A book with no name. When writing a book, the author always looks for a unique, catchy title. The best source is the manuscript itself. It usually gives the author the name for which he is looking. Somewhere along the way, the story takes care of the title. This one has been different so far. All the usual names for early American or wilderness-based books have been used and reused. So, I kept on writing, working out the story, blending the characters from my other books into a story with as few new characters as possible, not too concerned about what it would end up being called. Besides, I like to drive my editor crazy once in a while. At different times as the story progressed, I thought I had the correct title. Then came a more fitting name, so I changed my mind. For a while, this file on my computer was just named No Name Book. Lately, things have happened outside my writing that have led me to rename the book BROKEN. I will let my co-author and Beta readers chew on the proper title. They always come through and give me help, especially with the title and book cover.
The American wilderness was beautiful and virgin, just as pleasant and alluring as the Garden of Eden. Mystery and danger were deep within, and those who ventured there were forever changed.
1800s America was a time of hard lessons in human compassion. In most cases, there was very little compassion to be found.
The Indian way of life centered around tribal strength and was sustained by holding on by force to the territory the tribe hunted.
In all men, hate is a powerful affliction that can become destructive for the human soul, easily justified in a fallen world. Tribal might and power must be maintained in a wilderness where survival depends on natural food supplies. Men and women, settlers that moved into the wilderness, quickly learned to survive in harsh surroundings that were deceiving by appearance—or die.
Jasper Bess raised his face to the barred windows above his bed. His back to the dungeon that had been his home for the past two years. Pulling himself up to the window, he sighed deeply, breathing fresh air and glimpsing at the canopy of stars in heaven. These were the rare moments of refreshing he received in the hopeless existence he lived—another dreary day among the many along his broken pathway of life.
Bald Jo Kline was well educated with much potential in his young life. The ups and downs of his early life produced a natural-born leader that used his mind and strength to dominate and control. He chose brutality and sheer power to get what he wanted.
Dr. Horace Lacy found that the brutality of living in the wilderness took all he lived for from him. The wilderness tried his faith, courage, and will to maintain his commitment to the God he professed to follow.
Samantha Lacy lived in a wonderful make-believe world until the devil himself woke her from her world of innocence.
Jonathan Masters found his dream to be a nightmare that would last the rest of his life. The gentle professor became a skilled hunter of both man and beast.
There are others along this wilderness trail because the expansion Westward branded every soul that ventured there and forever changed those who came. Men and women of courage made their mark. The question is—how will your story end? Every day is a blessing with responsibility, but it also has an ending with consequences.
It was an invigorating spring day. A day one can genuinely say, “This is the day the Lord has made.” Where high above the southern plains, an eagle soared; his great wings spread on a warm breeze. His keen eyes scanned the sea of green far below him in total silence from his lofty view. A large field rat scurried through the tall grass; unaware he could be the eagle’s next meal. Circling high above, the predator glided effortlessly on the rising warm air, spreading his wings like fingers to hold his lofty position. He could not descend because below in the grass were other predators. They were dangerous hunters that did not hunt for food.
The eagle screeched, and below, Elizabeth Masters shaded her eyes and looked up at the beautiful bird circling in the rising heat. From high above, the eagle saw the wagons below as small white blocks in a sea of green. They bounced and rattled across the prairie pulled by slow-moving oxen. Unknown to those who walked beside the wagons, a small party of Indians watched closely from the tall prairie grass. Their numbers were few against the rifles of the wagon train, but their leader was wise in the way of war. He was a young brave who was quickly making a name for himself. To the braves that lay in the grass, Bald Jo Kline was a fierce warrior whose medicine was strong. These slow-moving wagons were a prize too great to resist.
Bald Jo Kline watched the white men walking along beside their wagons. The men carried fine weapons, but it seemed evident they didn’t know how to use them. The train was mostly a collection of older men and women that walked along indifferent to their surroundings. His band consisted of two seasoned warriors and one young brave on his first raiding party. A young brave named Dog Head had his heart set on a redhead of hair among the white eyes and was far ahead of the wagon train. Bald Jo looked up at the sun, sweating heavily. He smiled. It was the hottest time of the day. The heat made the white-eyes careless and tired. They would not be watchful.
Bald Jo’s raid down into the settlements had not been successful. They had one less brave and one less horse. The settlers had been ready for such a raid. He must change his tactics. Again, they were outnumbered and outgunned. Even so, Bald Jo saw the wagon train with its fine horses and the new weapons as a prize too good to pass up with the bad odds. He scanned the men and women and focused on the beautiful woman with golden hair. For a long time, he could not break his eyes from her.
Broken…what a trilogy for the person who is interested in the Old West. The Christian values of the born again and the Hope of Redemption! James Ferrell has written a sweeping trilogy of the West and interfaced it well with the values of life as well as the values of the Christian life. The books are like grabbing a bad bull by the tail, how do you let go?
I could not! Almost at once I became a settler, a survivor, a desperate fugitive, and several other personas as I was pulled into the tragedies and victories of the various characters in his broad story of life and death from the towns, plains, rivers, and mountains of the character’s experiences.
To anyone who enjoys a mixture of twists and turns and subplots galore, welcome to a shoot ‘em up full fisted read!
To be in any sense critical, my only problem is tracking the number of characters. This is James Ferrell at his best though, mixing and meandering storylines of a plethora of people into a mega story or stories of their lives and faults and successes of life by sharing the impact and power of how Christ can and does affect the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people!
Way to go James!
Robert Nichols, II
Pastor, Cook Springs Baptist Church
Nita M.
Broken is a rootin’, tootin’, western adventure trilogy of life in the new West spun up by a fine pair of storytellers, James Ferrell and Kathy Clair. You will not want to quit turning the pages. Get all three of these books lined up so you do not have to stop until the end.
It has everything! The characters are filled with the despair of broken families caused by the hardships and the renewal of faith as they struggle through putting their lives back together. This is a collection of rousing action and adventures during the development of the western parts of our country in the mid-1800s. Tales of cowboys and Indians, settlers, mountain men, and returning civil war veterans as they all moved West with most seeking new, prosperous, and happy lives while the Indians, owlhoots and outlaws with their dastardly deeds seek them out as prey. The West was rough country with murderous Indian and Comancheros raids, attacks on wagon trains, settlers, fledgling communities, and the kidnapping and brutalization of survivors. This tough new breed of American pioneers struggled mightily to bring civilization to this rough land.
They brought their hopes and dreams of a new life and most importantly, the "Faith of Our Fathers" to guide and see them through their struggles and hardship in the new territory. They trusted that this faith would guide them through those things beyond their control in the trials ahead of them. All these stories and characters are skillfully intertwined throughout the series and fold together along the way bringing the resolution from their choices in their lives and how the results of their choices have affected others. Characters are pressured by circumstance and wander from decency and goodness to lives of crime and despotism. Surprises abound as these people, both good and bad, discover what decency lives within even the worst of them and that their eternal life can be assured.
James and
Kathy also show throughout Broken that those that were exposed to
the teachings of the Bible at any time during their lives from
childhood forward even though they might have grown to be
thoroughly despicable still carried the flicker of that flame of
Christianity. It returns to burn brighter than ever once the
breath of the God brings it back to life. These are stories
of human failings, sorrow and heartache, and the joy of the
reunification of families, and redemption sprinkled with a
delightful humor throughout that will warm your heart. I
cannot wait for the next ones!
J. Stevens
Broken
is a trilogy of compelling stories of war, life on the trail and
how it affected the lives of those who endured and survived. It
warmed my heart to see the lasting friendships that were made and
their dependence on each other. Each book left me wanting to read
more.
Lynda B.