Gold Dust On His Shirt

Gold Dust on His Shirt is an evocative telling of the experience of a Scandinavian immigrant family of hard-rock miners at the turn of the century and up to World War II. Based on fascinating historical research, these are tales of arriving in "Amerika," blasting the Grand Trunk Pacific railway, work in the mines, and domestic life and labour struggles in company towns throughout British Columbia. Part family history, part economic and social history, Gold Dust on His Shirt is an intriguing look at life on the industrial frontier, the world of immigrant workers and the rise of unions such as the Wobblies. This remarkable and provocative tale of a family, region and era references a number of broader social and political issues.

“Imagine Cormac McCarthy's savage lyricism in a Paul Bowles desert landscape and you begin to enter the bleakly beautiful world of this mesmerizing, fable-like novel.”—The Independent Gold Dust is a classic story of the brotherhood between man and beast, the thread of companionship that is all the difference between life and death in the desert. It is a story of the fight to endure in a world of limitless and waterless wastes, and a parable of the struggle to survive in the most dangerous landscape of all: human society. Rejected by his tribe and hunted by the kin of the man he killed, Ukhayyad and his thoroughbred camel flee across the desolate Tuareg deserts of the Libyan Sahara. Between bloody wars against the Italians in the north and famine raging in the south, Ukhayyad rides for the remote rock caves of Jebel Hasawna. There, he says farewell to the mount who has been his companion through thirst, disease, lust, and loneliness. Alone in the desert, haunted by the prophetic cave paintings of ancient hunting scenes and the cries of jinn in the night, Ukhayyad awaits the arrival of his pursuers and their insatiable hunger for blood and gold.

The book is the true story of one pioneer families' journey to Oregon and the establishment of a homestead ranch near Auburn, Oregon; site of the famed 1861 Gold Strike by Henry Griffin. This novel details the actual accounts of the Haskell family in their struggle to survive their new life in Eastern Oregon. This narrative details a long running feud between the patriarch, Monroe Galusha Haskell, and his oldest son, Charlie Haskell. Monroe was secure in his supreme wisdom that ranching was Charlie's destiny. But he locked horns endlessly with his son whose independent spirit and high roller faith convinced him that he'd find his destiny in becoming the owner of a Gold Mine. Historic accounts of cattle rustling, crippling droughts, hard drinking, deadly blizzards, murders and lynchings, the sudden deaths of five family members, a traumatic accident that leaves a daughter with bouts of temporary insanity and a grudge against chickens, and finally two grandsons who enlist in World War One. The youngest sees action in the biggest battles with American General Blackjack Pershing and pays dearly for it. At times sad and then humorous these tales define what it is about us as people that makes us most interesting; our virtues and flaws; in short, our humanity.

When Katy O'Connell saves Jonah Armstrong from a bar fight, he decides to hire her as a guide on his journey to the Klondike. But Jonah had thought Katy to be a boy, and when he finds out the truth, their relationship takes a new direction.

Ollie Hobart has murdered his way from Colorado to Arizona, lining his pockets with gold along the way. He has outlived every bandit who has ridden with him, always staying one step ahead of the law. Now, allied with a band of renegade Navajos, he believes there’s no one to stop him from raiding every mine surrounding Tucson. John Savage is one of Hobart’s victims, losing his family in a hail of gunfire from the merciless killer. He has taken his revenge against every member of Hobart’s gang, but the man himself continues to elude vengeance. Savage has sworn that Hobart will not leave Tucson alive, and in the final moments of his bloody quest he will learn whether the inscription on his silver-inlaid pistol is a blessing or a curse: “Don't draw me without reason, nor keep me without honor.”

After Eutropius' mother dies while giving birth to him, the newborn is raised by a shepherd and his wife. The shepherd castrates the baby to increase his worth and sells him into slavery, where Eutropius eventually becomes part of a young woman's dowry. He develops a close relationship with his new mistress, Sophie, until he is caught pandering and is released from service without financial support. Eutropius' struggle with his lack of social and sexual power translates into lust for political power and wealth. He is determined to overcome his outcast status and concocts devious schemes (switching brides on the Emperor and kidnapping a bishop) to reach a powerful position in society. However, as he works his way up, public outrage over such a high standing for a eunuch threatens to knock him back down again. With physical violence and verbal insults raging against him, is it possible for him to keep everything he has earned? After 18 years of teaching, author Frances Webb lives near Philadelphia and is enjoying retirement. Webb's research took her to Turkey, as well as reading the ancient poets, writers, and historians. Innocence and Gold Dust is alive with real history. Many scenes of historical events surround crazy emperors, greedy politicos, well-meaning bishops, and womanizing generals. It all happens in the latter half of the fourth century in a place and at time not often frequented in fiction.

The seventeenth book in the dramatic and intriguing story about the colonisation of Australia: a country made of blood, passion, and dreams. Destinies intertwine and brutal battles ensue to secure a brighter future. During the 1860s, Australian settlers, among them Lady Kitty Broome and Adam Vincent, venture out on new, exciting adventures which will lead to a war between cultures, friends and lovers, as they fight for the future of their world.