Courage, integrity, and honor were highly respected traits among the men and women who built lives in the early days of the American West, but were they ever subject to indecision, doubts, worries, loss, guilt, and even fear? Yes, after all these were real people with all the same emotions we deal with today. Yet they prevailed, making the right decisions, quelling the doubts, and overcoming their fears. Among the 17 stories in this collection you will meet people like Cooper Thompson who can no longer run from his family in "He's My Brother," and Cassie Dahlman who sets out to defend her rights in "The Shooting of Rebel Tanner." U.S. Marshal Preston Yates investigates four murders connected to a letter in "The Double Deal." There is an accounting for loose tongues in "Watch Your Words," overcoming loss, doubt, fear and worry in "Mrs. Reynolds," and "Old Nate's Farewell," and witness the consequences of deception in "I Did You Wrong." Along the way you will also meet Eli and Rob in "Beaver Valley," Case Bristol in "Monty's Last Hand," and Ward Pohl in "The Blood Oath," all of whom set out to right wrongs that have been done. These are men and women of the true westward movement, not the "Western Myth" as some claim. It was real and so were the people.
About the Author: Mountain men, Voyageurs, pioneers, and explorers make up the branches of Dave's family tree. His mother's side was from Canada where the men plied the fur trade in the Canadian wilderness. Others moved down into the wilds of Northern Minnesota and established trading posts among the Chippewa. On his father's side were veterans of the War of 1812, and the Spanish American War. His natural grandfather died out West while working as a telegrapher for the railroad. His step grandfather, born in the 1800's, was Blackfoot Indian from Montana. He was a hunter and horseman who brought a great deal of Old West influence into the Fisher family. As a lifelong Westerner Dave inherited that pioneer blood and followed in the footsteps of his ancestors. Originally from Oregon, he worked cattle and rode saddle broncs in rodeos. His adventures have taken him across the wilds of Alaska as a horsepacker and hunting guide, through the Rocky Mountains of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado where he wrangled, guided and packed for a variety of outfitters. Dave weaves his experience into each story. His writing, steeped in historical accuracy and drawing on extensive research, draws his readers into the story by their realism and Dave's personal knowledge of the West, its people, and character. He has near to 500 fiction and non-fiction works published. Included are 21 western action/adventure and outdoor novels and short story collections, 70 short stories, and inclusion in 18 anthologies. He is the first, and currently the only, writer to win the Will Rogers Medallion Award three times for outstanding Western Fiction. Nine of his short stories have earned Reader's Choice Awards. You can learn more about Dave's background and writing at his website: www.davepfisher.com