2015 USA Best Book Awards: Award-Winning Finalist for "Fiction: Western"

After the burning, Luke, Elizabeth, and Tom face the momentous decision of whether to remain in or leave Escondido Canyon. Staying would mean more of the unpredictable and often petty harassment that has proven to be dangerous and may yet prove to be fatal. Leaving could provide safety and relief but would require an abandonment to their tormentor of the fruits of their labors, of their plans and hopes, of what they have committed to. Could a sudden change in their circumstances relieve them of the need to decide whether to stay or leave? Could it signal the beginning of a new and better way? Or could it prove to be the agent that exposes fault lines in the foundation of their enterprise: the foundation of faith, integrity, loyalty, and sanity?

"An ambitious epic of the pioneer experience, framed in a turbulent period of Texas history."- Elmer Kelton, voted Best Western Writer of All Time by Western Writers of America

"This is excellent work on a large project. The writer's love for the written word and history of mankind is evident."- Writer's Digest

"A dramatic epic unfolds, richly flavored and brought to life with keen historical accuracy."- Midwest Book Review (Michael Dunford)

About the Author

P. A. Ritzer took to the road and spent four years traveling through Kansas, Colorado, and especially Texas-from Amarillo to San Antonio-researching primary and secondary sources, as well as the land itself and the people who live on it, to inform his crafting of Seven Ox Seven.  Escondido Bound is part one of a trilogy.  Ritzer's own western odyssey lends a certain authenticity to Seven Ox Seven.  He knows the day-to-day journey into the unknown, the nights in darkened campsites, the concern about provisions, the seeking for that which may not be attained, and through it all, the ongoing communion with those who lived out the pioneer experience in the time and place of Seven Ox Seven and left behind their accounts for any who might find, treasure, and learn from them.