Wes Boyd: Stories

Mel Austin didn't want to be just a farmhand for his brother, so after the Army and World War II, he attended college on the GI Bill. After graduating, a wartime friend asks him to join his ragtag midget auto racing show, Mel figures it's a better job than pumping gas until school starts. In love with the thrills, action, and a chance to see the country, he spends several years vagabonding with the show through the turbulent and now half-forgotten world of the early 1950s.

Dirt-track race-car driver Mel Austin is badly injured in a crash and wakes up in the hospital being nursed by friend and fellow driver Arlene. They decide it's time to grow up and live a more conventional life, so marry and settle down to teaching and nursing, jobs they both like. But, they've been racing cars long enough that it's hard to stay away from the tracks and out of the cars on them... How can they scratch the itch without exposure to the danger?

Spearfish Lake/Dawnwalker series story
A snake crawls out of a bathroom drain, and a woman kills it with her hair dryer... That's all it takes to set townspeople, media, crooked environmentalists, nudists, a country music singer, the federal government and a bunch of dogsledders to getting at each other's throats. Of course, nothing's quite normal in Spearfish Lake! (There's a little sex, but very little and not graphic.)

Roger Bishop found early retirement from a factory to be lonely and boring, especially since he's a widower. With nothing better to do, he gets the idea of going south to help with the cleanup after Hurricane Katrina. Down amid the rubble, he meets a lifelong free spirit, Catalina Smith, who's there on the same mission, so being lonely is no longer a problem. What's more, it seems that Catalina has some problems of her own. All of a sudden he really doesn't have to worry about being bored!

Spearfish Lake/Dawnwalker series story
Jon is white and Tanisha is black. They've lived together for five years, hiding from a wrathful father and a vindictive brother. Despite some trepidations, they love their new lives, jobs, and friends. When their best friend is involved in a nationally publicized incident, discovery seems likely. Dealing with that requires resourceful thinking and direct action, but things are not always as they seem. As a result, their lives will change more than they can imagine.

Spearfish Lake/Dawnwalker series story
As he approaches thirty, Randy faces new challenges and responsibilities. He's matured since college and has come to accept that many of his desires aren't possible. His first child is on the way, his grandfather's health is fading fast, and his sister is having family problems. It's clear that he will soon own Clark Construction as well as run it. Will the years of preparation for the new challenges be enough? How well will he meet those challenges when they arise?

Bradford Exiles
A lot of Bradford kids "take the on-ramp" when they get out of school, heading out in search of better things. But, some don't leave, and others return when their dreams have failed. Emily is one who stayed, and now her life seems dull compared to some who left. Vicky left, but came back after a disastrous marriage. Despite everything, they learn that the home town can still be a place to thrive, grow, and realize their dreams.

Bradford Exiles
"I love you, Dave!" When Dave heard his wife's last words on his cell phone as he watched the World Trade Center tower fall from the sky, he felt that except for his two sons, his life wasn't worth living any more. But then, some unique old friends came out of a past he thought he'd put behind him, and helped him put his life back together again in ways he never could have expected... and then it was his turn to help his friends when problems arose in their lives. Updates Tues-Thur-Sat.

Spearfish Lake/Dawnwalker series story
Book 7 of the Dawnwalker Cycle: Randy's friends get to go places and have adventures while he's still young, but he has to stay home and work. The job is important to his family and to him. It's eating up his life to the point where it's not even worth trying to plan something fun -- if he does something will probably come up to interfere with it. His wife feels his anger, and so do some of his friends, but there's not much they can do about it... or is there?

Spearfish Lake/Dawnwalker series story
Outdoor girl Scooter Whitsell has been reduced to watching a counter, instead of being out on the trails and rivers she loves so well. Then she gets a phone call from an old hiking buddy -- and she's on her way to her absolute dream job: a raft guide in the Grand Canyon! It isn't an easy job, but Scooter was never a girl that asked for things to be easy. She has to put aside normal things to make a life in the Grand Canyon -- but she wouldn't have it any other way!