New 25th Anniversary Book Just Released — Plus a Giveaway

by

Howdy!  Howdy!  And Welcome to another terrfic Tuesday!

News!  News!

I’ve just re-released another 25th Anniversary book, LONE ARROW’S PRIDE.  The book has been re-edited and proofed and has a gorgeous new cover.  And, I’ll be giving away two copies of this book free.  However, the book is currently on sale for $.99 and is also on KU.

 

This book has an interesting history.  And I’d love to share it with you.  This is really the only hidden treasure book I’ve written, while also being a solid Historical Romance/Native American.

The story begins when I was writing for AVON/HarperCollins Books.  I had submitted a story idea, which my editor rejected for some various reasons.

So I had to come up with a new story idea and I remember sitting now in my livingroom brainstorming with my husband and my brother-in-law…who used to mine for gold out in the desert.  Well, they have some great stories of goldmining in the Superstition Mountains.  And so, all those years ago, I was told the following story.  Hope you’ll enjoy!

The cover off to the left is the cover made by Samhain Publishing.

What I am about to tell you, by the way, is a true tale, or perhaps we should call it a legend as told to me by my husband and brother-in-law.

In Arizona, there is a mountain range called the Superstitious Mountains, just outside of Phoenix. Some of you might be familiar with the legend of the Lost Dutchman’s gold mine. Some may not. Bear with me.

There are many, many miners who go into the Superstitious Mountains today, hunting for the Lost Dutchman gold mine. Many years ago stones were found, upon which was written some hieroglyphics, thought to be part of a map. Many of these stones were discovered all over the Superstitious Mountains and all of them were thought to be part of a map that would lead others to the Lost Dutchman’s gold mine. Today, those stones are on display in a bank where all can see them and try to discern where the gold mine is.

What is not generally known is that many hundreds of years previous, there were Jesuit priests in these mountains. They befriended the Indians and managed to get the Indians to bring them gold from these mountains, whereupon the Jesuit priests made artifacts out of the gold. Many, many artifacts.

To the left is the original cover of LONE ARROW’S PRIDE.

These priests were recalled to Spain. Most of them refused to go and so Spain sent an army into the Southwest to drive the priests home. The priests got word of the oncoming army and, deciding not to let the army get their gold, nor take the gold back to Spain where it would most likely be claimed by the king, they hid their treasure. It is the Jesuit priests who etched the map on the stones in hieroglyphics and left these stones in fairly inconspicuous places, thinking to come back and collect the gold at a later date.

Recently miners have found, after using the stones on display, and digging about twenty-two feet deep in these mountains, two crosses with more hieroglyphics on them.

To date, neither the Lost Dutchman’s mine, nor the stash of gold from the Jesuit priests has been found. Added to this is the fact that the Indians believed that the Thunder God lived in the Superstitious Mountains and in fact, up until the late nineteenth century, no one was able to go into the mountains and mine the gold without great risk to their lives. Any white person found in the mountains was at once killed.

Another interesting fact is that earlier on, two brothers got word of the mines in those mountains and were mining one that they had found. They made two successful trips into the mountains and obtained a great deal of gold. On the third trip they were discovered by the Indians. And so the brothers loaded up all of their gold and put it into bags, which they tied onto their mules.

Of course, these two brothers were found and killed by the Indians, but the mules were let go, still carrying the bags of gold. The last bag of gold to be found was in the 1920s or 30s (I forget which), and contained gold to the amount of approximately $12,000 at that time—today the find would have been close to half a million dollars.

So the question is: Has anyone ever found the Lost Dutchman’s Mine? Not to my knowledge.

Has anyone discovered the gold that was hidden by the Jesuit priests? Not that we know of. But I would have to ask you this question. If you were there and you found it, would you tell anyone?

**********

So, I took these stories and brought some of what I learned into the Bighorn Mountains in Montana where the legend lives on (but in a different location).  Now this is Crow country.

To the left here i a photo of Hail Stone, a young Crow Indian who, by the way, married a white woman.

I’ll close up the blog today with the synopsis of the story.

LONE ARROW’S PRIDE

Buried Treasure Shines Brightest in the Dark

Ten years after she survived a cholera epidemic that wiped out her entire wagon train, Carolyn White is on a quest to shake off the bad luck that follows her everywhere and which now threatens her adopted family. The unending string of mishaps can have only one source: the gold piece that she, in childish innocence and wonder, once took from a stolen cache.

