Twenty Miles West of Branch, Texas and other stories

From a desert highway in West Texas to the plains of frontier Kansas to an abandoned mine in New Mexico, from a courtroom to a high school girls’ speech contest to a nursing home, from the side yard of a suburban home to a youth revival to the halls of an urban high school, K.C. Knouse puts the main characters of the thirteen short stories and novella included in this collection into circumstances that challenge assumptions they have made about themselves, their lives, and the world in which they live:

The mother who is estranged from her son.
The young woman who has doubts about her relationship with an older man.
The widower who struggles to accept the death of his wife.
The young man who is fearful of becoming his abusive father.
The homesteader who fights to redeem his pride.
The aging salesman whose livelihood is threatened by technology.
The father who relives his past at the expense of his relationship with his son.
The boy who discovers that having money creates as many problems as it solves.
The veteran teacher who crosses an emotional boundary in spite of herself.
The teenage boy whose relationship with God is complicated by a pretty girl and a misunderstanding.
The woman who doubts her decision to put her husband into a nursing home.
The man whose faith in the justice system is shaken.
The high school girl who is self-conscious about a birthmark on her face.
The middle-aged insurance adjuster who receives more than he bargained for when he comes to the aid of an attractive woman.

K.C. Knouse uses compassion, humor and an eye for detail to bring these characters to life and bind their stories to your heart.


Meet K.C. Knouse

K.C. Knouse is the author of Twenty Miles West of Branch, Texas and other stories, a collection of short fiction, A Short Stack of Short Fiction, Three Character Driven Short Stories, and a non-fiction book, True Prosperity: Your Guide to a Cash-Based Lifestyle (1996, Double-Dome Publications).

Knouse began writing for publication in 1985 and has had his short fiction published in print literary magazines and online at Wattpad.com. He wrote a personal finance blog, LiveOnCash, from 2010 to 2021.

A career outside salesperson, Knouse enjoyed a forty-year career in the printed products industry. He spent most of his career as a self-employed person.

K.C. Knouse lives on the U.S./Mexico border in far west Texas. More information can be found on the author’s website, KCKnouse.com.

Trade Wars

Don’t give up the ship.
Searching for allies, finding enemies. Cameron Grey and his burgeoning fleet deploy in search of new assets. Instead, they are dogged by the usual bad actors of the last half-century.
Cam and his crews go on the offensive not only in their own backyard but with their freshly-minted alliances half a world away. When the net cast around them closes in, Cam takes off the gloves while being greatly outnumbered and outgunned. He risks everything he has built to defend all who stand beside him.
Can the steely resolve of the Texian Armada match up with the iron fists of their opposition?
Pick up your copy of Trade Wars today to find out how this hi-tech naval thriller unfolds.
What early readers are saying:
“The Texian Armada prevents a Third World War”
What a perfect second novel to Mr. Phillips’ first!  Without giving up too many spoilers; this book is even better than the first in the Texian Armada Sagas.
Trade Wars starts out with a literal bang, gunshots with a barrage of a mini-war against the tight knit group of Naval friends; finding themselves within a possible full fledged war with an Eastern country that is trying their best to start a full-on World War in order to take over all Trade Routes on the high seas.
This second novel is high in intrigue, full of even more developed characters; humor matched in the middle of tough times, and much more.  I read it in a short time; as it was hard to put down.
Imagine reading a continual battle without stopping; much like a movie.
The author has the ability to write a painted picture with words, drawing from his obvious long history of protecting our nation with his own Naval experiences.  I was duly impressed with this new novel. Bring On More!  Highly recommended read.- Rae L. 

I’m proud to know that these characters are showing everyone how to be a true patriot and human being. – JR W.


Meet Brandon Phillips

Brandon dove into writing seriously in the last few years while traveling across the globe in the US Navy, and as a propulsion service technician. He has worked onboard many types of sailing vessels, in several technical roles, from tugboats to drill ships: including submarines.
Brandon’s lifelong addiction to reading spans the universes between Westerns to Space Operas. Elements from these many genres are forged together to form the base material in The Texian Armada Saga: a contemporary hi-tech thriller tale of asymmetrical naval warfare, intrigue, and adventure, based around the Gulf Coast.
He currently lives in the Houston Metro Area with his wife and two children. When he is not writing he enjoys making sawdust working on handmade pens and knives.