"Heart pounding, blood pumping, the cowboy nods, chute gate opens, and his world begins. Eight seconds of adrenaline rush. Eight seconds of gripping, pulling, and holding on. The animal under him bucks and twists attempting to dislodge the cowboy's seat but the rider sticks like glue. The buzzer sounds, the cowboy dismounts, tips his hat to a cheering crowd, and nods at his proud fellow riders. Just another day at the office."--from Ropes, Reins, and Rawhide
Melody Groves, a native New Mexican and former bull rider, examines the sport of rodeo, from a brief history of the ranch-based competition to the rodeos of today and what each event demands. One of the first topics she addresses is the treatment of the animals. As she points out, without the bulls or horses, there wouldn't be a rodeo. For that reason, the stock contractors, chute workers, cowboys, and all the arena workers respect the animals and take precautions against their injuries.
Groves writes for the rodeo novice, explaining the workings and workers (stock handlers, veterinarians, clowns, "pick up" men, event judges, etc.) seen in the arena and behind the scenes. She then describes the rodeo events: bull riding, saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping, and barrel racing. Interviews with rodeo legends in every event round out the "feel" for this breathtaking sport. Over ninety photos depict what is described in the text to more fully explain the rodeo, with its ropes, reins, and rawhide.

Ropes, Reins, and Rawhide: All About Rodeo

Groves, Melody

Humor & Entertainment

University of New Mexico Press

Throwing a few drinks back at the bar is a timeless tale of humanity. In the American Old West, this tale played out in ramshackle huts and stylish establishments alike in some of the most unforgiving terrain imaginable. While the legendary Crystal Palace in Tombstone, Arizona, had little in common with the tent cities that sprang up in Leadville, Colorado, and Silver City, New Mexico, one common feature was the bars--constructed of planks of mahogany, cherrywood, or rosewood. These bars were often hauled across hundreds of miles of rugged terrain to arrive in various cities, where they would support the elbows, chins, and drinks of those who sought to quench their thirst.
From the Grand Hotel in Bisbee to Rosa's Cantina in El Paso, Myke and Melody Groves tell the story of the front and back bars of twenty-five establishments in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado through a combination of historic background and photographs. This lively travelogue, complete with driving directions, will inspire visitors to the West's old mining camps, railroad towns, and ranching centers to stop in and belly up to the bar.

Hoist a Cold One!: Historic Bars of the Southwest

History

Americas

First Apaches, then Confederate Texans. The Colton brothers--James, Trace, and now Andy--must face not only their enemies, but their own personal demons. Driven to near madness by Apache brutality, nearly killing the sheriff, James chooses joining the Union Army over prison. Andy, the youngest brother, also joins, but only to keep James out of trouble. Trace, the oldest Colton, finds himself imprisoned by a sadistic Confederate officer and left alone to die.
It's Arizona Territory at the start of the Civil War, and the Coltons are caught in the middle of it. In the end, it's all up to James to save Union troops from an Apache attack--if he can summon the courage to face his old torturers and their leader, Cochise.
 "Melody Groves writes about the Southwestern frontier with real authority; a scholar's grasp of history, a keen sense of the land, and a well-honed edge for action that'll get your blood boiling. Historical fiction at its best."--Johnny Boggs, author of thirty books including his latest, Northfield

Arizona War: A Colton Brothers Saga (Colton Brothers Saga, 3)

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

La Frontera Publishing

Stranded in the rugged Sonoran Desert, stagecoach drivers James Colton and older brother, Trace, are captured by warring Apaches. Tortured and driven to the breaking point, James is used as a bargaining chip by the great Apache Chief, Cochise. James will die if Trace can't win freedom for Cochise's brother, imprisoned by the Army. Trace rushes to negotiate a trade, but the Army has other plans--attack Cochise and his warriors at Apache Pass. 
It's Arizona Territory, 1861. Rage explodes across the Sonoran Desert, and blood stains the sand. Will the Colton brothers survive?
Sonoran Rage is the second book in Melody Grove's Colton Brothers Saga series. Arizona War is the third book in the series, and also published by La Frontera Publishing.
 "Melody Groves takes readers on a memorable adventure into the Sonoran Desert. Unexpected plot twists, realistic descriptions and vivid writing keep you on edge--and turning the pages--as young stagecoach drivers James and Trace Colton face Cochise and his Apaches in a life-changing challenge for survival."--Cotton Smith, author of Western novels, including Blood of Bass Tillman

Sonoran Rage: A Colton Brothers Saga, No. 2 (Colton Brothers Saga, 2)

