Medicine Man 1: Chief of All Time
by
S.R. Howen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Shannon Running Deer is American Indian by blood, but he has forsaken his people's ancient ways to embrace the "modern" world as a wealthy, highly successful trauma surgeon.
His comfortable existence begins to unravel when, seemingly by chance, Shannon finds himself gradually drawn into the past. Pursued by an ancient evil, he knows he can change the future, if he can survive the past.
In the tradition of Diana Gabaldon, S.R. Howen's MEDICINE MAN is a distinctive and atmospheric novel full of spirituality, mystical time travel, romance, passion, and suspense.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
She stood up, undid her jeans, and started lowering them as if I were not staring at her like some lusty teenager. I fled the room and shut the door on her seductive form. I stood in the hallway, leaned against the wall with my eyes shut, and tried to still the passion she invoked in me. I knew she didn’t wear a bra; the absent top buttons on her shirt made it obvious. She also didn’t wear any underwear. Not unless they were much lower on her hips than her partly lowered jeans. In all my adult life, I had never felt like this before.
“You could have her. Take her,” the elk-man’s voice echoed.
“You’ve been too long without a wife,” my grandfather said.
“Leave me alone,” I said, as much to the elk-man voice as to my grandfather.
“You have been too long without a wife,” my grandfather repeated. “Even I remember what it was like to be that ready for a woman.”
I tried to yank my shirt down farther before I opened my eyes to tell him to mind his own business. I got a good view of his back as he went into the guest room. The door shut with a firm thump. The sound of the lock turning made me shake my head.
My grandfather was at his exasperating best. Later, he would wander out of there to raid the refrigerator for whatever he could find. I went into the kitchen and put the teakettle on the stove. The burner lit with a faint whoosh, and I experienced a flash of the medicine dances I’d attended in my youth. The tribal medicine man would throw fine sulfur dust into the fire to make it do the same thing. A grand show, as was everything medicine men did. None of their tricks had worked for my father.
My father, being a firm believer in the old ways, would’nt seek out modern medicine past the point of being told he had terminal cancer. He wouldn’t even consider modern healing mixed with the old beliefs. My own mother turned her back on me after he died.
The teapot shrilled, and Morning Dove’s voice came from the doorway. “I am very tired.”
I took a mug from the shelf above the sink. From a different cupboard, I took down the box of nighttime tea I kept there. I added water and tea to the mug and watched the steam for a moment, before I held it out to her.
“It will help you sleep,” I said when she just looked at the cup.
“I have had enough white-man’s medicines put into me already.” Her eyes flashed with what I took for humor.
“This is a mixture of natural herbs, no preservatives, no artificial colorings, no caffeine. . . ”
With a smile, she took the cup. Her fingers brushed against mine, sending an electric chill along my nerves. I led the way to my study and turned on the gas fireplace. Morning Dove went to the thick sheepskin rug in front of it and sat down. While she sipped the tea, I went to the closet and retrieved a pillow and some blankets. I paused with them in hand to watch her. She sat in the terry robe and held the mug in both hands. She took a small sip and stared into the fire.
Her hair hung down over the robes back in a glimmering wet curtain. One corner of the robe slipped down to reveal her shoulder. I wanted to sink to the floor and wrap myself around her. With a grunt, I pulled myself away from thoughts of intimacy with her. I covered the couch with a sheet and punched the pillow a few times--to fluff it.
The gate buzzer sounded loudly in the silent room. What nut would be out on a night like this unless they had to be? I pulled the door to the study shut and went to answer the gate intercom.
No one answered. When I turned away from it, thinking the storm had made it go off, it buzzed again. Loud and insistent. I jabbed the button.
“Who’s there?”
I heard nothing in return except the thunder rumbling overhead. I pulled open the front door. Down the drive, through the sheets of rain, it looked like a set of round headlights on the other side of the gate. My brother’s Jeep?
I reached back inside and pushed the button to open the gate. Lightening cracked so bright I couldn’t see for a moment. I blinked back the brightness, tried to blink it away again.
It didn’t help. The deer filling my driveway didn’t go away. They ran past the house in a steady stream, an entire herd. Where had they come from? The drums sounded behind me.
My Thoughts:
I was supposed to review this book for this tour, but was unable to get into it. So I will just spotlight it instead and let the reader decide for themselves.
