Cattle Country & Back Trail

Erwin A. Thompson's Westerns paint a moral universe in which courage, humor, and wit triumph and love unites and conquers all. "Cattle Country" and "Back Trail"-both set in Wagon Wheel County, six years apart-show the threat of bloody range wars, powered by greed, and probe strength of individual integrity, romantic partnership, family, and community.

This is "Cattle Country"-where you find: The determination to fill a job that's too big for one man. The courage to defend a friend in a fight that's not your own. The frustration of Katherine Wade as she stamps her foot and chides, "Damn Cowards " The bigness of Ashburn as he raises his children, ranches, and fights when he must.

In "Back Trail" Jeff Hawkins rides up from Texas with a dangerous, dark past he hopes to out-ride. His mettle is tested as he fights for his new homeland and finds his match.

"I grew up in times and places much like Erwin Thompson paints in "Cattle Country" and "Back Trail." Although those times are gone, Thompson's well-written voice rings true with the memory and flavor of a world that should not be lost." -Jim Lyle, author of "Things Seen in the Dessert"

"With crispness and gentle wit, Erwin Thompson's stories take us back to earlier times then give us nurture for the return trip to the present. A keen observer of people and their ways, his words help us enter and live those stories with him." -Jane Kirkpatrick, Wrangler Award-winning author of "A Sweetness to the Soul" and "A Clearing in the Wild."