Summary:  Written for the 2018 Missing Man Challenge.  I have always felt that the drama of “To Die in Darkness” would have been intensified if Ben had experienced its situation with a son, rather than with Candy, much as I like him.  This challenge seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore that idea.

Rated:  K+ Word Count:  14,833

SUMMARY: This is the crossover story for the August 2018 challenge — Adam goes to Dodge City and meets the cast of Gunsmoke in a WHN for the episode of that series, A Stranger In Town.

rating = T word count = 8046

Another Stranger in Town Series, links for all the stories of this series included.

SUMMARY: Joe has talked Hoss into another scheme although for a good cause, and Ben confronts Roy about it in this sometimes serious, sometimes flippant story.

rating = pg word count = 1064

SUMMARY: Sitting in a campsite in the dark, two brothers can share what might be difficult to admit in other circumstances and perhaps say more than might be prudent to divulge. This is an expanded pinecone.

rating = T word count = 1047

SUMMARY: A set of new projects brings with it a set of new problems, new partners, and a dangerous foe. The story continues the adventures of Adam and Kitty that started in At Odds.

rating = T word count = 13, 986

At Odds Series, links to all the stories for this series included.

SUMMARY: In this story, Adam has returned home but is not sure of what to do and if he should stay. It’s a romance, but a bumpy one as there are detours involving all consuming work, tragedy, and life threatening trouble that will fully engage his mind and his heart until he has found his place and his future.

rating = T word count = 27599

At Odds Series, links to all the stories for this series included.

SUMMARY: This began as a Pinecone but I couldn’t fit it all in there so here is the rest of the story — Little Joe Cartwright finds that having skill with a pistol and a fast draw isn’t the same as being good in a gunfight, and he has second thoughts about whether he should have gotten himself into such a predicament.

rating = T word count = 1156

SUMMARY: Adam is back, but he and Joe are at odds. Ben is surprised to find out why, but the big surprise is in what the brothers reveal in their conversation.

rating = T word count = 1238

SUMMARY: In this sequel to Yellow, Adam finds that getting Jason and Mariette as well as their gang to court for justice was not the end of the problem for him. Though the system worked as it should, a plot still develops against him for revenge, and he’ll need his family and others to avoid what is planned.

rating = T word count = 14, 498

Yellow Series, links to stories of this series included.

Summary: Even when the time together is brief, memories can last a lifetime.

This story was originally published in the Bonanza 2009 Friendship Convention Anthology.

Word count: 3,500 Rating: K

SUMMARY: When witnessing a crime, Adam can’t act, and then after the fact, he can’t help the posse and he can’t tell what he knows. Those things give people the wrong impression, but eventually put him in great danger too. The whole family will have to work together to resolve the problem.

rating = T word count = 10,705

Yellow Series, links to stories of this series included.

SUMMARY: A prequel with Joe at fifteen, this started as a pinecone and has been expanded. Little Joe faces a crisis when an important rule is ignored. He needs his family to face the results of that sad decision. There are lessons to be learned but the whole family works together, and all will learn from one tragic mistake.

rating = T word count = 1290

Summary: WHN for The Truckee Strip and an extension of a Pinecone. It’s the anniversary of Amy’s death and Joe can’t live with the grief.

Rating K+ Word Count: 1,053

Summary: A skeptic, a dreamer, and a true believer set out on a journey to find gold.

Written for the 2018 Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament. 

Rated:   PG  8,890 words

SUMMARY: A lighthearted story to wrap up some of the story lines that began in Understanding. Issues of adoption and attachment as well as relationships in a marriage marred by tragedy and emotional turmoil are addressed but in an upbeat way and with humor in some parts.

rating = T word count = 10,049

Red Night Series, links to stories of this series included.