The other day I presented my audience with the BOOK OF THE DAY by Steven Hightower. Today, you get to meet this very interesting author. First about his book "A New Beginning."
A New Beginning: The
Smoke of One Thousand Lodge Fires
(Kindle, Paperback, & Hardback)
To
My Readers, Our Heroine, Topusana (Prairie Flower) awakens in a hidden cavern
in the Texas Hill Country after having survived an attack by the Texas Rangers
which brutally takes the life of her only daughter. During that battle Topusana
is herself rescued from captivity by her husband Tabbananica (Voice of the
Sun). The year is 1844. The Native American couple, along with a handful of
survivors, escapes not into hiding, or a secret land, but into the “Dream
Time.” Topusana, after seemingly sleeping in the hidden cavern only a few days,
awakens to a world she has never seen or known. The year she awakens is 2020.
Her life goal and purpose is establishing a homeland for her surviving tribe.
In 2020 Topusana will face the same enemy, the United States Government, that
nearly brought about the demise of her people in 1844. A beautiful story of
survival and triumph unfolds as Topusana (Sana) adapts to the incredible
obstacles to which she has awakened. She will move from the stone-age, into the
modern world over a period of a few short months. With the help of a handful of
characters whose lives are filled with integrity, grace, and kindness, a new
world and time begin. Narratives of actual events and battles are intertwined
throughout the book. The historical record that is brought will transport
readers into the fascinating history, and heartbreaking destruction of the
Comanche Nation in Texas. (Think Dances with Wolves) What is fresh and
different about the work, is the creative mystic twist of what I call “The
Dream Time.” Here is a powerful story of a Native American people possessing
the faith, gifting, knowledge, or “Powerful Medicine,“ to transport Comanche
survivors into a different time, thus enabling a decided alteration.
Product details
·
File Size : 623 KB
·
ASIN : B08H9MXFGW
·
Word Wise : Enabled
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Publication Date : September 19, 2020
·
Print Length : 351 pages
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Publisher : Little Creek Publishing Co.; 1st Edition (September 19, 2020)
·
Language: : English
·
Text-to-Speech : Not enabled
·
Enhanced Typesetting
: Enabled
I absolutely loved this book! I truly believe it’s going to be a tremendous success. Look out Hollywood; here comes Steve. Think Kevin Costner, “Dances with Wolves.” Texas style. Kathy L. McDonald
I thoroughly enjoyed “The Smoke from a Thousand Lodge Fires.” An incredibly imaginative story with some wonderful characters. I really like good historical fiction and this book certainly fits the bill. James Hobbs Flying J Ranch
Steve skillfully weaves a story line from two different eras together into an interesting and entertaining narrative. Along the way, the reader is treated to a history of early Texas, New Mexico, and the native people who lived off the land. Frieda Dickson
I just finished your book as a sample reader and I loved every second of it!!! Ron Anderson
Steven Hightower (Author)
Tell
your readers a little about yourself, where you grew up, where you live now,
where you went to school etc. Let them get to know the personal you.
(I am very
uncomfortable talking about self…) but here is a little of my story.
I grew up in
west Texas, where many of my stories take place. I grew up on what some have
said was the wrong side of the tracks, which means the poor side of a very
wealthy town.
My parents
divorced when I was 15. I attended three different high schools and was always an
outsider.
My growing up
years were difficult; I left home and moved to another state at 17 and simply
started over on my own. I think they have a name for that now… an emancipated
teen. Back then, I was just a young man, making his own way in the world.
I somehow graduated High School,
narrowly, not due to intelligence, but rather very difficult circumstance.
But I knew if I worked hard, which I did,
I could do or become anything I could dream.
With the support of my wife, soulmate,
and perfect helpmate, Ellie, we have been blessed beyond our wildest dreams.
Those blessings come from our loving creator.
Those dreams and blessings… have come
true for me. I have been married now for 40+ years. I have a beautiful family
and have had an amazing career as a commercial pilot.
I live in a beautiful little town in the
mountains of central New Mexico. We have been there for the entire 40+ years of
our marriage.
I also live part of the year in a very
small town on the pacific coast of Mexico.
This is where my sailing adventures
found within ANB originate.
What
inspired you to author your book?
I explored the
setting, the caverns as a young man. It was a fascinating place.
I would often fly over central Texas in my profession as a commercial pilot.
Two years ago,
I was at 36 thousand feet directly over the site of my adventure so many years
ago. I simply had a thought -- wouldn’t it be interesting to write about that
adventure…so long ago. What if?
What if I
wrote a book set in the modern day about an Indian tribe awakening in the
cavern, exiting into the modern world we live in.
Within the
next 15 minutes, I had a complete outline of the book on the back of a flight
plan form.
It was
absolutely inspiration from on high (literally).
I wrote the
entire novel over the next 60 days.
Then began the
hard work…
Where
did you get the inspiration for your book’s cover?
Hours of
perusing the internet, I knew what I wanted a combination of the new and the
old. Many do not notice the high lines in the sky beyond the teepees; they are
there quite intentionally.
There is a
fictional painting within the pages that I really wanted to have created as the
book cover. I was simply not able to locate the right artist for the creation
of the Masterpeice described in the book… perhaps that person is yet to be
found. Book 2 is well underway. I would love to use the painting within One
Thousand Lodge Fires for the cover on book 2…are you out there?
Who
has been the most significant influence on you personally and as a writer?
Too many to
count, if I had to narrow it down… I read a series of books in my 20’s set in
the American West by AB Guthrie…still some of my favorite books.
I absolutely
love the writing of James Lee Burke.
What
were your struggles or obstacles you had to overcome to get this book written?
I know
absolutely nothing of the publishing world. It has been good to learn new
things, however disappointing that learning curve is.
Obstacles? I
have a drawer full of rejection letters. Each one is hard to read. But I know I
have created something special, so I press on.
Tell
your readers about your book.
This is a very
emotional book. It is filled with the tragedies of our history and the real-life
circumstances that happen to all human beings. There is clear good… and evil.
There are
spiritual truths embedded within the pages. I believe it is also quite visual.
I can see in my mind each scene. Whether drinking iced tea on the porch of a
ranch house in Texas, or Native Americans fleeing a sickening attack on their
home camp, or a young man dying on the battlefield in Afghanistan…the reader
will see it all.
Very broad.
This book should have appeal to the readers of Historical Fiction, Native
American interest, western, romance, modern western, and legal thriller. The
work is very much a modern Dances with Wolves, meets Yellowstone meets
Back to the future.
If
you were going to give one reason for anyone looking at your book to read, why
should they buy it?
Complete
escape. I believe my reader will be able to escape for a few hours wherever
they are. This is a story that will take you away. I do believe this is our
endeavor as storytellers.
What
do you consider your greatest success in life?
My Family.
What
one unique thing sets you apart from other writers in your genre?
You know
that’s an interesting question because I still do not know the genre.
Let’s put this
work in the “Wow, that’s a good read genre.”
More seriously,
I am a storyteller. It is a gifting. I believe that it becomes evident quickly
in the book.
Never had it.
I’m 70% into Book 2, a prequel to the generation of characters introduced in One a thousand Lodge Fires.
I was on a
road trip the other day, had to pull over a let my wife Ellie drive… while I
wrote a complete outline of book 3.
No block here.
What
one piece of advice do you have for new authors.
It’s a principle found in the pages of A
New Beginning.
Ask young Timothy Collins, a young teen character
in the novel… never give up. Not Ever!
Tell
your readers anything else you want to share.
I hope you are
inspired, moved. I hope you laugh, and I hope you cry. I did so as I wrote what
came forth from my heart.
