Hay Wire

B.M. Bower

The plot of "Hay-Wire" is centering around a family ranch and settled town. Lynn Hayward is bitter and frustrated over the way his familys ranch has fallen into disrepair through his vicious-tempered invalid fathers stinginess and willful neglect. Lynn reaches the pitch of resentment when he discovers that an apparently penniless old prospector, whos been taking gifts and favors from the Haywards for years, is actually concealing a fortune in his cabin. Bowers portrayal of Lynns struggles and gradual maturation, and of the tension and discord in his family, is convincing and compelling. One of many recommended Westerns by this prolific author.

Her Prairie Knight

B.M. Bower

Eastern society girl Beatrice Lansell, on a visit to her brothers Montana ranch, is being pressured by her social-climbing mother to accept her English nobleman suitor, Sir Redmond Hayes. She fills her days with coquetry, leisure and meaningless flirtations, but she has never found true love. The staunchly independent Beatrice finds herself equally annoyed and attracted by mysterious cowboy Keith Cameron. Will this improbable romance last? Theres plenty of conflict as corporations start buying up the free range, plenty of excitement and danger from the elements and criminals, and of course, plenty of romance as a New York socialite and a ruggedly noble cowpuncher fall in love.

Jean Of The Lazy A

B.M. Bower

This was B. M. Bowers 15th novel, and like her The Phantom Herd a year later, it draws on her knowledge of the movie business. Sixteen-year-old Jean Douglas, the title character, is a no-nonsense daughter of a Montana rancher, Aleck Douglas, who in the opening chapters is wrongly found guilty of murder and sent to prison. With the help of a ranch hand, Lite Avery, she spends the rest of the novel finding the real killer. B. M. Bower, was an American author who wrote novels, fictional short stories, and screenplays about the American Old West. This is one of her stories.

Lonesome Land

B.M. Bower

Pioneering Western writer Bertha Muzzy Bower was herself the wife of a Montana rancher for a time, so she brings a wealth of personal experience and psychological insight to this gripping narrative that follows protagonist Valeria as she enters into marriage and struggles with the often-harsh reality of rural life. Val is cast into circumstances that test her temper, strength, and sanity. One of her few contacts with the outside world is a friend of her husbands whom she despises. Their relationship gradually changes as her husbands true character is slowly revealed to her. Kent watches Val very closely as she struggles with poverty and a drunken husband. He knows Val is worthy of more than her husband can give. Is he the man to do it?

Points West

B.M. Bower

B.M Bower had a gift for writing Westerns, weaving tales of adventure, intrigue, mystery, and romance often with surprise endings. They are historical reminiscences of pioneers among the sage and bush, clearing the way for a new America. She wrote about working cowboys usually on western ranches, with the occasional visit of an eastern types. Her books were known for their factual attention to detail such as cattle branding. Cole is the son of wealth, but through no fault of his own this wealth has disappeared. The plot is well constructed with well drawn subsidiary characters and provides a number of interesting twists. Highly recommended, especially for those who love the Old Western genre.

Rim O the World

B.M. Bower

B. M. Bowers novel Rim o the World introduces readers to a rough-and-tumble group of range riders who scrape out a living in the foreboding and unwelcoming region known as Black Rim Country. Packed with suspense, action, and romance, this is a must-read for Western fans of all ages. B. M. (Bertha Muzzy) Bower was the first woman to make a career of writing popular westerns. And what a career it was more than sixty novels published from 1904 to 1940, the year of her death, and still more posthumously. In the western orbit, Bower was and still is a star.

Rodeo

B.M. Bower

Claude Kid Bennett is a young man starting to carve a place for himself in the world. His mom wants him to go to college and earn his M. D., but his dad thinks he could turn the boy into a useful man if hed stay on the Montana ranch, and learn to work hard. Kid gets a thorn under his saddle and sets out with his three horses to a six day rodeo in Chicago. Along the way he meets J.N. Harlan, and his free-spoken daughter Dulcie who is a Chicago businessman with plenty of pull. Trailblazing female Western writer Bertha Muzzy Bower wrote a series of pulse-pounding novels about the grizzled vaqueros and cowpokes who populated the Flying U Ranch.

Rowdy of the Cross L

B.M. Bower

Rowdy Vaughn is a goodhearted but somewhat uncouth range rider whose attempts at wooing the local schoolteacher are hampered by a longstanding blood feud. The problems start when Jessies brother turns out to be a good-for-nothing kind of guy who had done some nasty things to Rowdy in the past. The subplot, concerning Rowdys employers attempts to find pasture for his cattle during a drought, provides one of the highlights of the book: several interesting chapters describing a tedious cattle drive with a lack of water. Its a little slice of life in the untamed West that is sure to please Western fans.