Incredible Historical Western Story Telling.
Fiction With A Focus On Canada.
People Of The West: A Classic Western by Dave McGowan.
The stories in this collection are about real people not idols or public figures. In some cases, the stories, although fiction, parallel those related by people involved in similar circumstances. They can all be considered people of western North America; one story, though it takes place in the US Midwest includes a Canadian character. Diary entries, first-hand accounts or personal experience suppled the ideas that grew into stories, often from a short sentence into several pages. The idea for the first one, for example came from a diary entry by a European who I hope the reader recognizes by the end.
Product Details:
Paperback: 273 Pages
Publisher: Independently Published (May 4, 2022)
Language: English
Westerns
Westerns (Historical Fiction Thrillers)
Western (Action and Adventure)
Western (Short Stories)
Western (Traditional)
Westerns (Historical Fiction)
Amazon Print:
https://www.amazon.com/People-West-Classic-Dave-McGowan/dp/B09ZCSTKCZ/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
A Voice From Beyond: Anthology by David Milton McGowan.
Lucky: He is a former Confederate officer who has become far less than an “officer and a gentleman”. When he realizes what he has become he tries to see a new future and a new him.
#thief #enlightenment
Stealing Janet’s Cattle: A young mother and rancher discovers cattle missing. She is alone and, according to the tracks outnumbered, but she is armed and she and her family need those cattle. Is this young female rancher as tough as she thinks she is? Tough enough to defeat the more powerfull?
#woman #pioneer #planning
A Voice From Beyond: It’s the Great Depression and people will do almost anything to survive. Having been somewhat successful in his search for work, a hobo stops to thank those who helped him rise up from destruction. A simple “thank you” becomes something else entirely.
#humor #cemetery #grave robbers
- Rhymes for Christmas
- Just Feelin’ Good
- The Reason For the Season
- An Old Rancher’s Christmas
Product Details:
Print Length: 81 Pages
Publication Date: October 17, 2020
Anthologies (Western)
Western (Anthologies)
Westerns
Westerns (Historical Fiction Thrillers)
Western (Action and Adventure)
Western (Short Stories)
Western (Traditional)
Westerns (Historical Fiction)
Kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LCPNL9H/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i4
Into The Mountains by David McGowan.
How do you save your family when they are faced with hate and racism on all sides? How do you avoid fear every minute of every day?
In the years following the North West Rebellion of 1885 many Métis “disappeared” as many went into hiding to avoid racism and mistreatment. Admittedly, some like Gabriel Dumont went south of the 49th parallel into the US. What happened to the rest?
Almost a century later Métis suddenly appeared as individuals and communities throughout the West. Perhaps “Into the Mountains”, fiction though it is, supplies some explanation.
Product Details:
Print Length: 24 Pages
Publisher: Daison Services, Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada (July 9, 2020)
Illustrator: Tracy Wandling
Westerns
Westerns (Historical Fiction Thrillers)
Western (Action and Adventure)
Western (Traditional)
Westerns (Historical Fiction)
Kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CS5S6KY/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0
Ratings:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CS5S6KY/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i7#customerReviews
Partners: A Western Adventure by D. M. McGowan.
Synopsis: Thomas Brash is trying to escape but knows he never will. Pursuing him is the memory of the family he lost to cholera. Perhaps he believes that traveling alone in a wild, dangerous land will end all his memories; there is no doubt he wishes to be alone.
Whatever his intentions the appearance of Frank Clement and the circumstances of that meeting upset those plans. Brash views Clement as an uneducated child who requires fatherly protection and guidance.
Clement views Brash as a tenderfoot and cannot understand how anyone who knows so little could live so long. These two loners are joined by others and they all become partners. Having achieved relative sanctuary and surrounded by civilization their wilderness past comes back to haunt them.
Burton Review: “This is a story that flows easily between the concept of camaraderie and the intense events that the partners endure together; I enjoyed the story and think anyone interested in a colonial era type story will enjoy this one.
There is an incident about two-thirds of the way into the book where Brash uses a military tactic … A brilliant plot piece: loved it.”
Review by Barbara Martin (barbaramartin.blogspot.com): “Partners is a well told story that entertains and educates. It’s a long book too, providing a big read for your money”.
