Stanley Gordon West

949 St. Paul, MN - that hopeful post-war era where streetcars graced the city, drive-ins bloomed, the internet and shopping centers didn't exist and people handn't yet fled to the suburbs. Upon this fertile urban landscape, Stanley West has set his rich, profoundly touching novel, the gripping story of young Cal Gant, who, despite the shelter of his idyllic life, his rollicking friends, and the mesmerizing girl he loves, stumbles onto and unthinkaable lair of violence, terror and murder. When the haunting Gretchen Luttermannn draws him into a strange and secret lie, he finds himselft in a heart-stopping struggle with her brutal father, leading Cal to the brink of self-doubt, terror and death itself, where he must find within himself the backbone and daring to stand against the horror. When he refuses to turn away, the heart-shattering choices he makes and the terrifying path he takes will raise hairs on the back of your neck, leave a catch in your throat and bring your heart to its feet, cheering.

Until They Bring the Streetcars Back

This book spreads its energy and passion with very little help. Introduce it to your readers and they'll turn a brushfire into a firestorm. Fueled by characters they don't want to leave and a story they don't want to end, readers have overwhelmingly acclaimed this contemporary Montana novel.

Blind Your Ponies

1949 Saint Paul/Minneapolis those memorable days of push lawn mowers, corner grocery stores, big-band music, burning leaves and filling stations that check the oil and wash the windshield. On this nostalgic canvas, Stanley West has set his riveting and heartwarming novel, the devastating story of young Sandy Meyer. Bright and outgoing, having grown up through the Great Depression and the World War II year, she is suddenly give one perplexing clue to her past that sets her on an incredible and harrowing journey in search of her lost family. A pilgrimage that brings her face to face with nerve-shattering suspense, unbearable terror and the magnificent capacity of the human heart. Surrounded by juicy and wacky characters, and without the knowledge of her adoptive parents, her devil-may-care friends or the boy she desperately loves, she summons the courage to doggedly follow where the faint trail leads. When she stumbles upon the buried past and long-hidden treachery, she is confronted by and evil that knows her by name and drawn into a darkness she never knew existed. Tenaciously refusing to quit, she discovers a heart-breaking heroism and an extraordinary triumph that changes her life forever."

Finding Laura Buggs

Amos struggles to survive in a world of human apathy and carelessness after falling through the cracks of the very institutions designed to help him and triumphs over devastating odds.

To Ride a Dead Horse

Amos

“Uplifting story about the triumph of human decency . . . Sure to be enjoyed by those who fondly recall another David vs. Goliath roundball yarn—Hoosiers” (Publishers Weekly). Sam Pickett never expected to settle in this dried-up shell of a town on the western edge of the world. He’s come here to hide from the violence and madness that have shattered his life, but what he finds is what he least expects. There’s a spirit that endures in Willow Creek, Montana. It seems that every inhabitant of this forgotten outpost has a story, a reason for taking a detour to this place—or a reason for staying. As the coach of the hapless high school basketball team (zero wins, ninety-three losses), Sam can’t help but be moved by the bravery he witnesses in the everyday lives of people—including his own young players—bearing their sorrows and broken dreams. How do they carry on, believing in a future that seems to be based on the flimsiest of promises? Drawing on the strength of the boys on the team, sharing the hope they display despite insurmountable odds, Sam finally begins to see a future worth living. Author Stanley Gordon West has filled the town of Willow Creek with characters so vividly cast that they become real as relatives, and their stories—so full of humor and passion, loss and determination—illuminate a path into the human heart. “Elegiac but hopeful novel, originally self-published, about the redemptive power of people—and, of course, roundball . . . Worthy of a place in Montaniana alongside Ivan Doig and Deirdre McNamer, this is a modest tale, elegantly written.” —Kirkus Reviews

Stanley Gordon West

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