The Man from Shenandoah by Marsha Ward

Carl Owen returns from the Civil War to find the family farm destroyed, his favorite brother dead, food scarce, and his father determined to leave the Shenandoah Valley to build a cattle empire in Colorado Territory. Crossing the continent, Carl falls in love with his brother's fiance' while set to wed another girl, but he might lose everything if the murderous outlaw Berto Acosta has his way. Carl battles a band of outlaws, a prairie fire, blizzards, a trackless waterless desert, and his own brother—all for the hand of feisty Ellen Bates.

"A book to prize, and not only for its gritty realism, exciting action, and compelling characters. The story further engages us by examining the ties that hold family and community together. Not many Westerns do that. " Heartily recommended!" C.K. Crigger, author of the Boothenay Irons Gunsmith series, Western Writers Newsletter, Nov.

Genre: Fiction - Western

Paperback: 246 pages
Publisher: IUniverse (January 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0595263089
ISBN-13: 978-0595263080
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #561,584 in Books

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About the Book: The Man from Shenandoah

Carl Owen returns from the Civil War to find the family farm destroyed, his favorite brother dead, food scarce, and his father determined to leave the Shenandoah Valley to build a cattle empire in Colorado Territory. Crossing the continent, Carl falls in love with his brother's fiance' while set to wed another girl, but he might lose everything if the murderous outlaw Berto Acosta has his way. Carl battles a band of outlaws, a prairie fire, blizzards, a trackless waterless desert, and his own brother—all for the hand of feisty Ellen Bates.

Genre: Fiction - Western

Reviews -- Reviews -- Reviews -- Reviews

A Western That is Truly West, March 5, 2003
By D. Davis (PAYSON, AZ USA)

I had nearly given up on reading Westerns as the newer ones I have read present such modern morals and language. Ms. Ward uses the language of the class & region, which makes The Man from Shenandoah so pleasing. Ms. Ward gives us joyous times but doesn't pass lightly over the hardships either. The author draws a character in such human warmth and depth that you have no trouble remembering who is whom. I don't know how a woman can write so well from a man's viewpoint; but, as she illustrates so well, men didn't understand women in the old West any better than they do now, but we women are another story!

Marsha Ward has a way with dialogue that eases us into familiarity with Carl Owen, the book's main character. His thoughts and words flow so clearly that we come to know him as a common man with a sense of humor. Carl is not given to flowery speeches. He can be a complex man who at times makes some pretty funny mistakes, and he doesn't like to apologize for them. Carl's values and his honor cause him no end of conflict with his family and others throughout his story. Often a western (especially one with romance included) lacks a deep feeling of family. I liked this one because the main character was not the 'loner with no family to teach him love and values' hero. The better part of the characters in this novel were members of warm, loving, laughing and arguing families. It was a joy to get to know them.

Ms. Ward paints vivid night skies, warm sun on your face and makes you wish you could lie down to contemplate the clouds in a meadow surrounded by quakies (Aspen trees to those not native to the Rockies). Colorado, Nevada, Utah and of course Arizona have been my playgrounds all my life and the journey into past memories was achingly sweet. A young girl threw her arms up over her head and whirled around in a meadow full of wildflowers and cried "I love you, Colorado, you're beautiful." This Colorado girl was so homesick she cried too - tears.

Ms. Ward's characters worked `danged hard' and they went down to the 'crick' to get water. Arizonan's give me such strange looks when I talk about the dry cricks here.

Well, human nature being what it is, there were people I loved and people I could do without but loved to hate. I was also a bit humbled by the women and yes, I would wish to be more like Ellen Bates myself. Now give us our sequel - it's so hard to wait!

I can't leave you without also mentioning that the cover is to die for. Yummy!

Read all 10 customer reviews

Paperback: 246 pages
Publisher: IUniverse (January 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0595263089
ISBN-13: 978-0595263080
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #561,584 in Books

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Ride to Raton by Marsha Ward

After losing the heart of his fiance' to his brother, James Owen leaves home to make a new life for himself. The turbulent world of post-Civil War Colorado Territory is fraught with danger and prejudice that increase his bitter loneliness as personal setbacks threaten to break him. Then James's journey brings him into contact with another wayfarer, beautiful young Amparo Garces, who has come from Santa Fe to Colorado to marry a stranger. Through a twist of fate, their futures are changed forever when their lives are merged in a marriage of convenience. James and Amparo undertake a hazardous horseback trek over Raton Pass to Santa Fe, battling their personal demons, a challenging language barrier, and winter's raging storms. Will their journey end in life or death?

“Marsha Ward has one foot in the 21st century and one in the 19th. Her characters hew closely to those wild days, portraying their lives and times. Readers love her for that.”

—Gary Svee, two-time Spur Award Winner
Western Writers Newsletter, Sep. 2003

Genre: Fiction - Western

Paperback: 222 pages
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (November 13, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 059530169X
ISBN-13: 978-0595301690
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #849,778 in Books

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About the Book: Ride to Raton

After losing the heart of his fianc'e to his brother, James Owen leaves home to make a new life for himself. The turbulent world of post-Civil War Colorado Territory is fraught with danger and prejudice that increase his bitter loneliness as personal setbacks threaten to break him. Then James' journey brings him into contact with another wayfarer, beautiful young Amparo Garces, who has come from Santa Fe to Colorado to marry a stranger.

Through a twist of fate, their futures are changed forever when their lives are merged in a marriage of convenience. James and Amparo undertake a hazardous horseback trek over Raton Pass to Santa Fe, battling their personal demons, a challenging language barrier, and winter's raging storms. Will their journey end in life or death?