Review by Clayton Bye: “As I said when I reviewed Homesteader, if you enjoy westerns or historical yarns, Partners will offer a unique and refreshing read”.
Review by Anne Boling for Reader’s Favorite (5 stars of 5): “Partners” is quite an adventure. Dave McGowan is a talented author. Fans of westerns need to make note of his name for they will want to follow all of his works.
Review by Trudi LoPreto for Reader’s Favorite (3 stars of 5): “Partners” is a study in human character. David McGowan has written a story that is believable with a strong plot. If you are a fan of Western genre with a thrust in details, this is a book you will enjoy”.
Review by Alice DiNizo for Reader’s Favorite (5 stars of 5): “Partners” by David McGowan is a readable, enjoyable Western about two men distanced by upbringing and age. Good dialogue and short, succinct chapters make “Partner” a delightful read for history and western fans alike”.
From The Author: I was sitting in a restaurant having some lunch one day and heard two men behind me discussing how a young man and an old man could never get along because of their different experiences or lack of same that would be part of their make-up. I had witnessed, as has everyone who pays attention, the same clashing of characters but felt sure that a series of shared experiences could alter that difficulty. I therefore wrote a story about it.
My “old” character some may have difficulty with, particularly if they are somewhere between 40 and my age. Tom Brash is depicted as only being in his late thirties but remember, in the tough world of the late 1800s, without antibiotics, army trained “surgeons” who simply cut things off if there was some question about their viability … well, 40 was “gettin’ up there.”
My “young” character is also slightly older than many – boys and girls – who were thrust out into a world for which they were ill prepared. Due to the situations shortening their parent’s lives listed above many found themselves on their own while still in the early teens or even younger. However, I wanted my character to go through some trials and tribulations and decided Frank Clement should be old enough to live through those problems so he had time to become a partner to Tom and the two US Civil War veterans who join them.
Product Details:
Paperback: 256 Pages
Publisher: Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, LLC (September 16, 2008)
Westerns
Westerns (Historical Fiction Thrillers)
Western (Action and Adventure)
Western (Traditional)
Westerns (Historical Fiction)
Western (Mystery Thriller Suspense Action)
Ratings:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064IDXFG/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i10#customerReviews
Novel Video Trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=S6LEqjRHCDQ
The Making Of Jake McTavish: A Western Adventure by D. M. McGowan.
Synopsis: In the west of the 1890s, Jake’s wife is raped and murdered, an image from which he attempts to escape and hide. When two thieves try to take what little he has left, Jake realizes he must face the past and solve his wife’s murder to truly escape the images in his head. But to find the killer, he discovers even more surprises …
Jake McTavish left his home in central Canada when he was in his early teens. After working ships on the Great Lakes, fishing Lake Winnipeg, feeding cattle south of Fort Garry, and shooting wolves on the prairies, he starts his own cattle operation in the foothills of the western mountains. Then he meets his life-long partner, Anna.
Jake and Anna were married three years when it all came crashing down. He came home to find his beautiful wife raped and murdered.
In an attempt to escape the vision of his butchered wife and all that he lost, Jake runs deep into the mountains, where he spends three years trapping and panning gold. When two outlaws attempt to rob him and leave him for dead, Jake finally comes out of the stupor he has lived in and begins to fight back.
First, he deals with the two thugs. Next, he returns to his homestead to find his wife’s killer. Solving a murder after several years is no easy task, especially when it includes surprises he didn’t want to find..

5 Stars: 1800’s Western Pioneering Era Saga!
The Making of Jake McTavish by D. M. McGowan is an 1800’s western pioneering era saga that combines exceptional story telling with an historical tale told by Peace Country pioneer John Brown.
Well-developed characters and true to life settings with descriptive writing put the reader into the story. The main character Jake McTavish stands alone in his empty cabin with his thoughts that he voiced to his blue tick hound, “Maybe I’ll just have t’shoot somebody. That way the government will have t’ feed us ‘til they punch my ticket and bury me.”
