"The Great Liquor War"Building a Railroad then trying to rob it.Hank James is trying to make his fortune panning gold but it isn't exactly working that way. However with the help of an "inside source" he does well betting on a prize fight.With his winnings Hank invests in a new business hauling freight to build the new railroad. With luck, hard work and good help he does well. Then his "inside source" from the days of the prize figh...

David M. McGowan's Boundaries is a captivating and richly woven tale that transports readers to 19th-century British Columbia, a land marked by untamed wilderness, shifting alliances, and the unyielding spirit of those who call it home. With its vivid depiction of frontier life and a nuanced exploration of morality, identity, and resilience, Boundaries is a standout in the realm of historical fiction.This book is a bold, gritty, and incredibly absorbing read.Fast-paced, unpre...

"Homesteader: Finding Sharon"Facing down a bullyHank James and riding partner Harry Gilmore ride the rails east to look for the woman Hank thought would be his mate for life. They unload their horses and gear at Canmore and immediately make an enemy.Riding on into Calgary they find Sharon but Hank is suddenly not sure if she is who he thought she was. He does decide to stay around long enough to see if she is.Or isn't.If they are staying around for awhile...

Sully Wheeler doesn't care why his cattle are disappearing.He doesn't care why but it has to stop. Perhaps it's part of the cost of hiding from his past, but who would steal from a one-time gunfighter? The North West Mounted Policeman that Sully contacted appeared more intent on stopping vigilante action than in stopping theft. If that proves to be the case, Sully will recover his own property, even if it takes gunfire to do it. Who is this Mountie, anyway? Is he a...

"Partners"Renegades and Wilderness!Survival?Tom Brash is educated, traveled, trained and for 1866 well agedFrank Clement is uncouth, unsophisticated, uneducated and young.Tom believes young Frank who has no idea where they are and is completely unaware of the dangers they face will not survive traveling alone.Frank thinks the "old man" will get himself killed with his fancy talk and fancy gun...

The attack on Pearl Harbour, December 7, 1942 forced the beginning of the building of something that had been contemplated and studied for more than a decade. It's now known as the Alaska Highway, an overland route from Canada's Peace River Country to the US State of Alaska. Many said it couldn't be done, but it was. The impact on Canada, North America, the USA, US Army integration, civil engineering and many other areas was immense.But what impact did it have on the people who liv...

Stealing Janet's Cattle by D. M. McGowanThree short stories. Lucky, Stealing Janet's Cattle and Voice From BeyondLucky, a young southerner, old before his time due to the mental damage caused by four years of brutal war. Following a traumatic brain injury he's not sure where he is and how he got there. When he starts to remember, he's not sure he wants to.Stealing Janet's Cattle. A young mother, wife and daughter ma...

Ex-Gold Miner Caught in Power Struggle in Exciting WesternIn the 1880s, gold miners flooded the West trying to make their fortune. A few actually made a living. Realizing that the life of a miner isn’t as rewarding or romantic as he expected, Hank James is ready to quit panning for gold in British Columbia and look for other opportunities.When he hears a prizefight will be fought in town, he attends, and with the help of the fight referee, wins big betting ...

People of the West: A short story timelineDifferent people for different lands but they survived, for a while and built western North America. No heroes, just those doing what had to be done. An explorer, a rebel, a Métis family, a young mother and rancher, a hobo, a fighter pilot, a family of pioneers battered by progress. Through it all, opinions good and bad.Nine short pieces of fiction constructed around 170 years of North American history and interspersed at intervals by...

Marker of StoneA look at exploration by European explorers from a different viewpoint and how fragile a success journey could have been.DeaconHow the demands of war may result in the participant returning with something they hadn't expected.What We Need is a Good Cattle DogHow something that is meant to excite laughter doesn't always do so.Native Sons in WW I Inclusion Education Knowi...

We WILL build something here!(Book 2 in the Hank James series)While we were dealing with the attempted train robbery, what happened to Sharon?Claiming your share of the so called “free” land in the rugged and wide Canadian frontier in the 1880s was a difficult, demanding task. Meeting the government requirements, registration, avoiding land awarded to the railroad, improving the land registered with cultivation, fencing and buildings while still man...

Thomas Brash is trying to escape, but knows he never will. No thinking person can escape from their past. Pursuing him is the memory of the family he lost to cholera. Perhaps he believes that traveling alone in a wild, dangerous land will end all his memories; there is no doubt he wishes to be alone. Whatever his intentions, the appearance of Frank Clement and the circumstances of that meeting upset those plans.Brash views Clement as an uneducated child who requires fatherly protec...