Literary

Robbed and beaten by outlaws, stagecoach guard James Colton vows justice and recovery of his grandfather's watch. Determined to find his heirloom, James hunts the outlaws, only to face an immoral sheriff who gives him no choice but to shoot. Charged with his murder, James's solitary hope is to get the bandits to confess to the sheriff's villainy. With older brother Trace along to help, James tracks the outlaws into Mexico. But after Trace is gravely wounded, James is ambushed by lawmen as he tries to take his brother across the border. The hangman's noose seems closer than ever. Will James prove his innocence?
It's 1860 southern New Mexico. Border Ambush exposes the American Southwest for what it really was--rough, tough, and brutal. "Melody Groves has created a couple of characters, James and Trace Colton, that you'll really care about. She spins a Western story that reads like a Western should--full of hair-raising adventures and some really bad villains."--Bill Pinnell, author of Terror on the Border

Border Ambush

Contemporary

All she wanted ― a gold band. What she got ― a tin star. Maud Overstreet figured she'd grow up, get married, have a house with a white picket fence and more kids than she could count. After thirty-five years, she still hopes it will happen. Now, in 1872, Dry Creek's town council offers her the job of replacement sheriff; she accepts ― with trepidation. Badge now pinned on her frilly blouse, for the first time, she enters a saloon, tastes whiskey, learns to shoot, to drive a stagecoach, to arrest people. The discovery of gold brings unsavory characters, including the notorious James Mooney Gang. Impending bank robbery rumors spread. Maud enlists the help of Mayor Seth Critoli, but it's all on her to save Dry Creek from disaster.

She Was Sheriff

United States

Five Star Publishing

Gold fever hits eighteen-year-old Andrew Colton. August 1863, Andy rides into the southwestern New Mexico Black Range, where Birchville is headquarters for anything gold. Andy pans unsuccessfully for gold, and, by first snowfall, he's done. Apaches raid Birchville, then head into the mountains. Friend Thomas O'Malley convinces Andy to go with him farther into the range to Mogollon, a mining burg. Apaches wound Andy and kill O'Malley. Andy stumbles into already-raided Mogollon, where he meets Dawson, a runaway slave. Dawson hides Andy when his brothers come looking. Apaches seize Andy and Dawson. The Apache leader, whose only objective is revenge for his brother's death, uses Andy as a lure for Andy's brothers. The Apaches, the Coltons, and Dawson fight for their lives.

Black Range Revenge (Coulton Brothers Saga)

Gold fever hits eighteen-year-old Andrew Colton. August 1863, Andy rides into the southwestern New Mexico Black Range, where Birchville is headquarters for anything gold. Andy pans unsuccessfully for gold, and, by first snowfall, he's done. Apaches raid Birchville, then head into the mountains. Friend Thomas O'Malley convinces Andy to go with him farther into the range to Mogollon, a mining burg. Apaches wound Andy and kill O'Malley. Andy stumbles into already-raided Mogollon, where he meets Dawson, a runaway slave. Dawson hides Andy when his brothers come looking. Apaches seize Andy and Dawson. The Apache leader, whose only objective is revenge for his brother's death, uses Andy as a lure for Andy's brothers. The Apaches, the Coltons, and Dawson fight for their lives.

Black Range Revenge (Colton Brothers Saga)

Thorndike Press Large Print

"A peaceful Sunday morning shatters when Dry Creek, Californias schoolhouse burns to the ground, the first of many fires. Citizens rally around Sheriff Maud Overstreet, a recently elected 30-something spinster, to help extinguish the flames. Women in the 1870s have little control over their lives and the women of Dry Creek look to Maud as an example of womens progress. Maud soon appoints a woman as fire chief. Then several women choose to run their own businesses, much to the consternation of the male town councilors. While searching for the arsonist, witnessing a shooting which left a man dead, questioning the new concept of insurance and assuming the salesman was the arsonist, Maud also takes on the role of campaign manager for two of her friends, both running for Mayor. Toss in a wild romance, a rowdy town dance, establishing a school for Chinese girls and mysterious threatening notes left on her door and desk, Maud Overstreet faces each challenge with determination. She is, after all, a Lady of the Law"--

Lady of the Law (Maud Overstreet, 2)

Five Star

"How hard can it be to drive three thousand longhorns one thousand miles across the Sonoran Desert and up to California? Its the end of the Civil War, and the demand for beef is high. In Mesilla, James Colton convinces his three brothers theres money to be made. And lots of it. However, the Colton clan is definitely new at this. The brothers climb into their saddles only to encounter problems they had never considered previously. Whid MacGilvry, determined to exact revenge for his wrong belief that James Colton stole his sweetheart, stays one step in front of James and his cattle drive. Devious, Whid dreams up ways to torment not only James, but his brothers, too, deciding that killing James is not enough. Destroying the entire family will have to do. Problems plague the Coltons from the start. Poisonings, Indian attacks, false accusations by the army, a fabricated anthrax alert keeps Tin Town from buying the herd. In Tin Town, James and his brothers confront Whid and his delusions. James shoots Whid, ending the nightmare"--

Trail to Tin Town (Colton Brothers Saga)

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