New Series for Reluctant Boy Readers!

'The hardest thing about skateboarding is consistency: The slightest flick of your foot or gust of wind can send your board flying, so it's really anybody's game out there.'

--Shaun White

I'm currently preparing the character profiles and chapter outlines for Book Two in a new middle grade skateboarding adventure series conceived primarily for reluctant boy readers. Book One is complete and with my agent as I get started on the sequel. Main character, Eddie Castro, is a troubled youth trying to gain a foothold on the rough and tumble streets of Flatbush. Veteran Brooklyn cop, Sam Toomey, has Eddie on his radar. But can he save the boy before drugs and street crime take him down? That's the gist, and without doubt it'll be a challenge matching the pace I set for readers in Book One. If you're a fan of the tension in runaway novels (and films) like 'The Taking of Pelham 123,' you'll enjoy 'Ripper's Tomb: The Adventures of Eddie Castro, Book One,' and 'Concrete Canyons: The Adventures of Eddie Castro, Book Two.' Both titles coming soon!

 

From 'Coyote-Meeter's Abyss'

When Old Joseph meets with a mining company official, he doesn't mince words...

Lockwood watched him over the tops of his glasses. “So, explain again there, Estes, what your business is today.”
“I am here for an understanding.”
“Well, what is it I can help you understand?”
“No, uh, it is about you understanding something.”
“Okay, so shoot.”
“The spirits of our ancestors are unhappy.”
Lockwood scratched his head. “What’s that got to do with us?” he asked.
“You are aware that within rock caves all over the land and in the mountains lie O’odham who have come before.”
“Uh, you mean, there’s people...your people...buried in these places?”
Joseph sighed. “Let me put it this way. All this land is sacred because it is the body of Mother Earth. From Phoenix to the San Pedro River to the Gulf of California...all is sacred.”
“How do you know this?” asked Lockwood.
“I am a makai, Earth Doctor. It is my job to know.”
Lockwood chuckled. “Do you have a degree?”
Joseph pushed on. “This great area holds everything we need to keep life going. Also, when we die, Mother Earth will receive us, body and soul.”
Lockwood was puzzled. “So, what you’re saying is...”
“What I am saying is that Mother Earth holds the spirits of our people, back to the very beginning. Back to when the sky came down four times to meet the earth.”
Lockwood began to shuffle papers on his desk. He pulled open the center drawer and peered inside.
“Are you missing something?” Joseph asked patiently.
“No, no...Go ahead”
“The first time, Elder Brother I’itoi came forth. The second time, Buzzard came forth. Coyote came the third time. All before Elder Brother made us out of clay.”
“Can we, sort of...wrap this up?” asked Lockwood.
“I am sorry, but you asked, and so I answered,” said Joseph. “When I say the spirits are unhappy it is because the body of Mother Earth is sick and injured. You have drained her precious waters, disturbed the places where she guards our spirits, and shown great disrespect by digging in the land... scarring her body.”
Lockwood shrugged. “I’m really not sure I...”
Joseph grew angry. “You are not sure of anything,” he voiced. “But I am sure of one thing. If you do not stop what you are doing, we will all lose our way, and wander for eternity without souls.”
“I think we’re done,” Lockwood responded.
“I will not allow you to do this to my grandchildren,” Joseph growled. “I have tried to show reason, but you do not listen.”
Lockwood hammered impatiently on a call button attached to his speaker phone. A female voice broke in suddenly.
“Janet, come in here, please,” he ordered.
When the woman in the green blouse opened the office door, she came face-to-face with Joseph Estes, tight-lipped and sullen.
“I am leaving,” he muttered.
“Yup. Show Mr. Estes out,” said Lockwood.
Joseph avoided Brad Echevara’s gaze as he stormed across the outer office and out the door. Back in the car, his anger slowly subsided. Still, he couldn’t purge the disappointment from his heart. He sat dejectedly for the longest time, before finally inserting his key in the ignition and starting the engine. On his way back along the rutted road, he thought of Danny and Sophie, and all the children in all the villages on the reservation. There would be dark days ahead, he knew. And only his wisdom, passed down from generations of tribal elders, could be relied upon. He felt suddenly lonely, very much alone.

'Coyote-Meeter's Abyss,' the final novel in my 'Borderlands Trilogy,' now available from Open Books Press Direct, Barnes&Noble Booksellers, Amazon.com, and all Independent Bookstores

 

 

Danny Rivas's greatest adventure!

Strange halos of light are appearing in the night sky above Baboquivari, sacred mountain of the Tohono O'odham. Eerie sounds of weeping echo through the dark canyons. Two reservation men are fiercely attacked by 'spirits of the dead' near the Mexican border!
Frightened residents confront village elders for answers to the mystery. Danny Rivas's grandfather, Joseph, knows their tribal way of life has been ignored for too long. They must move quickly before utter chaos engulfs the reservation!
Danny, the Coyote-meeter, and his friend Diego devise a plan to offer the sacred medicine pouch of Chief Gray Horse to appease the powerful spirits and save their people. Badly injured in the process, they are trapped in a mine with a nest of rattlesnakes, scorpions, and a family of wolf spiders! Will they be rescued in time?
Danny Rivas's greatest adventure! Now available from Open Books Press Direct, Barnes&Noble Booksellers, Amazon.com, and all Independent Bookstores. 

