PRESS RELEASES: Blue Indians Collective | Blue Hand Books
2024 (outlook kicked me off - don't use bluehandcollective@outlook.com)
CONTACT
Blue Hand Books, Blue Indians Collective
Publisher Trace L Hentz
25 Keegan Lane, Suite 8-C
Greenfield, MA 01301
(413)772-6996
EMAIL: tracelara@pm.me
November 11, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GREENFIELD, Mass. - Blue Hand Books, based in Greenfield Massachusetts, on Pocumtuckland, recently celebrated their 12th anniversary on November 11, 2023. The collective has published 28 book titles, and more are planned.
Founder/award-winning journalist Trace Hentz (formerly DeMeyer) embraced and adopted the idea to decolonize book publishing for other Indigenous writers with a collective that supports each writer, helping them to produce a paperback book, providing proofing and editing and allows them to keep 100% of their book royalties. Blue Hand Books was created to be community and a collective for Indigenous authors. (Trace is an adoptee with mixed ancestry, including Shawnee and Anishinabe.)
Hentz, who worked as editor of the Pequot Times in Connecticut and Ojibwe Akiing in Wisconsin, and was staff writer at News From Indian Country, got the idea after writing and publishing her adoptee memoir in 2009, using a publishing service Lulu, and paying them.
“I wasn’t happy with the interior of the book, and didn’t know how to fix it. I called Lulu support, who actually didn’t know what to do, or fix what I wanted, and believe me I called them several times,” Hentz said. “The first edition was published on Amazon and bookstores picked it up, but I was dissatisfied overall. Sometimes you have to conquer the unknown so I decided I’d learn and teach myself.”
“I started Blue Hand to help my Narragansett friend John Christian Hopkins. He and I worked together at the Pequot Times and he’d tried publishing himself, and it worked fine but he needed more readers and book sales. My husband Herb and I were having brunch with John and his wife Sararesa in Connecticut that summer (in 2011) and out of nowhere I offered to help him publish his book Twilight of the Gods. He electronically sent me his files and I formatted it and we published it! So the collective officially kicked off on 11-11-11 when his book was published. I've improved because of formatting software. I’m still learning. As time went on, I needed to learn how to create e-books and tons of other essential book-related stuff.”
Hentz said the name was a vision after she had looked at Mayan prophecy. “Since it was 2011, and the end of the Mayan calendar was December 21, the Blue Hand is a Mayan glyph for the time we are now living. After my cancer surgery in 2018, I reopened as Blue Indians Collective since I knew John Trudell, who called us all Blue Indians, and I thought with this name we’d remember and honor the legendary Santee poet actor and activist.”
Looking back to 2009, self-publishing was not looked upon as “professional” so Hentz decided Indigenous people needed their own publishing house. “We’d be the publisher and since John and I were both journalists and former editors, we’d do it our way: Decolonize.” They chose Create Space/KDP/Amazon, an online website, to upload their books and e-books.
“Word of mouth and our book titles got the attention of writers like Dana Lone Hill (Lakota), who published her fiction ‘Pointing with Lips,’” Hentz explained. “Working with Dana was a dream, and she had done so much pre-publication work, like getting early reviews and excellent blurbs for the back cover.”
In late October, Blue Hand Books released its 28th title, The Last Heir of Merlin, the ninth book by John Christian Hopkins. “It’s a fantastic fun and very clever fiction with elves and so many surprises; that’s how John’s vivid imagination works. I’ll give you a hint: John loved Elvis Presley. You’ll have to read the book,” Hentz laughed.
Read more Blue Hand Books history here: https://www.blueindiansbooks.com/2023/11/happy-12th-anniversary-to-blue-hand.html and visit www.blueindianbooks.com or www.bluehandbooks.org
###2021:
What Just Happened:
Award winning journalist and multi-genre Indigenous author Trace L. Hentz offers critical concise and insightful examination of current events, historical and headline news, and delves into the esoteric in her powerful new creative non-fiction “WHAT JUST HAPPENED,” the second in a series “It’s a Miracle We’ve Survived This Far.” As she explores in the book how the system isn’t broken, it was built this way, she expands on what is missing from today’s media coverage. “Our attention span is getting shorter so full-length books don’t translate and work for most people, so this book is 200 pages with intense yet brief analysis from some of the best minds, living or dead.” Hentz expands her interviews with the late Santee Sioux poet prophet musician John Trudell in the fourth section. Formatted in a similar fashion to her book MENTAL MIDGETS | Musqonocihte, WHAT JUST HAPPENED has new prose, poetry and her photography. How readers experience a book can be brutal intense uplifting or empowering, and Hentz’s new book delivers all.
