New Release The Saga of Indian Em’ly: (A Collection of 4 Books) by Sara Harris

Twelve-year-old Wind That Knocks Down Lodges loves his little sister, Cactus Flower, and the wildness of the desert canyonland the Apache call home. But in one night of misunderstanding and mistakes, Knocks Down and Cactus Flower’s innocent world is shaken as they find themselves locked in the nearby fort with the pale face soldiers and their mother’s lifeless body. With no one to lean on but each other, Knocks Down and Cactus Flower must make their way as children of The People in the pale face world—pale faces who have now become the enemy.

After finding themselves at the mercy of the Army, far from Apache Territory and well on the trail to Colorado, Knocks Down must bring himself to trust the soldier, Pale Face Joe. But Joe disappears, and when ordered to dispose of the children or else, the other Army soldiers waste no time in depositing them at the nearest Catholic orphanage.

They manage to escape the evil orphanage along with a new pale face friend, Kid McCoy. But they are set upon by a gang of murdering claim jumpers who steal Cactus. With Kid McCoy’s help, Knocks Down goes after her. When they encounter a soldier who was responsible for their mother’s death, they realize he’s set on seeing them dead, as well. How can a boy defeat a battle-hardened soldier? Just when Knocks Down is about to give up, the biggest surprise of all changes everything…

EXCERPT

     “I say again, halt! I have orders to shoot!”

     A woman’s voice answered. “Izdzaa, yiiltse! Pa-lease, please!”

     Cactus Flower and I exchanged a look. Peering through the mesquite branches, I saw my mother, our mother, her outstretched hands bathed in the moonlight as the cloud slid from over it. She was making the Apache sign for peace. Cactus flower saw her, too. Before I could raise my hand back to cover her mouth, the word tore from her lips in a shriek that echoed down through the canyon and back again. “Ma!”

     “Sentry, fire!” came another voice, followed abruptly by two booms. Booms which echoed the very one that had taken the life of Silver Sky, my father, so many winters ago.

      

New Release - Colt Buchanan and the Dastardly Desert Devils by Jack Bates - #paintedponybooks @prairierosepubs

Colt Buchanan’s life changes in a matter of minutes when his mother and father are ripped away from him during a surprise dust storm that leaves their Wyoming cabin in nothing but splinters. It’s a moment they’ve prepared for all his life, but at ten years old, he’s not sure what comes next. When he climbs from the cellar, he realizes that this was no ordinary dust storm. The devastation was done by something more powerful…more sinister. Something man-made.

But Colt is rescued before any further harm can come to him by Captain Conrad Givens who pilots an amazing invention that flies in the air. Givens takes Colt to the safety of Fort Discovery, a place where Colt learns how important his parents’ scientific work has been—and that he’s not alone. There are many other brilliant children there, as well—children whose parents had extraordinary scientific skills just like Colt’s parents did. And someone is making orphans of them all. 

When danger threatens Fort Discovery, there’s only one choice Colt can make. He has to do whatever it takes to protect the enlightened community that exists there—teachers, scientists, and students alike. But how can he defeat the formidable enemy, Anvil Smith? With the help of his friends and Pecos Bill, Colt realizes he’s more than “just a kid”—and saving Fort Discovery is the only way to find out where his parents are!

EXCERPT

     “Pa! You got it!”

     In that same instant, lightning sparked down along the copper shaft of the spyglass. Colt felt all of its power race through his body. The house shook as sand exploded through the walls.

     “Jenny! Take Colt into the cellar!”

     Colt covered his eyes with his arm to protect them from the sand. He briefly saw his mother lift off the ground.

     The next instant, Colt was toppling down into the cellar. Colt looked up at the swirling, sandy world overhead. His father’s hand reached out above him. Colt sprang up reaching for the hand that disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Colt’s world went black as the heavy metal door swung shut. Small traces of dust seeped through the door frame.

     When the dust settled, both Randall and Jenny Buchanan were gone.

     And they would remain that way for a very long time.