Stanley Gordon West Books In Order

Publication Order of Cal Gant Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Stanley Gordon West
Stanley Gordon West was born in the year 1932 and went to St. Paul Central High School in Minnesota. He lived in Bozeman, Montana for several years, and lived in Shakopee, Minnesota for several years.

All of his novels were popular book club selections and “Amos” was made into a CBS Movie of the Week which starred Kirk Douglas which stirred up controversy because of abuse of the aged in America. Kirk Douglas testified before Congress and wrote in the New York Times on this issue, pointing out the animals had been protected by law for a hundred years before the aged or children.

He passed away January 21, 2015, from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was preceded in death by CJ West II and his sons Andrew, Stephen, and Peter. Stanley was survived by his daughters Susan West, Linda Richmond, Julie Falkenstein, Rebecca Mulligan, and Karen Karis. He had 12 grandkids and 7 great-grandkids.

“Blind Your Ponies” is a stand alone novel that was released in the year 2001. Hope’s a hard thing to come by in the hard-luck town of Willow Creek. Sam Pickett and five young men are going to change that.

Sam Pickett never expected he’d settle down in this dried up shell of a town located on the western edge of the world. He has come to hide out from the madness and violence which has shattered his life, however what he finds is what he’s least expecting. There is a spirit which endures in Willow Creek, Montana. It appears that each and every inhabitant of this forgotten outpost has its own story, a reason for taking a detour to this place, or good reason for staying.

As the coach of the hapless high school basketball team (no wins, 93 losses), Sam cannot help but be moved by the bravery that he witness in the everyday lives of people, this includes his own players, bearing their broken dreams and sorrows. How can they possibly carry on, believing in a future which seems to be based off the flimsiest of promises? Drawing on the strength of the kids on them, sharing the hope that they display despite some insurmountable odds, so Sam starts finally seeing a future that’s worth living.

“Growing an Inch” is a stand alone novel that was released in the year 2003. 1949. A story about a boy that made a solemn vow and became a man as he kept it.

Saint Paul/Minneapolis. Those unforgettable days just after the Second World War when people turned back to their own personal lives with optimism, which was a time of newsreels, boogie woogie, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Best Years of Our Lives, and chrome grilled automobiles.

Against this evocative backdrop, Stanley composes this heartrending song, with bittersweet lyrics which will touch your heart, lift your spirit, and leave you humming. Wishing the entire time that it never ends.

In just a single fateful moment, Donny Cunningham confronts an unthinkable horror, and his life caves in on him. Changed irrevocably forever. The task of raising his sister and brothers falls on him once his mom dies. A senior attending St. Paul Cathedral, he does whatever he must in order to keep his family together, as his dad leads them closer and closer toward disaster.

Surrounded by his lionhearted and zany siblings, his fun-loving friends, and hoping he can find understanding and love from his high school sweetheart, Donny’s caught between the law, which has a claim on his little brother, and the gangsters, who have a claim on his dad. Through daring, grit, and humor, he battles the dragon of regret with an inner strength and bravery which belies his physical stature.

Readers found this to be a very moving story and liked every single one of these characters, with all of their faults. Stanley does a fantastic job of mixing humor with pathos, having you about to cry, while the next you are laughing at all of the adolescent antics of his lead character.

“Sweet Shattered Dreams” is a stand alone novel that was released in the year 2005. After renowned folk singer Sunny Hollister squandered a life bright with promise, he finds himself down and out and on the run for his life. Then, right when he’s convinced his life has gone and passed him by, Sonny, by a stroke of fate, is given another chance at living.

But can he get it right? Is he going to be able to evade the grinding loneliness that is stalking him? Is he ever going to find a way to overcome the unbearable regret that is haunting him? Is he ever going to risk loving again, to find somebody without any goodbyes in her heart? And, most importantly, is he going to become the man that he always could’ve been?

This is an absolute delight of a read that some hated for it to end, and loved these characters quite a lot. It is a beautifully written and absorbing novel with a realistic ending.

“You Are My Sunshine” is a stand alone novel that was released in the year 2013. Set on a Montana ranch during the mid-1800s, this novel tells the story of Abraham Rockhammer, his kids and his grandkids. Abraham left the state of Ohio with his pioneer spirit in his heart and his head. His tiny piece of Montana never came easy, however, was pristine until young Henry Weebow, his neighbor, began mining for ore on the opposite side of the sacred mountain that Abraham called his home.

Ride down that road to the ranch, pick the right fork once you hit the Y, and enter through the gate which Abraham Rockhammer built. You’ll get caught up in a poignant tale taking you back 150 years into the past from which you won’t want to return from.

Readers enjoyed the way that Stanley tells this story, and the ending is well done, as things all work out in the end. He tells an interesting story here, and wraps up a fantastic writing career nicely.