Publisher and poet Trace L Hentz is the editor and author of the historical best-selling book series "Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects."
“I did read your book Mental Midgets. I go back to it again and again. I am amazed at your word power, insightfulness, truth and Vision.” - Author Mary Ellen Ryall
Hentz releases new creative non-fiction
Greenfield,
Massachusetts [2018] -- “There is a clear sense of urgency in my new
book, on a vast variety of topics” said Blue Hand Books
founder and award winning journalist Trace L Hentz, author of Mental
Midgets|Musqonocihte “It’s a Miracle We’ve Survived This
Far,” (ISBN: 9781731074010, Publisher:
Blue Hand Books, Massachusetts).
“It’s quite clear we are distressed with changes all around us,
and it’s gone global,” Hentz explained. “John Trudell said it best in an interview I share in the
book. ‘The answer is NON-COOPERATION and a clear coherent thinking
human being…”
Trudell didn’t
waste words. Neither does Hentz.
She describes this
twin book as a collection of factoids, thoughts, quips, code, quotes, photos,
thought bombs, creative non-fiction, Native American history and prose. And
it’s short (91 pages). Musqonichte translates Blue Sky.
Horror writer and blogger KC Redding gave
early praise for the new work, “I like the format of Midgets, the way
each work sneaks up on you by yelling in your ear first. Kind of reminds me of walk softly, big stick
words...”
On the book jacket, Poet and author MariJo Moore writes, "Prepare yourself for a short journey
into a long reality. Do yourself a favor and read and reread with an opening
mind. This author knows of what she writes....."
After cancer surgery in May, Hentz said the book itself came
together quickly, quite like the miracle we’ve survived this far, a recent quote
from Noam Chomsky in the new book.
“Everything about this twin book surprises me. From the book size (8 in. x 10 in.), to using
my photos, I started collecting thoughts maybe five years ago and joked to
friends I hoped to get (Mental Midgets) done this century.” Then it morphed
into two books. Hentz knows it’s timely.
“You will want to sit with this book. It
may be short, but it takes long thinking.”
In 2011 Trace Lara Hentz started the collective Blue Hand Books to
help other Native writers publish their books and pay it forward. Now she is writing as fast as she can.
[To order visit: www.bluehandbooks.org]
ABOUT THE
AUTHOR:
Trace Lara Hentz (Shawnee-Cherokee- French Canadian-Euro mix) is
an award winning journalist. Known for
her in-depth interviews for national Native newspaper NEWS FROM INDIAN COUNTRY,
she won many awards, authored many academic papers, has contributed to Last Real Indians and Dissident Voice, and co-edited the
acclaimed four-part book series Lost
Children of the Indian Adoption Projects.
[www.blog.americanindianadoptees.com].
She is a multi-genre author, poet, journalist and activist. Her work is heavily focused on Native
American history and Native American adoption issues. [www.blog.tracehentz.com]
[https://laratracehentz.wordpress.com]
Trace (formerly DeMeyer) lives at the foot of the Berkshire
Mountains in Greenfield Massachusetts with her husband, a retired college
administrator, Herb Hentz.
###
Native American Studies | Creative Non-Fiction
ISBN: 9781731074010
(Blue Hand Books)
Paperback $5.91 Kindle ebook $3.33
###
Blue Hand Books Collective is a small Native American-owned publishing company based in western New
England. Website: www.bluehandcollective.com or www.bluehandbooks.org
Media Contact: Trace
Hentz, Greenfield, Massachusetts, laratrace@outlook.com
We retired the Laramie Harlow book titles and the first edition of Two Worlds, and the memoir One Small Sacrifice.