GIVEAWAY:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Medicine Man I: The Chief of All Time (Wild Child Publishing): http://www.wildchildpublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=106&products_id=404&zenid=8e8ea1c48ee3fc580ce3355a6fbb25e8
Medicine Man I: The Chief of All Time (Amazon Ebook): http://www.amazon.com/The-Chief-Time-Medicine-ebook/dp/B009Z2R3BS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353081294&sr=8-1&keywords=medicine+man+howen
Medicine Man I: The Chief of All Time (Amazon Print) : http://www.amazon.com/Medicine-Man-The-Chief-Time/dp/1617980714/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1353081294&sr=8-2&keywords=medicine+man+howen
Medicine Man I: The Chief of All Time (B&N Ebook): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/medicine-man-sr-howen/1113712670?ean=2940015913316
Medicine Man I: The Chief of All Time (B&N Print): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/medicine-man-i-s-r-howen/1113795431?ean=9781617980718
Medicine Man I: The Chief of All Time (Kobo ): http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Chief-of-All-Time/book-_hYNNKIra06osXQdjttbtg/page1.html?s=vNIlqpUbIUaJ6gin-i4ZOA&r=1
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/srhowen
Facebook Author’s Page: http://www.facebook.com/srhowen1
Blog: Critters at the Keyboard http://srhowen1.blogspot.com/
Author Web page: http://srhowen.wix.com/srhowen-1#!home/mainPage
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SRHowen
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3119305.Shaunna_Wolf
Book Blogs: http://bookblogs.ning.com/profile/SRHowen
Authors Den: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?id=166698
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/
Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/shawn-rh/54/1a7/9b6
GIVEAWAY:
S.R. will be awarding a $10 Wild Child Publishing GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
Please follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
Medicine Man is a literary work, along with being a genre piece. In all the other reviews I have read, this book has been rated at 4.5 or above, see Amazon, B&N, and the publisher's web site. Even S.R.Howe's romance titles are more literary than the average romance title. So, I have to wonder why the reviewer couldn't get into the book? Perhaps the ethnic elements were not familiar to the reader, or the literary elements were not expected, but I found this book to be a fantastic read. There are not enough ethnic books out there featuring American Indian's in a contemporary setting that showcase the struggles of being Indian in a modern world, while being drawn into the traditional values of the past, that clash. This book shows that very well, and does so in an insightful, and entertaining way, while it doesn't glorify being Indian, (as the noble savage) as so many other ethnic books do, it gives it to the reader in a realistic manner. If you are looking for a romance, time travel, with spiritual elements, and an element of the supernatural, along with the American Indian view, then this book is for you.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shane, for your kind words. The book is not fluffy, and it does make a person think, which is the point of good fiction, in my mind. I'm glad you enjoyed the read.
DeleteMy friend gave this to me for Christmas. I was quickly pulled into the story, and finished it in just a couple of days. An excellent, multigenre work. The words dance off the page, immersing the reader in a world crafted by a true bard.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the book, and see me as a bard, a high compliment.
DeleteI've had the pleasure of working with this Editor/writer. She's definitely talented in what she does. Medicine Man introduced me to terrific characters, and the lives they live. I was drawn instantly and had a hard time putting it down. I even learned things along the way. It's definitely a must read! I'm looking forward to PART II.
ReplyDeleteThanks Patrick. Book 2 Raven should be out in mid-fall. I'm glad you enjoyed the book and learned something along the way.
Delete“Medicine Man” is definitely worth giving the benefit of the doubt. Time travel, with spiritual/supernatural, and romance all wrapped into a strong and interesting Native American character, hooks me from the word go! I really like the perspective that Howen gives, and how she introduces concepts both familiar and unique to readers. I don’t want to say that the Native American aspect was the only one that sold me on this, but it certainly made for a fascinating look at a culture that either gets Hollywood-ized or marginalized. Howen does neither, and this book is the stronger for it.
ReplyDeleteHigh Praise! Thank you so much RobRoy, I always like to hear form a reader that enjoyed the book for the contemporary American Indian view, that is my intention with my books that feature Indian characters. To present a modern view in a realistic manner. So glad it is working.
DeleteThe author of Medicine Man is a dedicated, gifted editor and fiction creator. The fact the host couldn't finish the book gives substance to the Latin saying: De Gustibus. I always wonder when a reader reviews my book about the background, mood, education, age, life experience the reviewer has. All these elements have a major impact on the reader's opinion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Shane. A book generally graded as 4.5 can't be a DNF. And the elements it includes: romance, time-travel, supernatural are, for me, the ingredients for a must read, for sure. The Native-American element is a plus as it hasn't been tackled seriously so far. I have just added Medicine Man on my TBR list. Best of luck to its author, Mrs. S. R. Howen.
Thanks Carmen, and hope that you find the book as enjoyable as most other readers have.
DeleteI don't know why none of the buy links or where to find me, links are working, but my web site is www.srhowen.com and you can find purchase links at www.wildchildpublishing.com
ReplyDelete