"The Peacemakers" is the third book in "The Circuit Rider" series and continues the every day struggles of the ministry of Jesse Lane and Tom McKelroy. This story picks up about 11 years after the close of "The Defenders" and is set mostly in central Texas. Many new characters are introduced and are forced to react to a maturing frontier during the Gilded Age, a time of great prosperity and unplanned economic panic. Violence was still a concern as was survival during the hard times before the turn of the century. It was also a time that saw the rise of many cults that infected the most spiritually vulnerable, causing hundreds of folks to blindly follow "new messiahs." As with the other novels in the series, "The Peacemakers" contains lots of action, humor, romance, adventure, and suspense. The central theme emphasizes the faith and courage of the main and minor characters and allows readers to identify with the problems and decisions faced by the Lanes and the McKelroys and their friends in their determination to be a witness in the fictious town of Miller's Blluff, Texas. Bill Wood was born and raised in a small town in Texas. He grew up watching classic Westerns on television during the 1950's and 1960's and developed a love for Western stories, art, and culture. Bro. Bill, as he is known by the folks at Central Baptist Church in Stamford, Texas, taught US history in public and private schools over a period of 31 years in Texas, Louisiana, and California, sometimes while pastoring small Baptist churches. When not preaching or studying or writing, he enjoys visiting antique stores, festivals, and historic places. This Texas pastor has been known to pick and grin some in church, too. "The Peacemakers" is the author's fourth book to be published through Xulon Press."
