Tag: Dead Horse Canyon Saga

Co-Author Matchmaking

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Author Interviews, Book Reviews, Book Status, Indian Reservations, Indigenous wisdom, Native American history, Native American Media, Native American Wisdom, Native Americans, Northern Cheyenne culture, spirituality, US History

Have you ever wondered how Pete Risingsun, a Northern Cheyenne elder living on the tribe’s reservation in southeastern Montana, and Marcha Fox, a science fiction author living in Texas, became coauthors? If so, you’ll want to read the article published by the staff of Soaring Eagle, the charitable organization that supports the Heritage Living Center for Northern Cheyenne elders where Pete resides. You can find it in the Spring edition on their website here. That organization was key to facilitating this incredible partnership that has produced three award-winning novels over the past five years.

Pete and Marcha have never met face-to-face and he does not even have a computer! Phone calls, texting, and snail mail were the vehicles used to communicate, collaborate, and produce over 1400 pages of an incredible three-volume story.

The response to the article was great, as shown by a significant increase in book sales. Of particular interest was a letter, which you can see below, that was sent to Soaring Eagle by a woman who read the newsletter and as a result purchased and read the three books.

The biggest challenge for most authors, especially those that are self-published, is finding their audience. The Dead Horse Canyon Saga is unique, making this even more difficult since it doesn’t fit a single genre. However, with multiple story themes including a government conspiracy, murder, a detailed glimpse at Cheyenne history and ceremony, deep bonds of family and friendship, to say nothing of Charlie Littlewolf’s transformational journey back to his roots, there is something for everyone.

So far the three volumes have captured a total of 13 awards. This includes 5-stars and glowing reviews from Readers’ Favorite for each book, along with prestigious Book Excellence Awards.

Fans of the Longmire series (Craig Johnson’s books as well as the TV series) or the Leaphorn and Chee stories by Tony Hillerman and continued by his daughter, Anne, (novels and the Dark Winds TV series) are likely to enjoy these books. Dead Horse Canyon takes an even deeper dive into native culture and history with characters the reviewer from The Book Commentary described as “lovable,” while an Amazon reviewer of the third book described them as “Characters you will fall in love with. Characters you will fantasize horrible death wishes for with fingers crossed. And sleepless nights as you read it.“

It’s been said, “Do not to judge a book by its cover.” Just in case this is an issue, new covers are coming the end of June! Stay tuned!

You can find the books on Amazon here.

The End is Here! The “Dead Horse Canyon” Trilogy is now Complete!

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Book Status, Native American history, Native American Prophecy, Native American Wisdom, Native Americans, Northern Cheyenne culture, Spirit Medicine, Uncategorized

The final volume of the award-winning trilogy is now available! The paperback will be released on January 7, BUT if you act between January 4 – 7, you can get an electronic version of the explosive conclusion for a bargain price at the vendors listed below.

Loaded with new twists and turns, familiar characters and a few new ones, fans of this saga can now find out “the rest of the story.”

The paperback is 581 pages long, which tells you something right there! A tremendous amount of research was done to embellish the story with Cheyenne history and traditions, which fit beautifully into the story.

Learn more about the book here.

We believe the ending should make Native Americans and their supporters smile.

Get your ebook copy now for only $3.99 at most vendors, the other books in the series on sale for that amount as well until the official release of the paperback on January 7.

Don’t wait! Get your copy now!

Amazon

Google Play

Kobo

Vivlio

Fable

More Sources Coming Soon!

Native American Heritage Day 2024

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Book Status, Indigenous People Day, Native American Day, Native American history, Native American Media, Native Americans, Northern Cheyenne culture
The Sacred Mountain (Bear Butte State Park, South Dakota)(Photo by John Brueske, Shutterstock)

Today is Native American Heritage Day, a time to remember and appreciate Native Americans and their rich culture. An important element of indigenous culture has always been their sacred sites.

The main theme of the third and final book in the Dead Horse Canyon saga, “Revenge of Dead Horse Canyon: Sweet Medicine Spirits — Novavose” is the importance of the Sacred Mountain, known also as Bear Butte State Park, in South Dakota.

In the final volume of the trilogy Charlie fulfills his vow to make a pilgrimage to the site for a four day ceremonial fast. What he learns there is not only startling, but charges him with the responsibility of bringing his people back to their sacred ceremonies as originally taught by Sweet Medicine, specifically a five-day ritual known as the Massaum, the “earth giving ceremony.”