IN THE VEINS (Vol. 4): here
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Indian Adoption Projects survivors write new history in new book Called Home: The RoadMap
GREENFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS [2016] --- Blue Hand Books Collective in Western Massachusetts has published a second edition of CALLED HOME: The RoadMap Vol. 2 [in the Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects book series]. This edition has been revised and updated with a new book cover. It includes a new essay The RoadMap: DNA and ICWA, devoted to those adoptees still searching, offering tips on how to open sealed adoption files, how to use DNA tests and the services of search angels, and how the recently-revised Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 could help them.The Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects book series [Two Worlds Vol. 1; Called Home: The RoadMap Vol. 2; Stolen Generations Vol. 3; and a new poetry collection In The Veins Vol. 4 to be published in 2016] exposes a dark chapter of North American history when First Nations and American Indian children were forced to attend residential boarding schools, or were taken from their tribal parents under the government-sponsored Indian Adoption Projects and ARENA. These actions and programs were largely overlooked this past century by historians and scholars. Canada did issue an apology for its Sixties Scoop of adoptees in recent years, but the US has not.
Book series editor, journalist and Native American adoptee Trace Lara Hentz, explains, “Americans and Canadians are only now becoming aware of these genocidal programs specifically targeting Native American and First Nations children. Adoptees called the Sixties Scoop in Canada are filing a class action lawsuit in 2016. For me, it was essential to find these children-now-adults and give them a voice, to write their own story in first-person narratives.
“These writers don’t spare us any details of what it was like growing up outside of their culture then trying to fit back in. They are not “angry bitter” but changed by their experience of being adopted, losing contact with their culture and tribal families. (Many were small children and separated from their siblings, too… heartbreaking to read.)
“Finding your way back home is usually the most challenging part. Then come the intricacies of reunions with family members. Remember, generations of families in Indian Country were affected and adoption does change all of us. That is the dilemma: adoptees feel we don't know enough to fit back in but we have to be home with our relatives to learn or re-learn what we missed!”
Writing personal experience actually heals you in many ways, she said. “The changes I have noticed in the writers in Two Worlds, Called Home and Stolen Generations (the series up to now) is very significant. Each has grown more secure in themselves, most are still in reunions, and they have developed a unique voice as writers. Some of them had never been asked to share these personal details and for some, yes, writing about being adopted was scary, not easy at all.”
There is no shortage of talent among Native Americans, and these writers are from across North American (and one Lost Bird is from Ireland via Newfoundland and another is a Lakota Dakota who was living in Germany and is now back living on his reservation in Rosebud, South Dakota.)
“As much as I changed in the past ten years, readers of this book series will see this clearly in the updates from the adoptees/writers in part two of Called Home,” Hentz said, who wrote her own memoir One Small Sacrifice over a five-year period.
Called Home covers topics like DNA tests, Baby Veronica (in depth), the movie PHILOMENA, Stolen Generations (and 60s Scoop) history and historical facts like OPERATION PAPOOSE, one of Arnold Lyslo's Indian Adoption Projects.
“My husband Herb was saying that our press release needs to interest people who are not adopted,” Hentz said. “He said lots of people have difficulties being with their own family members. That is definitely true.
“So the question is: will the general public care to know that thousands of American Indian and First Nations children were adopted out to white families prior to the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978? Will they care that not every adoption was magical or perfect? Will they care that adoptees have opinions about their own experiences and about the BABY V case which stunned many of us adoptees called Lost Birds? Do Americans and others want to know what happened to LOST BIRDS in history? That remains to be seen,” Hentz said. “As a matter of record, every adoptee in Called Home wanted to find and reunite with their tribal relatives. These are mini-biographies with twists and turns, filled with such courage!”
In Part Three, there is a section in the book for adoptees that are still searching and have been told that one or both birthparents are Native American.
“They are all excellent essays, but Levi's THE HOLOCAUST SELF will definitely stop you in your tracks,” Hentz said. “It applies to many humans who are marginalized, but especially Native Americans and adoptees in general.”
