Storykeeper - Book Tour and Giveaway

Storykeeper
Nine-Rivers Valley Book 1
by Daniel A. Smith
Genre: Historical Fiction 

"A stunning novel and a joy to read" Helen Hollick, Managing Editor - Historical Novel Society

"Smith writes fluidly, and the society he depicts is intriguingly complex." - Kirkus Reviews

"Steeped in immediacy and vivid detail." D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer - Midwest Book Review

     The first recorded Europeans to cross the Mississippi River reached the western shore on June 18, 1541. Hernando De Soto and his army of three hundred and fifty conquistadors spent the next year and a half conquering the nations in the fertile flood plains of eastern Arkansas.
     Three surviving sixteenth-century journals written during the expedition detailed a complex array of twelve different nations. Each had separate beliefs, languages, and interconnected villages with capital towns comparable in size to European cities of the time. Through these densely populated sites, the Spanish carried a host of deadly old-world diseases, a powerful new religion, and war.
     No other Europeans ventured into this land until French explorers arrived one hundred and thirty years later. They found nothing of the people or the towns that the Spanish had so vividly described. For those lost nations, the only hope that their stories, their last remaining essence will ever be heard again lies with one unlikely Storykeeper.
 
~~~Editorial Reviews of Storykeeper, winner of Best Indie Book Award 2013

"'A man without a story is one without a past,' Smith writes, 'and a man without a past is one without wisdom.' By the time readers have wandered freely through the strange realm of the Storykeeper, they may well find those words more prophetic, and more powerful." - Kirkus Reviews

"Storykeeper is a complex read . . . With both perspective and time in flux, readers are carried along on a historical and cultural journey that, while compelling, requires attention to detail: not for those seeking light entertainment, it's a saga that demands - and deserves - careful reading and contemplation." D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer - Midwest Book Review
 
"I was not only entertained by this book, but educated about a period of history of which I knew nothing. I loved the chapter structure which has a rhythm of its own, all wrapped in an attractive and appropriate cover. I have no hesitation in recommending this book no matter where your historical interest may lie. I give it 5 stars!" Helen Hollick, Managing Editor - Historical Novel Society (Editor's Choice)
 
"Smith has created a wealth of history and culture that will make you weep. Creating words and phrases with a poetic sense, building a feel for Native American culture that feels so genuine and, yet, is eminently readable." Kathy Davie - Books, Movies, Reviews!
 
"I love this story, and I applaud Daniel A. Smith on his diligent research. Smith writes some strong characters in this gripping story. Every human emotion is engaged, and at times I felt like I was right there with Manaha and the tribes who fought against DeSoto. Superbly done. I'm sure I will be reading this book again." SK - The Jelly Bomb Review
 
"The book's images, enhanced by objective historical writing are portals into the distant past, sometimes humorous, often heartbreaking, but always illuminating." Fred Petrucelli - Log Cabin

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​That evening, she gathered with the others around the square-ground west of the plaza. In the warm months, the sunken clay-packed clearing, enclosed by four open-front sheds, served as the village council site. It once was a place of stories and words of wisdom. The sacred fire still burned in the center, but no one told stories anymore.
Now they gathered with a common face of despair to watch the flames consume wood like so many flickering memories. Her own memories, stirred by last night’s dream, forced her to look upon her people differently.
Manaha gathered her courage and stepped from under the thick thatched roof of the Blue Lodge. She pulled the woven scarf she always wore even tighter and marched to the center of the grounds with her arms hanging as if both were the same.
Stepping inside the fire-circle, she turned toward the White Lodge. “I wish to speak to the village.” She did not wait for a reply. “I must tell a dream that came to me last night.”
Voices of protest from the Red Lodge clamored above the murmurs of general disapproval. Ta-kawa of the Cougar clan, the best hunter of the village, shouted the loudest. “Go back to your place, woman! You have no right to speak before the village fire.”
“I must tell my dream,” she said.
“No. You cannot speak here.” Ta-kawa stood tall and proud of every war scar. “Tell your dream to an elder if you must.”
“Hold your tongue, warrior!” Hazaar commanded. The honored elder slowly rose from his position at the center of the White Lodge. Sad eyes, set deep in his taut, weathered face, drifted from lodge to lodge.
“She will tell her dream,” he said. “If it has meaning, it will be for each listener to regard or cast away, on their own.”
After both men sat down, Manaha breathed deeply and spoke out in a strong voice. She told of a great peaceful valley, where she found death, annihilation, and a brown bear. She stammered as she relived the pain of losing her arm. And she repeated what the Great Brown Bear told her: “Become the storyteller your people need, and you shall have your arm back.”