“Marsha Ward has one foot in the 21st century and one in the 19th. Her characters hew closely to those wild days, portraying their lives and times. Readers love her for that.”

—Gary Svee, two-time Spur Award Winner
Western Writers Newsletter, Sep. 2003

Genre: Fiction - Western

Reviews -- Reviews -- Reviews -- Reviews

Rousing western fiction, November 30, 2003
By Carol Crigger (Spokane Valley, WA)

When James Owen's fiancee up and marries his brother, James's rage drives him from his home. He sets out for Colorado, looking to work in the mines. He makes the mistake, however, of stopping in Pueblo City where trouble finds him. Set upon, shot, then jailed, an old family "friend" bails him out. The help is not free, and James must work himself clear of these entanglements.

On his way over the mountains at last, he finds the body of wealthy Mexican. A letter explains that the dead man was going to Leones to acquire a bride. James has found an expensive bride gift on the body and determines he must take it, along with an explanation, to the woman.
At the same time, events have sent Amparo Garces y Martinez on a journey from Santa Fe into Colorado where an arranged marriage awaits her. Arriving at the mission, she waits there for her husband to claim her. However, it is James Owen who arrives. In a moment of chivalry, James marries the girl with the intention of taking her back to Santa Fe. Naturally, his plans go awry. First, although he fights his feelings, he falls in love with her. Second, Amparo willingly, joyously, returns his love, and somewhere between here and there, James decides they should go home to his family.

While on the trail, upon reaching Trinidad, they are swept up in a fight between Mexican and white battling factions. Barricaded in the town mercantile, they hope to avoid the trouble--but trouble comes to them. Caught in a crossfire, Amparo is shot, and now James takes up a trail of vengeance against the killers of his lost love.

Ride To Raton is the action packed story of a conflicted man who strives always to do the right thing. The story will catch at your heart and stay with you long after you put the book down. Highly recommended for all fans of western lore.

See all 3 Reviews

Paperback: 222 pages
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (November 13, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 059530169X
ISBN-13: 978-0595301690
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #849,778 in Books

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Counting the Cost by Liz Adair

For handsome, hard-riding cowboy, Heck Benham, life is as solid as the New Mexico countryside he loves as predictable as the annual spring roundup. Yet, that all changes when Mrs. Ruth Reynolds moves from back east into his homeland and into his heart.

The stark contrast in their lives is played out in a territory that is, itself, coming into its own. As Ruth and Heck face a trail of pivotal, life-changing decisions, their love is challenged at every turn. What will it cost them before they find what is most important in life?

With strong characters, true-to-life emotion, gentle humor, meticulous attention to detail and historical accuracy, Liz Adair paints a passionate tale of love and learning, of romance and redemption.

Genre: Fiction - Western

Perfect Paperback: 335 pages
Publisher: Inglestone Publishing; 1st edition (January 30, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0977881466
ISBN-13: 978-0977881468
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,131,207 in Books

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About the Book: Counting the Cost

For handsome, hard-riding cowboy, Heck Benham, life is as solid as the New Mexico countryside he loves as predictable as the annual spring roundup. Yet, that all changes when Mrs. Ruth Reynolds moves from back east into his homeland and into his heart.

The stark contrast in their lives is played out in a territory that is, itself, coming into its own. As Ruth and Heck face a trail of pivotal, life-changing decisions, their love is challenged at every turn. What will it cost them before they find what is most important in life?

With strong characters, true-to-life emotion, gentle humor, meticulous attention to detail and historical accuracy, Liz Adair paints a passionate tale of love and learning, of romance and redemption.

Genre: Fiction - Western

Reviews -- Reviews -- Reviews -- Reviews

Love in Bleak Times, May 22, 2009
By Story Circle Book Reviews

The bleak yet beautiful land of western New Mexico is the setting for a love story in a rugged and often lonely time--the tough years of the Great Depression. City-raised, culture-loving, impoverished Ruth sought security and a home when she agreed to marry Harlan Reynolds. When the couple moved to Harlan's new job at the Diamond E ranch, Ruth found the land as bleak as her marriage. She took her car and ran away to Las Cruces, but didn't make it far before she found herself stuck in a deep and isolated arroyo. Enter Heck Benham, Diamond E cowhand, who after a spectacular display of horse-handling rescued the lady. They both felt the spark, and here, the story takes off.

In her dedication of the book to her mother, author Liz Adair explains the novel is a fictionalized account of a long secret family story: an uncle fell in love and ran away with a married woman in that long ago New Mexico.

The story Adair tells is a love story, but it is also one of struggle. Struggles with the land, the hard times, and, mostly, two very different people who, in spite of their love, want very different things.

Heck is content with his life, his horses, his home, however modest, and his (eventual) wife. Ruth longs for what she had--and more. More culture, more money, more people. Through the years, they stay together, sometimes one yielding, sometimes the other.

Adair spins a fascinating and easy to read story. All of her characters, not only Heck and Ruth, ring true. Moreover, she has a fine eye and ear for both the land and the times. I grew up in the country not far from the setting of this story, and, like Adair, I grew up hearing stories of the Great Depression. She has skillfully captured both.

This is a story to enjoy, but also one to learn from.

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Perfect Paperback: 335 pages
Publisher: Inglestone Publishing; 1st edition (January 30, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0977881466
ISBN-13: 978-0977881468
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,131,207 in Books

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