She tells herself her journey to Crow Country is merely to put the piece back in the cave where she found it. Yet, in her heart she knows it’s the memory of Lone Arrow, the boy who sheltered her there. The boy whose face—now that of a man’s—inhabits her dreams.

Lone Arrow’s anger knows no bounds. Anger with the white woman he suspects isn’t being truthful to him. Anger with himself that he cannot ignore the beauty who captured his heart even as a boy. Though trust is in short supply, he can’t deny his burning need for her. Whatever else she may be, she is his destiny.

This is the 25th Year Anniversary Edition of this book.

Warning: Sensuous Romance which contains a passion that could lead to soul-stirring love.

If you’d like to enter the drawing for a free copy of the ebook, LONE ARROW’S PRIDE, just leave a comment and you’re autormatically entered into the drawing.  And, remember, the book is free on KindleUnlimited and is on sale now for $.99.

Here is the Amazon link for the book:

https://tinyurl.com/LONEARROWSPRIDE

 

Website |  + posts

KAREN KAY aka GEN BAILEY is the multi-published author of American Indian Historical Romances. She has written for such prestigious publishers as AVON/HarperCollins, Berkley/Penguin/Putnam and Samhain Publishing. KAREN KAY’S great grandmother was Choctaw Indian and Kay is honored to be able to write about the American Indian Culture.
Please refer to https://petticoatsandpistols.com/sweepstakesrules for all contest rules.

46 thoughts on “New 25th Anniversary Book Just Released — Plus a Giveaway”

    • Hi Sheila! Thanks so much for the post and of course you’re entered into the drawing. I’ll let my cover artist know this — she recently had an accident and so I think this will pick her up. : )

      Very nice to meet you!

  5. Interesting info. I can understand the urge to look for the gold and take a chance for a risk taker. I’ll leave the risk taking to others and read about it.

  6. Have heard about the Superstition Mountains and the Lost Dutchman most of my life. The story sounds very interesting!

    • Hi Ginni!

      You know, I had never heard of the stories, but I am so glad we sat down one evening and they told me story after story of their experiences. And truly, some were so intense, one had to be in good shape just to stay alive. Goodness!

  7. Aho, it’s been a while Stranger! Your e-mail popped up and I decided it was time to check in again and put my name in the drawing for your book. I always enjoy your stories.

  8. I enjoy reading your books about the Native Americans. Your books are very informative about the life they led. It pleases me to learn the younger generation is able to once again learn THEIR language. Lately, I’ve been listening to Native flutes to relax by. The new cover design is striking!!

    • Hi Shirley!

      Thank you so much for your compliment. Means a lot to me. I love the Native Flute music, also. It’s been a part of some of my Lakota stories. I also love the pow-wow songs and drums. When one is at a pow-wow, the drum rhythms seem to speak to the soul. Thank you for your post.

      • Many moons ago, we had a food concession trailer we would take to county fairs and such. We were privileged to be able to work one pow wow several years. I loved the music, singing and all the beautiful regalia. Some of the people became friends. They always told us, especially my daughters who were not even teens yet, to ask us anything about their customs or dress and they would teach us. Being around the Natives that much strengthened my respect for them. Thank you for writing such truthful stories.

        • Hi Shirley,
          Oh, my, when I lived out West, I used to go to pow-wows alot — on the weekends. OH, how I love them. There’s something about the drums that makes one want to dance. Thank you for the compliment on my stories. Goes to right to my heart.

  10. I love your books! I don’t know how you come up with the story ideas but, I always learn something new.

    • Hi Deborah! So nice to meet you. Yes, suspenseful and for this book, a friend of mine on the reservation had an elder read over the story and the language. Because Crow is the first language for the Crow people, I was really concerned with getting the language right. Thanks for coming to the blog today.

  12. I did know of the Jesuits and the lost mine stories. Someone will find something one day and claim it is one or the other. Or the could do what I would do and not tell anyone.

    • Hi Debra!

      Isn’t it an interesting history? I give a bit a different history of the gold stash in my book, incorporating some of the stories I’ve heard from the Crow people about giants and little people…the giants and little people make an appearance again in SHE STEALS MY BREATH, since my hero is back in the same mountains in that story. : )

  14. I love the history behind the story! It would be hard to keep my mouth shut if I found something like that. Have an amazing week.

