Nightflower of Comanche Mound: When things change inside a house, things change on the outside, too.

By Katlyn Bates

A generation has passed since Charley's mother left West Texas, but with a dad now out of the picture and her mom an emotional wreck, teen Charley Kensey finds herself running to the very existence that drove her mother away: Pap's sheep ranch on the Llano Estacado-The Texas Staked Plains.

Pap is a hard and difficult man, and the sweeping plains are every bit as hostile. She knows she's a burden and would return to Seattle, except for a blind horse who mysteriously stumbles onto the ranch. Things quickly spiral out of control when Pap vows to shoot the defenseless animal Charley believes came to the ranch to find her. Now she can't leave-she must stand in the way of Pap's bullet

Charley turns to the local veterinarian for information about the defenseless animal, but his harmless reminiscing about a woman he knew well reveals a mom Charley doesn't recognize, and exposes the secret that split her family apart, dismantling everything she thought she knew about her family. When Pap's fierce anger turns violent, Charley and Radar must bolt for the very place she's been warned not to go.

Nightflower of Comanche Mound is an emotionally grounded contemporary YA Western steeped in conflict, tension, and family dysfunction between three generations.

2025 Western Writers of America Spur Finalist

2024 Reader's Favorite 5-Star Medallions

2022 Writers' League of Texas Manuscript Finalist

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0D7V1G8CH
• ISBN13: 9798990649323
• Release Date: June 2024
• Publisher: Adventure & Quest LLC
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 1.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 15 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 10 to Postsecondary