Hentz said her co-Editor Patricia Busbee's introduction in the book is brilliant and heart-wrenching as she shares her reunion with siblings and shares pieces of the past in her adoptive mother's diary.
Quote from the popular American Indian Adoptees blog [https://blog.americanindianadoptees.com/]:
Are you searching for your tribal family? We have the roadmap and advice you need in this book series Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects... There is a growing need for answers, answers adoptees have trouble finding. In this anthology, you will hear their answers and how other adoptees were able to find their tribal relatives, but most importantly, how they healed....
***Here's an excerpt from Cynthia Lammers (who has found she has 5 brothers and they are Lakota.)
...My case worker told me I had to write a letter to my birth mother, explaining why I wanted to know her. I did this and sent it to her. Then I had to do some legal paperwork for the State of Nebraska and pay $15 to have it processed. Then I later received a phone call from my case worker, telling me to come to Omaha on a certain date. That I was not to come alone, to have a friend or family member come with me. My best friend Susan went with me to Omaha. We had no idea what this was about to happen? Was I finally going to meet my birth mother? We arrived at the address that I was given at the time they told us to be there. We were at a College Campus, in a classroom, filled with about 50- 60 people, sitting at round tables with 6-8 people at each table. We ate lunch. Then a Native American man started the meeting with a prayer. Then several different Native men and woman got up to speak, each one telling a story about their lives. The strange thing was, almost every story was almost the same about how they grew up and who they grew up with. Native people growing up in white families. We were all adopted. We all had alcoholic mothers who couldn’t take care of us. We all felt lost at some point in our lives and maybe some of us still did. We all had questions about who we really were. What was our Indian Culture or Heritage about, we didn’t know. Were we all related? Probably not, I thought to myself. Then suddenly, it hit me, I turned and looked at my caseworker from the Children’s Home. She had tears running down her face. I said to her, “You have been lying to me all these years, haven’t you?” She began to cry. I began to cry. Once I got myself back together, I told her it probably wasn’t her fault, that she was just doing her job. She’d been telling me what she was told to tell me..."
“I am honored to be in this anthology, too,” Hentz said, writing as an adoptee with her own reunion with her mixed Native American father Earl Bland. “With this series, the writers share what they want, how they want. I look forward to see how these incredible stories reach new hands and make new history in North America.”
The second edition of Called Home: The RoadMap (ISBN: 978-0692700334, $12.96) is on Amazon. An e-book version is on Kindle.
FMI: https://blog.americanindianadoptees.com/
****PREFACE:
"For Lost Birds/adoptees coming after us, when they find this new book and the earlier anthology TWO WORLDS, adoptees themselves documented this history and evidence. We have created a roadmap, a resource for new adoptees who will wish to journey back to their First Nations and understand exactly what happened and why. There is no doubt in my mind that adoption changes us, clouds the mind and steals years of our lives, but there is something non-Indians can never steal and that is our dreams and the truth we are resilient!”
###
CONTACT: Publisher/Editor Trace L Hentz laratrace@outlook.com, Message: 413-258-0115
Facebook: CALLED HOME LOST CHILDREN (please click like if you visit)
(email: tracelara@pm.me)
MEDIA BLOG: http://lostchildrencalledhome.blogspot.com/
************************************************************
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
****
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
In a new western fiction “Two Guns” aging gunman John Carrier Steele faces fading health, self-doubts and the toughest job of his career – to tame one last wicked town.
“I moved to Arizona nine years ago, with the intent of living in the west and absorbing as much as I could,” said award-winning author John Christian Hopkins, a member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island.
A love for the western genre was born into him, he said.
“I remember my Grandma Brown watching westerns on TV with her glasses on upside down, and yelling at the screen to warn Hoss Cartwright that the bad guy was sneaking up behind him,” Hopkins said. “My dad would leave Louis L’Amour or Max Brand books on the kitchen table for me after he was done with them.”
With more than two decades as a professional reporter, Hopkins has a legacy of publishing humorous newspaper columns in papers from Massachusetts to Florida to New Mexico. In the early 1990’s he wrote a nationally syndicated column for Gannett News Service.