Life had been especially hard since the murder of his wife. For the fourth year he must continue his Peace River trek in British Columbia (1898) to take the furs that he had collected by canoe down to Ft. St John. This is an important ritual as Jake trades bails of skins for cash to pay for supplies and to repair equipment heading into the new season. Times were hard enough without the ambush that knocked him out cold and took most of everything that he had in his camp.
Just 11 years ago “in the spring of 1887 Jake became a wealthy saddle tramp. He only had fourteen Canadian dollars, two U.S. dollars and eighty-six cents, but he was rich in other goods. He had four horses, a fine, double rigged saddle, a short barrelled Colt pistol, a Colt Navy .36 and a Winchester rifle. He also had a serviceable pack saddle, bed roll, enough food to last a month and the pack covered with two tarps.”
By 1889 Jake had spent two years with the Cambridge Cattle Company and had accumulated some money. With a deep yearning for something more and the passing of the Canadian Homestead Act, Jake chose three hundred and twenty isolated acres in the foothills north of the Rocky Mountains. In the fall of 1891 with 15 yearlings to sell he met Anna Porenski. When she married him, he no longer felt driven, because he had it all. Anna was raised on a farm, so ranch life came easy to her and she enjoyed gardening. The only thing missing are children for fate has refused to grant Jake and wife Anna a baby. To end such dreams Anna is murdered and the responding Mounted Policeman comes close to accusing Jake.”
Travel with Jake McTavish on a journey to find Anna’s killer or killers.
The Making of Jake McTavish by D. M. McGowan for the author’s incredible story telling of Jake McTavish. I invite you to also read: The Great Liquor War, Homesteader: Finding Sharon and Partners. D. M. McGowan tells us that Cattle Business is coming soon.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Product Details:
Print Length: 242 Pages
Publisher: Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Agency (December 19, 2015)
Westerns
Westerns (Historical Fiction Thrillers)
Western (Action and Adventure)
Western (Traditional)
Westerns (Historical Fiction)
Western (Crime Murder Thrillers)
Amazon Print:
https://www.amazon.com/Making-Jake-McTavish-D-Mcgowan/dp/1681810883/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
The Great Liquor War: A Western Adventure by D. M. McGowan.
The year is 1885. Hank James has been in Canada several months panning gold from a stream near Roswell, British Columbia. When he hears a prizefight will be held in town, he attends along with everyone for miles around. With a little help from the fight referee, he wins big betting on the fight. Having realized that the life of a miner isn’t nearly as romantic or rewarding as he expected, and with advice from the policeman who helped him win money on the fight, Hank goes to Farwell to haul freight with pack horses for contractors building the transcontinental railroad.
The railroad’s security, a detachment of North West Mounted Police, have maintained across the West that no liquor be allowed one mile on either side of the rail bed. Provincial authorities disagree. Hank James believes in honoring and repaying his debts, but that doesn’t mean he should be involved in a war between the BC Provincial Police and the North West Mounted.
He and his partners have trouble enough running their freight business, they don’t need to be caught between competing policemen. They are already stuck between Canada’s transcontinental railroad people and the contractors doing the actual construction. While the police are fighting one another, who is looking for criminals, particularly those stealing Hank’s horses? Despite a variety of jobs, D.M. McGowan now works as a commercial driver and lives near Mile “0” of the world-famous Alaska Highway.
His stories bring Canadian history to life. “I believe in seeing morality and societal responsibility rewarded. Too much of today’s fiction seems to lead into the dark instead of the light.”

5 Stars: US and Canadian History Combined With Legends From The 1800’s!
The Great Liquor War by D. M. McGowan is a western pioneering era saga that combines great story telling, true-to-life cowboy experience with US and Canadian history combined with legends from the 1800’s.
The main character Hank James was born in Canada and migrated south into the US with his family after the Civil War. Hank’s father headed towards Oregon in search of a farmstead while protecting his family from raids by outlaws and Indians. They made it as far as Kansas to find that the land was too dry to farm so pushed on to Oregon to find the land was too wet. With Mother Nature as their biggest obstacle and many mouths to feed young Hank James set out on his own. He settled down with his own gold mine claim near Rossland, British Columbia in 1984.
Hank wasn’t afraid of hard work, but he wanted more out of life than to eke out a living on his claim. With tenacity Hank took advantage of the Transcanada Railroad, found some partners and started his own freight business. Life should be good, but where there is industry, technology, commerce and economy, there are criminals.
