I’ve begun working on a new novel, a departure from the historical fiction genre that has been the focus of my previous books. It’s a western set in the plains of West Texas. The Civil War has been over for almost eight years. The expansion westward has violated the treaties signed by the U.S. government with the Plains Indian tribes, with more and more frontier forts and white settlements encroaching on their lands. The initial response has been the movement of the “Nermernuh” (The People) north of the Red River and westward onto the Llano Estacado, the Staked Plains.
The book is in its early stages. I’m still outlining the plot and characters, but the focus will be on the relentless quest for vengeance after the massacre of a Comanche encampment and the subsequent reprisal taken by the Penetaka Comanche on an isolated homestead.
Revenge motivates both sides and sets off a prolonged journey through Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, leaving in its wake depredations, mutilations, scalping, torture, and rape.
The initial title mirrors the heading of this post, although I’m still debating on whether it should be Comancheria, the lands claimed by the Comanche Empire until their subjugation in the Red River War and movement onto reservations in Indian Territory.
The Southern Plains Indian Wars were the subject of my novel, Palo Duro. In that book I relied heavily on actual events and people, visitations to several battle sites, and extensive research, whereas the characters and plot of my ongoing effort will be focused on fictional characters and storyline. Palo Duro was a western in the sense that it covered that historical period. I wrote then of my love for the “Old West” in books and cinema, but this will be my first foray into the western genre.
All of my books (Silver Taps, Palo Duro, Tarnished Brass, and Ghostly Bugles) are available at Amazon.com and most online platforms.
Life is History 