- on amazon.com ($9.99 paperback and $3.99 ebook)
“We could not be happier to release both TWO GUNS and WRITER ON THE STORM at the height of book buying season,” said his publisher Lara Trace Hentz. “These books will make great gifts for everyone on your shopping list. John is truly a prolific writer; he just keeps pumping out great books like his hands are on fire.”
Hopkin’s books are being published by Blue Hand Books, a cooperative of Native authors founded in 2011 by Trace Hentz (formerly DeMeyer.) His books are available in paperback edition or as a Kindle e-book through Amazon.com.
Hopkins, a member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island, is a descendant of King Ninigret, patriarch of the tribe’s last hereditary royal family.
Hopkins is an award-winning journalist. He currently lives on the Navajo Reservation with his wife, Sararesa.
John has done seven books! They include “Carlomagno: Adventures of the Pirate Prince of the Wampanoags,” “Loki: God of Mischief,” “Nacogdoches” and “Rhyme or Reason: Narragansett Poetry.”
###
MEDIA: For book cover and author photos or review copies, leave a message (413) 258-0115.TWO GUNS: ISBN: 978-1502737366 ($9.99 ppbk/$2.99 ebook)
WRITER ON THE STORM: ISBN: 978-1496144621 ($9.99 ppbk/$3.99 ebook)
FREE PREVIEW of Writer on the Storm: http://writeronthestorm.pressbooks.com/
###
"Once again John Christian Hopkins masterfully weaves a tale of history with heart as he shares this tale of a gunfighter seeking redemption. Hopkins lures readers into putting down their electronic devices in order to delve into life in the Old West." - Stephanie Henningsen, journalist.
"John Christian Hopkins' latest effort gets 'two guns' up! This book is a sure shot!" - Darrell Perry, avid reader
"John Christian Hopkins has a gift for taking historical facts and presenting them in a fictional setting that makes the characters come alive. In Two Guns he continues the tradition...he writes with blazing accuracy about a place that had a lively past, to say the least. Hopkins reminds us of that with his own unique story telling style." - Bruce MacDonald, journalist
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SAMPLE:
When it hits the fan
When
I first heard about what happened in Washington D.C. on September 26,
2012 my initial reaction was that the “stuff” really hit the fan this
time. Two federal employees were injured when a pair of toilets in the
General Services Administration headquarters exploded.Of course my first inclination was to make up some goofy pun about the situation. That was before I realized how serious an event it was. Therefore I decided that since someone had to be the adult in this tragic affair it might as well be me. After all, I am a John myself.
And besides, as a serious journalist, this was one story I couldn’t sit on. I hope I can convince you that explosive latrines are no laughing matter. I understand how, at first glance, it is tempting to dismiss this event as a “commode-ity” of errors. But this could be a threat to our national security… Please, I implore you, take this fecal matter seriously. It may not be the most pressing problem we face these days, but it’s clearly Number Two.
CLICK: BUY BOOKS (header on blog) to snap up a few copies!
*************
For Immediate Release
REZ SENSATION: Oglala Lakota author Dana Lone Hill’s debut novel POINTING WITH LIPS hits Amazon and Kindle
GREENFIELD, MA [2014] - Native American publishing collective Blue Hand Books has announced that Dana Lone Hill’s sensational fiction novel POINTING WITH LIPS, A Week in the Life of a Rez Chick, debuts on Amazon.com and Kindle in early March 2014. It is now available in the Create Space e-store: buy hereHer first book is already creating a rez sensation with Indian Country media:
“Dana Lone Hill is a powerful new voice from Lakota Country that has so often been confined to historical stereotype or painted in a contemporary setting with a one dimensional brush. Dana shatters those shackles and forms a deeply personal, raw and moving narrative that takes the reader deep into contemporary life on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, one of the world’s most complex and engaging societies.” -Steven Lewis Simpson director of the Native films Rez Bomb, A Thunder-Being Nation & The Hub.
