out in the traditional manner, with his face to his enemies…A short story by Troy D. Smith, winner of the Peacemaker and Spur Awards.