The video above notes the importance of sacred sites. You can find more information related to the video in the article on the Native American Rights Fund website here.

In writing the Dead Horse Canyon Saga, I have done a tremendous amount of research. Many of the books you see below I have read and/or referenced in writing the trilogy to assure accuracy as well as discover new material to integrate in the plot.

Of course coauthor, Pete Risingsun, is the final authority on Cheyenne culture, but he also discovered new information, especially from the two volumes of Peter J. Powell’s “Sweet Medicine.” What a godsend they were as was the work of many other anthropologists such as George Bird Grinnell and, in more modern times, Karl H. Schlesier. Without their work, the Dead Horse Canyon story would not have all the rich detail we were able to incorporate. We have made every effort to be as accurate as possible with reference to historical events as well as Northern Cheyenne ceremonies.

What I have learned writing this trilogy with Pete has opened my eyes to the many injustices Indigenous people have suffered for hundreds of years due to colonization, not only in the United States but also abroad.

The release date is January 7, 2025! It has taken far longer than expected, for which Pete and I apologize. However, we believe it will be worth the wait.

If you haven’t yet read the first two books, you have time to do so before this one comes out. Without knowing the entire story, you may be able to follow this final volume, but it will have far more meaning if you’re familiar with the other two.

I’m confident that Indigenous readers will be very pleased with the ending as well as those of us who love and appreciate Native American culture and pray they eventually receive the retribution they deserve for centuries of abuse. It’s truly a travesty that immigrants are welcomed and allowed to retain their culture while America’s original inhabitants continue to be treated so unfairly.

On this special day, may we all pray with them that they will receive the respect they deserve and gain access to their sacred sites and cultures and that they will be preserved.

When Life Gets in the Way. . .

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Author Interviews, Book Status

I am acutely aware I’ve been a very negligent author for the past several months. Events transpired for both myself and coauthor, Pete Risingsun, that got in the way of our completing the Dead Horse Canyon trilogy on schedule. I apologize to all those who are biting their nails waiting for Book III. Clearly, it did not come out in the spring of 2022 as previously stated on this website!

Rest assured, however, that we are committed to finishing the story. If all goes according to plan (which may be expecting too much of the Universe) we hope to finish it by next summer (2024).

While we have a pretty good idea of what’s going to happen, that often changes once writing it down commences since our characters have minds of their own and don’t always do as they’re told. Furthermore, there are multiple plot threads to weave together in a cohesive way, which takes time and lots of rewriting for it to make sense.

I promise you will not be disappointed or bored! I truly look forward to getting into the story again and interacting with Charlie, Sara, White Wolf, and all the others. They are like extended family to me and I’ve missed them, no matter how weird that may sound to non-authors. (You don’t have to be crazy to be an author, but it helps.)

So what happened?

In a nutshell, events transpired that ultimately drove both Pete and I to different respective homes since the end of 2022. Previously, I was in Texas and he was in Montana. He’s still in Montana, but in a different town.

In my case, last April I finally left the sun-parched and drought-ridden wasteland of Central Texas for my ancestral homeland of New York State. I got out just in time, based on the summer they’ve been having in the Lone Star State. Triple digit temperatures and dead vegetation simply do not resonate with me in a favorable way. Today here in NY we had a “Heat Advisory” when temperatures ventured toward 90 degrees. That would be a cold front in Texas.

Thus, I traded intolerable heat and a barren landscape for what you can see in the picture at the top, which is the view from my office window in my new home.

Moving over 1600 miles is never easy, and for me it was further complicated by unprofessional and downright crooked movers. Thousands of dollars of items were left behind due to not fitting on the truck and several thousand more never made it to NY. I will post the sordid details of that debacle in my personal blog, “Marcha’s Two-Cents’ Worth.”

Getting settled into an 1898 farmhouse in rural Western New York has been very consuming, mentally, physically, and emotionally. However, it has been worth every dime lost and grey hair gained getting here. Even one of my cats, Angel, whom you can see in the picture below watching the front yard for chipmunks, squirrels, and birds, is quite content.

The purpose of this post is to let y’all know (I did bring some Texas with me after living there for 35 years) there will eventually be a Book III. It’s simply delayed, but we will make sure that it is worth waiting for.