A Wagon Train for Brides

by Kent Conwell

Mesquite-post tough Howie Forrest just thought he’d seen the elephant when he reached Independence, Missouri with two thousand head of ornery Mexican steers despite tornadoes, hail storms, cattle rustlers, and Jayhawkers. If he’d been holding a squalling bunch of wild tomcats with their tails tied together in each hand, he couldn’t have found himself in more trouble and despair than agreeing to trail boss an ox train of twenty-eight brides over six hundred miles to Palo Pinto, Texas—after he taught the women how to drive oxen. He discovered soon enough that nothing compared to handling twenty-eight independent women, not even breaking up fights, fording swollen rivers, rescuing runaway boys from Kiowa Indians, tending rattlesnake bites, and fighting off Comancheros.

182 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2001

About the author

Kent Conwell grew up in the Texas Panhandle in the town of Wheeler, population 848. The West was an integral part of his life. The solitude of the Panhandle, which offered little more than school and work, encouraged his reading and writing as well as his exploration of the vastness of the rolling prairies, the emptiness of which carried the presentiment itself of mystery and death.

A quest for adventure had been woven into his life by his grandfather, who had run away from his Tennessee home when he was 14. He bullwhacked his way to the Panhandle where he met his future wife who had traveled from Illinois to Texas.

After moving to Fort Worth where Kent was more at home at the stockyards than school, he earned a B.S. and began teaching. Later, he moved to Port Neches where he acquired a M.Ed. and Ph.D.

A successful educator, his love for writing about the West and its enigmas, a period in history unique to America, has never waned. After twenty-two westerns, he wrote his first mystery.
He has won awards for short stories, screenplays, mysteries, and westerns.

Reviews

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Compare it to "the Daybreakers" by Louis L'Amour,
"Lonesome Dove Series", and "the Virginian".
Women were in great demand in the American West.
The demand placed on the ramrod of any outfit was great and needed a man who could think on his feet.
The knowledge held by the ramrod helped a lot in the movement of this wagon train to meet its destination.

[D. E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A KC. Wagon Train Western Action Adventure From Missouri/Texas (AWTFB)

KC. has penned a wagon train western action adventure from Missouri to Texas, which begins with a trail boss hiring out to lead a wagon train with twenty-eight women and a small boy to Texas. He hires on for four sections of land or three thousand dollars. The wagon train trip is anything but easy. He ladies must overcome comancheros, the weather and other incidents. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a great deal. It wasn’t overly complicated or have a whole lot of flat twist interns do it but I like the real way that the author was writing. He shared what could be real stories about real people and made it interesting. I found a genuinely cared about what happened each one of the characters. Although he didn’t really say so much, you could tell that these were parts of real stories are woven together into one novel. Very interesting and very well written.

[Paul Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A passel of women bound for a Texas ranch to get hitched learn firsthand the treachery of frontier travel. Great episodic events along the way. Well narrated, with a good hand at the settings. Some . L'Amour influence here. I enjoyed the story and the style in which K.C. writes. Clean and fun. Needs an edit about 73% along the way (Katherine defending against Kiowas), where an earlier section got copied and pasted in. Overall a great tale to read! PKB

[Shari · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor

Juvenile writing style. The language used was poor, tried too hard to be kitschy. Crammed too much action in. When the main character led cattle across country he lost about three percent. When he led woman across a shorter distance he lost almost 30 percent. Also in need of grammar check and some digital errors.

[Elizabeth West · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wagon Train for Brides

This was a great book! Loved the story line and the characters were believable. This is the first book I've read by this author but I'll be looking for more.

[Jacquelyn Quick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending

I enjoyed the book very well I didn't like the ending to good.
Could have ended better. Should have ended at the town when women got dropped off and they were picked off by their cowboys to take as there wives.

[Lynnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent story, major editing error spoiled it

Excellent story, major editing error spoiled it. The duplication of a chunk of chapter 1 at the 73% mark really spoilt a really good story.

[Sandy Collier · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wagon train for brides

This was a great it to!d is about strong women who wanted a new start in life and they were willing to really work for it. They were willing to do whatever it took for that start. I real!I would have liked to here each ones story.

[Earlene Click · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howie and Katherine

I’m a sucker for wagon train, mail order bride tales. This tale is absolutely filled with action, excitement and the promise of a loving happy ever after. I think you will really, really like it. It’s hard to put it down.

[Richard Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mighty rough trail

You think you have a good idea of how the story will go,but you aren't even close. Great read so enjoy.

[Lois Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it


Exciting from beginning to end. Really need a sequel to this book. Ended to abruptly. Missed the happily ever after.

[Victoria Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wagon Train for Brides

A nice read for a Sunday afternoon. I saw the movie made from this story, but the book was better as is usually the case.

[Midge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good western about a wagon train of women (with men to help) going to a place in Texas to get a husband. There is some adventure and problems on the way, unfortunately some do not make it but most do.

[Stephanie Childs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very good so far! I was surprised...thought it would be a hokey western.