  16. Good morning Karen, Congratulations on your re – release of “Lone Arrows Pride” the cover is Stunning and intriguing, I love it and I love the blue on it ( my favorite color is blue) Have a Great day! (not entering this ebook giveaway as I am not tech savvy at all, but Thank you) I will have to look it up in print for sure though. 🙂

    • Hi Alicia,
      I think the cover is stunning, also and I will let my cover artist know. We just uploaded the paperback version of this book to Amazon, but it can take a few days sometimes before it’s published. Slowly, but surely, I’m getting these books re-edited and released again and in paperback. My earliest books have been out of print, some of them for at least 25 years. I have two more to go from these early ones and then the books will once again be offered in paperback. : ) Have a super day.

  17. I might tell someone but only after getting the gold out and putting it somewhere safe. lol Very intriguing and can you imagine finding that.

    • Hi Sarah! Like you, I think I might keep it to myself for a while. Yes, how thrilling it would be to discover a vein of gold. But, my husband and brother-in-law used to do it. And, again, what stories they have.

  18. I replied to your personal email. It is rather lengthy. In a synopsis, I love your books as I have always been enthralled by the Indians. I was overjoyed to find my current husband is 1/2 Cherokee Indian. Have a blessed day and continued success with your writing. I envy anyone who has the gift of being a story teller. Your 25th anniversary edition of “Lone Arrow’s Pride” has a gorgeous cover. The creator did a splendid job.

    • Hi Judy!
      Heartwarming. Your comment today is so heartwarming, I hardly know how to respond. Similarly to your husband, I found out about my heritage (hidden from me) first through my best friend’s mother (our neighbot) who knew the history of my grandmother (her mother and my grandmother were best friends). Then, after I found this out, I discovoered my father had gotten a family tree done — and my Choctaw heritage was discovered there on paper — it has since been lost. But I remembered how thrilled I was at the discvoery and it explained so much about my view of the world as a child and how different is was from those around me. So now, because that family tree has been long lost, I at least have the knowledge passed down, word of mouth. I’ll be back looking at my email — can’t wait to see it — probably tonight. I’m at work right now. Thank you so much, Judy. : )

  19. You are one of my favorite authors to date and that’s saying a lot. I love your books and the way you research history while writing your novels is chef’s kiss. I would love to enter the drawing, apologies if this is a late reply. Stay safe and good luck on your next book. ?

    • Hi Ashley! No worries. You response isn’t late at all. It’s so nice to meet you. And, wow! Thank you for telling me that you love my books and the research I do. It’s really important to me, research that is — have my nose in 1st person accounts from the 1800’s — and the incredible times they lived through and what they faced… History like this, I think, is being lost somehow…maybe because our elders rarely live with us anymore. I don’t know. But, for me, it’s important to get some of the history I read about put down into a fiction book — at least it gets out there as something to think about. Thank you again foryour heartwarming response.

  21. We have been in the vicinity of the Superstition Mountains, but were just driving by. Legends and folklore are strong in the region and there is much to explore. The gold of the Lost Dutchman’s Mine has always attracted people who hope to get rich. There are so many ideas about where it might be, how much is there, and if it has been found. I had not heard the story about the Jesuit’s hidden stash of gold or the two brothers that were killed. More interesting stories to enhance the mystique of the area.. Having the area be sacred to the native peoples adds that much more interest and mystery. I have no desire to go looking for the gold, but if I did find it, I would make sure it was all out and safely stored before telling anyone.
    I do want to get out there to see the Cougar Shadow that shows up twice a year during the Spring and Fall Equinox. We just need to time a trip out there to be in Apache Junction, AZ at the right time to see it. It seems so appropriate for this phenomenon to take place in such a sacred and mysterious setting.
    All this makes the area the perfect setting and influence for Lone Arrow’s Pride. I like the new cover for the book. It fits nicely with the other recent covers. They tell so much more about the story than the old bodice ripper style covers do. Stay well and hopefully the weather and disasters are not affecting you adversely.

    • Hi Patricia!

      I had no idea of any of this until I sat there with my husband and brother-in-law telling me these stories. They actually had quite a few adventures there. My brother-in-law insists there is a god of mountains there — and he called the god the weather god. Stories and stories that captivated me. I’ve been there, but from afar, although once my husband and I took a drive through those mountains.

      We are doing pretty well…yes, the weather is unusual in so many places. We have a snowstorm that’s supposed to come in tomorrow. But, this is February and this is typical weather for the Northeast. Thanks for your post, Patricia. Hope you and yours are doing well.

Comments are closed.