'Coyote-Meeter's Abyss' release! Book Three in the 'Borderlands Trilogy'

And here it is! Open Books Press just released its 'Coyote-Meeter's Abyss' promotional package, including this stunning cover image! It's been a bit of a waiting game, but I'm delighted with it!
It's the emotional conclusion to a series st...eeped in the mystery and tradition of southwest Indian life; Danny Rivas's greatest challenge and true coming-of-age! It has been my great privilege to immerse myself in local culture, meet Tohono O'odham scholars and tribal elders, and write the story of a young reservation boy and his beloved grandfather. The character of Danny Rivas is fiction, but there are so many true young O'odham children growing up in the remoteness of the Sonoran desert.
I know you will love this final chapter in the lives of two very special characters! Happy reading and great adventures! 

Mystery/Adventure Fiction for Young Readers

                  

Visit my website: www.robertlhunton.com for the latest updates and information on my adventure/mystery series for young readers, The Borderlands Trilogy, Books One and Two, available from Open Books Press Direct, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Amazon.com, and at all Independent Book stores. Book Three coming in 2014!

The final novel in the 'Borderlands Trilogy,' Coyote-meeter's Abyss, finds Danny Rivas and pal, Diego 'Digs' Ramirez, lost at the bottom of an abandoned silver mine, trapped in a maze of tunnels crawling with rattlesnakes and scorpions! While grandfather, Joseph, and reservation police search desperately for the missing boys, an illegal immigrant girl courageously comes to their rescue. Placing herself in grave danger, young Lupita del Campo defies a ruthless coyote boss, secrets in precious food and water, and braves the dark and cold passages to lead them to safety. It's an emotional story of honor and sacrifice on the dangerous road of hope for a new beginning.

 

 Joseph Estes, Danny's grandfather, is a makai (healer) among his people, the Tohono O'odham of Southern Arizona and Sonoran Mexico. Throughout the three-book series, he stands as the guiding force behind Danny Rivas' development as a young man. He is instrumental in the boy's understanding of his father, Tony's, neglectful behavior. Joseph shares his deep knowledge of O'odham custom and tradition with Danny, helping him gain appreciation for who he is within the tight-knit reservation community. Perhaps most importantly, he accompanies Danny on his journey to manhood, protecting and advising. What does the final Borderlands adventure have in store for the aged Joseph?

 

  

                                  

                     

 

 



 

 



 

 

 



 

 

Masks of the Iroquois Confederacy 'False Face Society'

 

 

 

Native Americans are traditionally very spiritual people. Perhaps none more so than members of various clans of the Five (then Six, after 1722) Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy of New York - Seneca (Keepers of the Western Door), Cayuga, Onandaga, Oneida, Tuscarora, Mohawk (Keepers of the Eastern Door).

 

Clan traditionalists continue to hold that all creatures of nature - trees, plants, animals, the moon - have spirits of their own that either help or impede a person. A spirit can be prayed to for help and guidance. For guidance, members of a village are encouraged to recall/interpret their dreams, which hold great significance to tribal elders.

If a member needs help, he/she visits a spiritual doctor, a shaman, or contacts the False Face Society. The False Face Society was a collection of healers who used special masks with spiritual properties they carved themselves. The Society has largely disappeared today, but their fascinating masks remain; part of an amazing cultural legacy.

I've never 'owned' one of these remarkable carvings, mostly because I know the Iroquois believe each mask to be a living entity, and as such, in possession of a free and roaming spirit. In addition, the masks are sacred and should be handled only by chosen healers. In recent years, Iroquois leaders have made serious attempts to retrieve these masks from collectors, non-indigenous museums, etc. Karonhia:ke - Behold, the sky world!

 

Visit me at: www.robertlhunton.com for more articles and stories of Indigenous culture.

The Borderlands Trilogy, Book Three: 'Coyote-meeter's Abyss'

The final novel in the 'Borderlands Trilogy,' 'Coyote-meeter's Abyss,' finds Danny Rivas and pal, Diego 'Digs' Ramirez, lost at the bottom of an abandoned silver mine, trapped in a maze of tunnels crawling with rattlesnakes and scorpions! While grandfather, Joseph, and reservation police search desperately for the missing boys, an illegal immigrant girl courageously comes to their rescue. Placing herself in grave danger, young Lupita del Campo defies a ruthless coyote boss, secrets in precious food and water, and braves the dark and cold passages to lead them to safety. It's an emotional story of honor and sacrifice on the dangerous road of hope for a new beginning. Coming soon!