Here is a collection of Western/Frontier short fiction ranging in length from 7000 words
to 22,000 words, from full short story to novella. Of these six stories, four have been previously published and two have won awards.
In “White City,” a young narrator tells of a stranger who comes to a tent city and looks
for a kidnapped girl while a snowstorm hits town. This story first appeared in Through Western Storms (Lohman Creative, 2024) and was a finalist for the Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award in Best Short Western Fiction in 2025.
In “Buckskin Trail,” a lone cowhand helps an attractive but stand-offish widow find the
horse as well as the killer of her late husband. This story first appeared in Blue Is Not the Word / Buckskin Trail, published by Speaking Volumes in 2022) and was a finalist for the Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award in Best Short Western Fiction in 2023.
In “Blood at the Ranch,” a young man confronts trouble when his father marries a second
time and brings a stepmother and stepbrother to the ranch.
In “Pearl of Great Price,” an under-cover detective comes to a small town to look for a
girl who has been kidnapped from an Indian boarding school. This story first appeared as an e-book by Sundown Press (Prairie Rose Publications) in 2018 and was then included in John D. Nesbitt Western Double, also by Sundown Press, in 2019.
In “Of Emerald Hue,” the same detective as in “Pearl of Great Price” comes to a small
town to look for a rebellious teenage girl who may have been kidnapped.
In “Leaving the Lariat Trail,” a young man has to defend himself against former
associates when he decides he does not want to be part of their crooked enterprise any more. This story first appeared as an e-book by Sundown Press (Prairie Rose Publications) in 2019 and was then included in John D. Nesbitt Western Double, also by Sundown Press, in 2019. This story won the Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award in Best Short Western Fiction in 2020.