Social Media Overload

No greater compliment for an author than a reader who wants to enjoy your book(s) more than once!

I know, I’ve been a bad blogger lately. That’s what happens when you have four websites (five, including this one), four Facebook pages, two Twitter accounts, and an Instagram account with no personal assistant to keep up with them all. <sigh>

As you can see, Book 2 in the Dead Horse Canyon series is now out. Yay! Getting that book written and out the door took far longer than expected. This year has been a humdinger for everyone. I’ve been healthy, but all the background noise from a messed-up planet had me distracted enough it was hard to focus.

Another concern, which may sound crazy, is that I was worried about whether this sequel to “The Curse of Dead Horse Canyon: Cheyenne Spirits” would be as good as the book that started it all. That one won three awards, which was more humbling than anything. It was a hard act to follow.

So far the feedback indicates that Book 2, “Return to Dead Horse Canyon: Grandfather Spirits” is another page turner.

Whew!

I have to admit when a brand new fan contacted me wanting to pre-order Book 3 that it made my day. On the other hand, it was terrifying! Maintaining the quality now expected is a big responsibility!

As far as Book 3 is concerned, the good news is that it’s drafted, but that was written before I connected with my coauthor, Pete, so it requires intense collaboration. Hopefully, we’ll get it out next year. And I think it should be as good as the others, if not better, as it wraps up this story. It has some really cool, surprising stuff in there. 😉

As an introvert, I’m lousy at promoting my books. I also had it drummed into my head as a kid that it was rude to brag. It just doesn’t feel right to go out there and self-promote as shamelessly as required to get attention. I like making promotional material and especially videos. Speaking of which, here’s the trailer for Book 2.

I’ll try to be more diligent in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, be sure to follow me on my Facebook author page and on Instagram (@startrailssaga). I’m not on Twitter as much these days since Hootsuite upped their rates over 500%, something I was going to rant about here, but clearly never did.

If you’re looking for presents, please remember me for any readers on your list. Between the Dead Horse Canyon books, which are mystery/thrillers; the Star Trails Tetralogy, which is hard science fiction that’s perfect for kids interested in science and engineering; and weird stuff for that person has everything like astrology or family history, I’ve got something for everyone. Search on “Marcha Fox” in the book category on Amazon and they all come up, plus some that I did cover or editorial work on, as well as a few others for which I have no clue, but you get the idea.

I hope “all y’all” have a wonderful Christmas.

“The Curse of Dead Horse Canyon” A cross-cultural epic saga begins . . .

Government corruption ignites a 19th century Cheyenne curse….

In 1879 a drunken hoard of silver miners raided a Cheyenne village while the tribe’s warriors hunted buffalo. A small band of young braves, not yet old enough to join the hunt, escaped and rode for help. Their efforts failed when they were discovered by the raiders, who ran them over a cliff along with all the tribe’s horses that had been left behind.

When the warriors returned and found the devastation, the tribe’s medicine man, Black Cloud, placed a curse on the site.

A century and a half later, a scandalous Top Secret project is under construction in the same Colorado wilderness. Bryan Reynolds discovers that its roots lie in the same greed, corruption, and exploitation of the Earth that precipitated the curse. But before he can expose what he’s found, he’s killed in a suspicious accident that his wife, Sara, miraculously survives. Her memory of where they were or what they’d discovered, however, is gone.

Neither Sara nor Bryan’s life-long Cheyenne friend, Charlie Littlewolf, will rest until they find out what Bryan discovered that resulted in his death.

Charlie is acutely aware that the only way to solve the mystery is through connecting with the grandfather spirits. To do so he must return to his roots and the teachings of his medicine man grandfather, Eaglefeathers. His journey back to the Cheyenne way includes ancient rituals and ceremonies that guide him and Sara to the answers they seek.

As a descendant of Black Cloud, his destiny is deeply embedded in the fulfillment of the original curse, which was triggered by the scandalous government project Bryan discovered and his subsequent death. Charlie’s quest has only just begun.

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It took me far longer to write this story than I ever imagined. Believe it or not, my original intent was to write a cozy mystery which I planned to finish in a few weeks. Once I got into it, however, and started doing some research (my fatal flaw as a write), it morphed into a not-so-cozy murder mystery with a sharp conspiratorial edge. It took nearly two years from when it was conceived to releasing volume 1 of a trilogy.

Part of the delay was when I decided I needed a Native American to give my work a sanity check. I didn’t want it to be inaccurate or offensive. I did a lot of research, but recognized that is often insufficient. Through a rather serendipitous chain of events I found Pete Risingsun, a Cheyenne who lives on the Northern Cheyenne reservation in Montana. It didn’t take long for Pete to connect with the story to such a degree that he became the story’s coauthor. The Cheyenne portions of this story are accurate. You can read Pete’s biography as well as mine on the book’s website here.

A government conspiracy lies at the core, though this first volume concentrates on Sara and Charlie discovering what Bryan knew that got him killed. It’s character driven like my other novels with them riding a freight train of research that captured me in their iron grip. Every time I turned around I discovered something else that fit the story and situation too closely to ignore.

Modern man’s colonialism coupled with a blatant disregard for the environment conflicts with Native American philosophies of animism and the necessity to honor the Earth. These ideologies have clashed for centuries. Informed individuals already know about the downside of fracking. Past pollution caused by 19th century mining and the EPA Superfunds charged with cleaning them up, however, are not as well-known.  Put them together and there’s a subplot just waiting to hatch.

Various paranormal and supernatural elements including detailed descriptions of Cheyenne rituals and ceremonies are included. You’ll learn about the sacred red pipe, ceremonial fasting, and the sweat lodge. The Cheyenne’s name for the Great Spirit is Maheo, who is referred to throughout. There are numerous other-worldly situations included. While the story is fictitious, these depictions are authentic.

Modern technology plays a significant role in juxtaposition to traditional Native American elements. Astronomy and the ancient art and science of western astrology play roles as well in helping Sara and Charlie find the answers they need.

These complexities are what expanded this story into a trilogy. Charlie’s journey back to his roots and the consequences Sara pays for fulfilling Bryan’s dying request play out in the next two volumes. They are already drafted and awaiting collaboration with Pete and then the usual rounds of editing. Native American history is touched upon, but will be covered in greater detail in subsequent volumes.

I hope you’ll join me in this incredible journey and enjoy it as much as I have putting it together with the assistance of my awesome coauthor.

Pick up an electronic copy on Amazon or Google Play until July 31, 2020 for only 99c!

More vendors are on the way. The print version will be out in about a month. COVID19 has slowed down the conventional indie publishing process to glacial speed, but it is on the way.

Check out the series website for more information about the sequels and an excerpt from this one.

The saga has barely begun….