Nolan Gene Fondren

Patrick William Graham Jr. was destined to be small of stature, but that didnt mean he was short on courage. He grew up with a Cherokee tribe and became blood brother to the chiefs son, Leaping Wolf. One of Pats first toys was a hand-carved wooden pistol; when his draw was faster than his fathers, he was given a working gun.

When tragedy strikes, leaving Pats father dead and his mother remarried to a man Pat despises, he leaves his tribal home. Out in the world, his small frame makes him an easy target for bullies, predators, and petty men with something to prove. After he kills a man who was riding him for being small, Pats life changes in ways he cant control. He sells his skills as a gunman. In Mexico, he protects a silver mine from banditos and then helps them to improve their operation.

One fateful day, however, on a job rustling cattle, he finds God and a better way to live.

Pat is soon welcomed as the youngest Arizona Territorial Ranger, and he puts his skills and talents to the Lords work. He prevents war with the Indians seven times. But his life isnt all heroics and escapades. Along the way, he also finds a bride, buys a ranch, and works with a family named Earp.

Inspired by the stories told to him by his Texas rancher father, songs, and classic Western tales, A Stranger Came to Town is Nolan Fondrens love song to a long-lost time and place.