Quote from page 37.
…“It didn’t take a detective to know that the horse thief had played a little joke on the Provincial Police. Constable Art Hubbard was over six feet tall and probably ten pounds lighter than the one eighty mentioned in the description. Not only was he a long way from round, he was also clean shaven.
…I gave Constable Hubbard my story, ending with the recovery of the bay gelding and the description I had from Miller. “An’ the fella called himself Art Hubbard,” I added.
…The Constable’s expression didn’t change. He worked his chew around into one cheek and sent a stream of tobacco juice into the waste basket. “Feller with a sense o’ humor,” he noted, and then added. “It’ll be one ‘o Bulldog Kelley’s outfit. They work out o’ some of the illegal saloons t’ be found back in the bush. We catch one or two of ‘em every now an’ then, but we can’t get Kelley, an’ he’s the head o’ the snake. I can think of one or two that might fit your description, but not a one that had a full beard. An’ this fella’s probably shaved by now.”
…I wrote out my story, signed it, and returned to work.”
Between the horse thieves, authority over liquor sales and a war between the BC Provincial Police and the North West Mounted Hank is he in over his head? Only time will tell if he makes the right choices and will he win the heart and loyalty of Sharon Dalton?
Saddle up your horse, holster your gun and join a rugged western cast of characters that will take you back to the reality and the legends of the Wild West.
The Great Liquor War by D. M. McGowan shares nuggets of history told within a great story of human experience in the Wild West.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Product Details:
Print Length: 199 Pages
Publisher: Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Agency (September 29, 2015)
Westerns
Westerns (Historical Fiction Thrillers)
Western (Action and Adventure)
Western (Traditional)
Westerns (Historical Fiction)Global Library: Western (Crime Murder Thrillers)
Amazon Print:
https://www.amazon.com/Great-Liquor-War-D-McGowan/dp/1681810859/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Deacon by David Milton McGowan.
Marker of Stone; A fictional recounting of the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean north of Mexico. Was his reception by the local population as he described it in his journal. Perhaps they put up with him hoping he would leave? Another possibility is that they controlled their desire to ensure the strange men left their land.
- #communication #control #protection
- Deacon; A young Canadian and several young American southerners, all fighter pilots and their experiences in 1940 during the Battle of Britain.
- #WWII #fear #bombs #English pubs
- Includes three rhymes about history, interaction with others and the molding of youth
- Native Sons in World War I
- Inclusion
- Education
Product Details:
Print Length: 27 Pages
Publisher: Daison Services, Dawson Creek, BC, Canada V1G 4K8 (August 9, 2020
Westerns
Westerns (Historical Fiction Thrillers)
Western (Action and Adventure)
Western (Short Stories)
Western (Traditional)
Westerns (Historical Fiction)
Kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FHJHF86/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i5
Gunfighters, Thieves and Lawmen by David Milton McGowan.
Sully Wheeler doesn’t care why his cattle are disappearing. He doesn’t care why but it has to stop. Perhaps it’s the cost of hiding from his past, but who would steal from a one-time gunfighter?
The NW Mounted Policeman that Sully contacted appeared more intent on stopping vigilante action than in stopping theft. If that proves to be the case, Sully will recover his own property, even if it takes gunfire to do it.
Who is this Mountie, anyway? Is he a cop or something else entirely? Is he working to support the crown, leave the crown or actually do something for the settlers?
And while we’re talking about that Mountie, isn’t he spending too much time with that newspaper lady?
Product Details:
Paperback: 414 Pages
Publisher: Independently Published (July 27, 2020)
Illustrator: Tracy Wandling
Westerns
Westerns (Historical Fiction Thrillers)
Western (Action and Adventure)
Western (Traditional)
Westerns (Historical Fiction)
Ratings:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DNHKVVV/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i2#customerReviews
What We Need Is A Good Cow Dog by David McGowan.
Do you regret that?
Sometimes you might say something to a friend that you regret, however it seemed like a good idea at the time. Perhaps it was funny, true and had to be said, or just your effort to lighten the mood and explain that it wasn’t a life and death matter but could be if present efforts continue.
