The Englishman
and the Majican Indian was previously published by Bluewood
Publishing as The Sailor and The Carpenter. When the
publishing rights reverted to me, the first thing I did was to try to
find a more appropriate and eye-pleasing cover. I hope this new one
fits the bill.
I also decided to
change the title to something more appropriate. Timothy Beadle is the
Englishman and Jaimenacho is the Majican (Mexican) Indian. How
Timothy reaches the shores of Baja California is a story in itself as
is Jaimenacho surviving a smallpox outbreak that decimated his tribe
and his fortune being found by passing Franciscan friars.
Citing this as
Historical Fiction with Religious connotations does not fully explain
the contents of the story. There are the liaisons formed with Indian
girls that set the boys on rapid paths to adulthood. We learn of
dedicated soldiers who give their all to serve the Spanish crown to
protect the friars in an unknown and possibly dangerous frontier. We
are introduced to Fernando Rivera, a unsung hero of Mexican history,
raised from a mere soldier to territorial governor and then back to
being a mere captain. And, most of all, we learn of Junipero Serra, a
man of poor health who overcomes his bodily failings to tirelessly
strive to bring The Word of God to the natives of the New World. He
treats them as his children and strives with all his might to give
them the skills to make a better life.
I have given new
titles and covers to books Two and Three of the series. And, I’ve
written and re-written a fourth book about the ending of the Mission
Era and the devastation of the California Indians at the hand of the
budding American government of California.
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