“With so much literature out there attempting to portray authentic Native life, it is refreshing to have a work written from the perspective of someone who has actually lived it. This book is essential reading for those attempting to understand the life of Native people living in America.” - Brandon Ecoffey, editor, Native Sun News
“It is rare that you come across a new voice as authentic as Dana Lone Hill. She writes with passion and determination about a side of America that few will ever see. But Lonehill takes you there with emotion and raw power. Pointing With Lips is a startling debut.” - Paul Harris, The Guardian
“Pointing with Lips by Dana Lone Hill just might be one of the best books I’ve come across—if not the best. A beautiful, entertaining, relatable, inspirational, and so-much-more read, Lone Hill’s poetic yet readable wording makes you feel as if you’re sitting attentively across from her, gripping a cup a coffee waiting for more.” - Patricia Stein, Urban Native Magazine“As her publisher, we are so thrilled for Dana and her first book depicting the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota and the realities of living there,” Trace DeMeyer, founder of Blue Hand Books, said. “This book is a triumph for Dana and for her reservation relatives. It’s so real you forget its fiction, and that’s really good fiction.”
Lone Hill is internationally recognized for her freelance writing in the Guardian newspaper, LAST REAL INDIANS, Lakota Country Times, The Intersection of Madness and Reality, LA Progressive and her popular blog: www.justarezchick.wordpress.com. On Twitter: @JustARezChick.
Lone Hill was interviewed about her new book by the Jay NightWolf Radio program on her birthday on February 28.
[Interview: The NightWolf Show - Fri 28 Feb 2014,
http://archive.wpfwfm.org (MPEG Layer 3 Audio, 27.5 MB)]
Last Real Indians book review: here
Kindle ebook is available NOW. Kindle Ebook: $3.99 has BONUS interview with author in ebook! CLICK HERE
The paperback is now on Amazon! (ISBN: 978-1479171989, Price: $15.00 (PAPERBACK). Special price for Kindle edition when you buy the paperback ($1.99).
-30-
Media Contact/ Bulk Orders:
Blue Hand Books is a collective of Native American authors based in western Massachusetts.
Contact: Trace Hentz, 413-772-6996 (message)
Photos available upon request.
Book Synopsis:
Sincere
Strongheart is a modern day rez chick and single mother of three,
living on one of the poorest Indian reservations in America. The novel Pointing with Lips
covers a week of her life in Pine Ridge, interacting with many
unforgettable characters in her large family. Sincere’s story is funny,
raw, sad, even suspenseful, but the main struggle lives inside her as
she hopes to overcome the buried demons of her past.
**********
She has “collected” many names over the course of her life, from married names to nicknames, but the name she's claimed for her poetic side is Sleeps With Knives… “I do call my poet self ‘Sleeps With Knives’ because I have met sharks and monsters,” Harlow explained. This is her first chapbook.
Her work is heartfelt and powerful, as only one who has survived the fiery walls of bitterness that life often throws in our path. There is a poignancy to Harlow’s work, a soft sentiment without seeming maudlin, a striking reality without being harsh. Her collection includes song lyrics from her time as a rock musician.
“We have a lot of exciting things happening at Blue Hand Books,” company founder Trace (DeMeyer) Hentz said. “The new releases, chapbooks by Harlow and Hopkins, are just the latest to be added to our growing inventory.”
“Rhyme or Reason: Narragansett Poetry” is an eclectic collection of serious and humorous poems by John Christian Hopkins (Narragansett). A deeply personal and touching collection, Hopkins has a heart the size of Texas. His work includes a poem about his relative Tarzan Brown, a famous marathon runner and some old family photos.
Blue Hand Books offers both paperback and e-book formats for its readers.
John Christian Hopkins, a member of the Rhode Island Narragansett Indian Tribe, is a descendant of King Ninigret, patriarch of the tribe’s last hereditary royal family. Hopkins is a career journalist who has worked at newspapers across the U.S. and has been a nationally syndicated columnist for Gannett News Service. He and his wife Sararesa live on her Navajo reservation in Arizona.
Blue Hand Books releases Narragansett Poetry, Sleeps with Knives, two brand new poetry chapbooks
GREENFIELD, Mass. – Blue Hand Books, a small Native American-owned publishing collective, has two new poetry releases on Amazon; collections from newcomer Laramie Harlow and a new work by John Christian Hopkins.