Yes, you regret it, but now it is your turn to relax and stop worrying about it. If this other person was a true friend, they should look back on it all, realize eventually the humour in the situation and laugh along with you.
Product Details:
Print Length: 10 Pages
Publisher: Daison Services, Dawson Creek, BC, Canada, V1G 4K8 (July 11, 2020)
Westerns
Westerns (Historical Fiction Thrillers)
Western (Action and Adventure)
Western (Traditional)
Westerns (Historical Fiction)
Westerns (Humorous Fiction)
Kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CTPYCDV/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i6
Homesteader: Finding Sharon: A Western Adventure by D. M. McGowan.
Staking a claim to a homestead in the rugged, untamed Canadian frontier of the 1880’s was hard enough. But when someone tries to run roughshod over the “nesters,” a man has to take a stand. There is more than bad weather for Hank James to contend with as he rides in search of the land of his dreams and the woman of his heart.
Portis Martin, manager of a large cattle company, has no use for the small homesteaders that have begun to pepper the area…and he isn’t afraid of using every dirty trick he knows to run them out. And Portis had been doing a pretty good job of it-until Hank James and his partner arrive on the stage.
The dreams of early homesteaders were not always strong enough to see them through adversity, but with Hank James on their side, the people might just find a way of uniting for the common good and building a dream that can endure.
Product Details:
Paperback: 224 Pages
Publisher: Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, LLC; First Thus Edition (May 15, 2009)
Westerns
Westerns (Historical Fiction Thrillers)
Western (Action and Adventure)
Western (Traditional)
Westerns (Historical Fiction)
Invasion by David Milton McGowan.
INVASION!
They lived “off the grid” because in those days and in that area there was no “grid” to be on. They were homesteaders, farmers, and trappers who might find a dozen people within a day’s walk in any direction.
Suddenly they were surrounded by10, 000 strangers, almost all men and trading for goods they had not known existed.
It was 1942 and the Alaska Highway was being built through 1200 miles of wilderness.
Their system of life, the society they knew was gone with the arrival of one train in Dawson Creek. There were hundreds of more loaded freights scheduled to arrive in a town that might see half a dozen during the fall harvest.
What will happen to these people?
Product Details:
Print Length: 39 Pages
Publisher: Daison Services, Dawson Creek, BC (August 30, 2020)
Westerns
Westerns (Historical Fiction Thrillers)
Western (Action and Adventure)
Western (Traditional)
Westerns (Historical Fiction)
Ratings:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08H1SDWCM/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0#customerReviews
About The Author: “Author Dave McGowan has been a cowboy, forest fire fighter, heavy equipment operator, farmhand, gardener, road musician and businessman.
He now writes, and works as a commercial driver, in Northern British Columbia.”
The forgoing is the bio from the back of my novels and one might conclude from this information that I was a poor employee … either lazy or didn’t know what I was doing … and was kicked off a lot of jobs.
You would be partially correct, at least in surmising that I don’t know what I am doing. As for my being a poor employee, you would have to ask my bosses … although I think I’ve managed to trick the one I have now.
Of course, when I had my own business, my boss thought I was marvelous.
Truthfully, I’ve managed over the years to find employment regardless of my location or the problems that might exist with the economy. I enjoyed much of that experience at the time and am glad that I attained it.
I’ve also visited a good portion of North America and lived in several areas of Canada where I met some great people and enjoyed some wonderful country.
Speaking of great people, Karen and I are parents to four great people who have supplied eight grandchildren who show that improvements can be possible in each generation. One of those has added a great-grand daughter to the line.
Amazon Author’s Page:
http://www.amazon.com/D.-M.-McGowan/e/B004V9WZVI/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1439326526&sr=1-2-ent
Professional Website:
http://sbprabooks.com/davidmmcgowan
Professional Blog:
http://www.dmmcgowan.blogspot.com/
Publisher’s Website:
http://sbprabooks.com/davidmmcgowan
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/dmcgowan99
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/DaveMcGowan2
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemcgowanspartners/
Author’s Page At Book Marketing Global Network:
https://bookmarketingglobalnetwork.com/book-marketing-global-network/dave-mcgowans-books/