Abbey's first book was titled "Jonathan Troy". It did not sell well and Abbey did not like it very much, and it was taken out of print. His second book was "The Brave Cowboy". This book sold better and made him known as a writer of western fiction. It was also made into a movie called "Lonely are the Brave". "Fire on the Mountain" was his third book. "The Brave Cowboy" and "Fire on the Mountain" are about cowboys who loved the old American West and did not like it becoming modernized.