“Sleeps
With Knives,” by Laramie Harlow is a look at the ups and
downs of daily life, beginning with her childhood in Wisconsin.
“This
may sound funny, but I do not consider myself a poet,” Harlow writes in
her preface. “I string together good words like alchemy!”She has “collected” many names over the course of her life, from married names to nicknames, but the name she's claimed for her poetic side is Sleeps With Knives… “I do call my poet self ‘Sleeps With Knives’ because I have met sharks and monsters,” Harlow explained. This is her first chapbook.
Her work is heartfelt and powerful, as only one who has survived the fiery walls of bitterness that life often throws in our path. There is a poignancy to Harlow’s work, a soft sentiment without seeming maudlin, a striking reality without being harsh. Her collection includes song lyrics from her time as a rock musician.
“We have a lot of exciting things happening at Blue Hand Books,” company founder Trace (DeMeyer) Hentz said. “The new releases, chapbooks by Harlow and Hopkins, are just the latest to be added to our growing inventory.”
“Rhyme or Reason: Narragansett Poetry” is an eclectic collection of serious and humorous poems by John Christian Hopkins (Narragansett). A deeply personal and touching collection, Hopkins has a heart the size of Texas. His work includes a poem about his relative Tarzan Brown, a famous marathon runner and some old family photos.
“I guess I’ve been a poet ever since I discovered that ‘cat’ rhymed with ‘bat’,” Hopkins said.
For
Hopkins, “Rhyme or Reason” is a first foray into poetry. He generally
focuses on historical fiction, he said. His other works include
“Twilight of the Gods,” “The Pirate Prince, Carlomagno” and
“Nacogdoches.”Blue Hand Books offers both paperback and e-book formats for its readers.
On Kindle and in paperback.
We'd like to thank the beautiful and talented Barb Burke for her cover art on these chapbooks - she rocks!John Christian Hopkins, a member of the Rhode Island Narragansett Indian Tribe, is a descendant of King Ninigret, patriarch of the tribe’s last hereditary royal family. Hopkins is a career journalist who has worked at newspapers across the U.S. and has been a nationally syndicated columnist for Gannett News Service. He and his wife Sararesa live on her Navajo reservation in Arizona.
*********************
PIRATES come to life in remastered fiction by Narragansett author John C. Hopkins
A swashbuckling American Indian takes center stage in “Carlomagno, Adventures of the Pirate Prince of the Wampanoag,” by author John Christian Hopkins (Narragansett).
“Carlomagno,” is being published by Blue Hand Books, a cooperative of Native authors founded in 2011 by Trace DeMeyer. His book is now available in paperback edition or as a Kindle e-book through Amazon.com.
“We are so excited about the release of the newly revised, second edition of “Carlomagno,” DeMeyer said. “John and I agreed we’d add the tribal ancestry of his main character in the title. John remastered one of his great Native characters.”
Captured during New England’s King Philip’s War, the young son of the Wampanoag sachem is sold into slavery in the West Indies. But he harbors the desire to taste freedom once more, and to return to his woodlands home.
To do so he must escape the chains of his Spanish master, evade the terrible Cimaroons and conquer a land populated by wild beasts, poisonous serpents and man-eating alligators.
If he survives those Herculean labors, Carlomagno’s journey will have only begun—for he must somehow find his way past the savage buccaneers stalking The Spanish Main!
Hopkins, a member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island, is a descendant of King Ninigret, patriarch of the tribe’s last hereditary royal family.
“I like to blend real history with fiction,” Hopkins says. “What I have done here is to take a child that vanished from history and breathed new life into him.”
Hopkins is an award-winning journalist. He currently lives on the Navajo Reservation with his wife, Sararesa.
His other books include “Nacogdoches” and “Rhyme or Reason: Narragansett Poetry.” Another of Hopkins’ fiction titles, “TWILIGHT OF THE GODS” is being released as “LOKI: God of Mischief,” in November.
###
REVIEW:
- Dean Chavers, Ph. D. Director, Catching the Dream (formerly Native American Scholarship Fund)
List Price: $12.95
384 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1492363712
ISBN-10: 1492363715
ISBN-10: 1492363715
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