Showing results by author "James Oliver Virmala" in All Categories

Beau and Eli flee Arkansas with the law close behind. Their only option is to head for the 19th century frontier, equipped with little of the experience needed to survive the rigors of living and surviving in the Rocky Mountains. The mountain man life provides them with the refuge they need as they struggle to keep one step ahead of the dangers that threaten to take their lives. Little do they know that the life they have chosen is threatened by something that all the strength and knowledge of mountain men can’t defeat.

Life on the potato farm in Maine offered little of the adventure the young Amos Mudd longed for. Reading the news of gold in California became an escape for him and finally his objective. The hardships of making the long trek and abandoning his father could only hold him back for so long.

The mountain man loved the life and the rigors of the Rockies, facing the challenges that the high country and isolation threw at him, only to arrive home and find everything he had worked for had been taken by savages. With no law enforcement on the frontier to turn to for help, Tom sets out to save his family with one nagging question: Was he wrong to leave them unprotected while he eked out a living in the high peaks?

Determined to fulfill his dream after the death of his brother, Tom comes face to face with the wild forces of the western frontier. Working through the challenges that stand in his way, the young man struggles to survive as he fights, bleeds, and loves, earning his right to be a mountain man.

Bart had lived a hard life, scouting for the army, guiding wagon trains, and brawling in more saloons than he could remember. His scarred fists and the Dragoon on his hip had dealt justice to all comers. Tired of the fighting, drinking, sleeping in stables or waking up in the street, Bart Nevell is determined to change, look up a past love and build a ranch in Texas.

Haunted by doubts of his carefree lifestyle, Beau accepts an opportunity to guide a wagon train over mountains he loves and to what could be the promised land. His desire to have a home and family clashes with the excitement and freedom of the mountains. He faces a life and death struggle on the Oregon Trail to find the answer.

All Kyle wanted to do was fish in the English Channel and love his country. Circumstances keep pushing him farther and farther away. Can a war in 1812 help bring him home?

Tyler had a happy home, with Emma and their children. As sheriff of Cedar Creek, he was respected by the towns people. It was the type of life he had longed for since the death of his own mother and father as a young boy. Then came the war between the states, sometimes called "Brothers’ War" that threatened to take it all away.

In 1840 the demand for beaver was gone, leaving the mountain men searching for another way to survive.

Growing up on the Grand Kankakee Marsh in the 1800s was a life that Tyler Tomas loved. Hunting and fishing with his grandpa filled his days. His best friend Wil would join him in adventures through the nearby forest. It was a perfect world until youth was left behind. Life brought Tyler Tomas from the Grand Kankakee Marsh to the Devil’s Tower. Each turn on the trail took a bit of his innocence.

Life was good for the young man in front of the La Maison in New Orleans. He ruled the front porch of the saloon and brothel that provided him with access to whiskey, women, and an occasional hand of cards. When the young man came into possession of a U.S. 1819 Simeon North Flintlock Pistol, little did he know that it would change the course of his life. Soon he found himself a hunted man. The trail to freedom took him all the way to the Rocky Mountains.

Beaver Lake was a refuge for animals, waterfowl, and a wide variety of fish. The 36,000-acre lake was located within the Grand Kankakee Marsh. Its many islands also became refuge for horse thieves and counterfeiters; hence one island earned the name Bogus Island. The beauty and grandeur of the Great Kankakee Marsh was marred by a bad element that found sanctuary within its shores. The average resident could ignore it when bad things happened to someone else. When it affected Cedar Creek, Sheriff Tyler Tomas was required to deal with it.

Sam Nevell found life easy, due to his ability to manipulate a deck of cards and being blessed with dashing, southern gentlemen’s ways. He made friends and then lost many when it became necessary to use them to supplement his income. The war between the states served his skills well and a southern raider with few morals employed him until Lee surrendered leaving their kind exposed for their bad deeds. Forced to flee the Carolinas, Sam’s cavalier outlook on life began to change. Unfortunately, any good he tried to do was ruined by those dogging him and seeking revenge for atrocities ...

Dan and Mary August lived in the valley of their dreams, raising cattle and their young daughter. Unexpected challenges shatter the dreams, forcing them to fight for the life they had chosen. Prayer and a steady gun-hand become Dan’s constant companions.

Life in the mountains had sheltered Beau Levesque from the realization of time passing. The next vista to view, or the satisfaction of overcoming a challenge, had been enough. With age came doubt of what he’d really accomplished. This doubt drove him to the Artic and back. His envy of those who had succeeded in creating a family left him with an emptiness that the next horizon wouldn’t fulfill. The war between the North and South offers a purpose that brings him back east. Beau must decide: Should he fight for his southern roots, or join forces against them? Little does he know that ...

The desire for adventure drove Oli to leave Finland and travel across the ocean to 19th century America. Circumstances left Oli in possession of a map showing the location of Spanish gold in what would become a life or death adventure. Travel with Oli from the wharfs of Boston to the peaks of the Rocky Mountains as he follows the dream of a departed friend.

Hunting and trapping were all Rufus Pike had ever wanted to do. The rewards for a good year provided whiskey, women, and poker. While he handled all three of them poorly, he could always recover from them with the coming year in the mountains. Then came an unexpected challenge named Celeb Weeks. Being responsible for a 15-year-old boy could destroy the carefree life he loved.

Silk ended the demand for beaver hair felt in top hats. While this may have saved beaver from extinction, it did not save the mountain man. Should Caleb rebuild the ranch, chase the California gold, or go back to the mountains? How does a young man choose? These were questions Caleb had no answer for, because none would fill what was missing inside.

Faced with the eminent loss of the family home, the sons of Oli set out on the 19th century frontier with a plan to get money to satisfy the note. The adventure takes them from war torn Texas, to the badlands in Dakota. Along the way they encounter danger, adversity and betrayal which threaten the success of their mission.

A prospector leaves family, friends and love behind to satisfy a burning need, risking life and limb on the 1800s frontier in search of gold. After giving up so much, the final reward is just beyond his reach as his most feared enemy now threatens to prevent him from attaining it.