~~~

Manaha bowed her head. She could feel every eye staring at the arm hanging at her side. Murmurs swelled all about.
“There are no more brown bears,” Ta-kawa shouted above all the others. “Your dream means nothing here.” Manaha closed her eyes to her surroundings. After a moment, she bent over, cupped her hand, and extended her good arm to Mother Earth. Raising it to her face, she blew into her palm. Then in a sweeping circle, she cast the power of the dream to those gathered about. A second sweep circled slower, and the third silenced the last voice.
She spoke. “Grandfather told me long ago, ‘a man without a story is one without a past, and a man without a past is one without wisdom.’ If we do not teach the children as our elders taught us, all that has gone before will be lost.”
“Teach the past?” Ta-kawa shouted. “The past should be forgotten and with it any talk of the strangers. The deaths and the defeat of the ancestors have no honor here.”
“Listen, Ta-kawa. Listen all of you,” Hazaar said. “I believe the dream is a warning.”
They all turned to look at Hazaar. The elder held out his arms and opened both hands. “This was a family in Nine-Rivers Valley.” Wiggling his fingers, he said, “Brothers, mothers, sisters, children—this is a family before the strangers.”
Hazaar sadly studied each of his flexing fingers then slowly closed both fists one finger at a time except for the last one, wrinkled and bent. He held it up and turned it in front of his face. “When they left,” he said, “this is all that remained of that family.”
He walked the circle, pointing at each of the four sheds. “We are all that remain. Our ancestors were from different nations, but together we are the last people of Nine-Rivers Valley.
We cannot hold the gifts of our ancestors. We have lost them. We cannot visit their graves; there were none. We cannot speak their names because we have forgotten them. Stories are all we have.”

Also by the author, a telling of the inspiration behind Storykeeper:

One summer weekend, my wife and I were enjoying one of our favorite pastimes, exploring the back roads of Arkansas. The state has such a diversity of landscapes and inspiring scenery, a day-drive is always an adventure. We happened to drive through an out-of-the-way community with a number of unusual spherically-shaped boulders or orbs (diameters ranging from 1 to 4.5 feet), prominently displayed in front of homes, businesses and even the local post office. These intriguing boulders piqued my curiosity and pulled me back to the mysterious area many times over the next few years. In the orb stones, I didn’t find the story I was searching for and needing to write, but I discovered a palatable mystic, an inquisitive urge and inspirations that influenced and contributed my historical novel, Storykeeper.

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Orb Stones and Geoglyphs: A Writer's Journey
by Daniel A. Smith
Genre: NonFiction, Biography, Geology 

A soulful mix of writing, geology, rock and roll, and ancient lost nations comes from the author of the award winning historical novel, Storykeeper. The thought-provoking account of a ten-year search for mystical orbs, mysterious earthworks, and forgotten history intends to inspire the storyteller in all of us to begin their own journey.

"Highly recommended for a wide audience." Donovan's Literary Services - Midwest Book Review

"More an adventure tale than a chronicle of schooling." Big Al - Books and Pals


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Daniel grew up in Arkansas. In his youth, he began working for his father riding in a Studebaker pick-up truck around the state, servicing refrigeration units in tourist courts and small country stores. Years later, Daniel traveled some of those same back roads for his own business, installing sound systems. For the first time, he began to notice the surprising number of ancient earthworks that covered the state.

He realized that like most everyone else, he had no idea who built them, when, or why. What began as an observation grew to a driving curiosity to research historical documents and the state's vast archeological findings. The untold stories and lost history all around him inspired Daniel's debut novel, Storykeeper.

Smith began his artistic career as a professional audio engineer. For over thirty-five years, he crossed the country, providing sound engineering services for all types of events from outdoor music festivals, concerts, and political rallies to lectures. A parcel list of celebrities Smith worked with includes numerous dignitaries such as Presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H. Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, and George W. Bush, also Bob Hope, Colin Powell, Paul Harvey, Martha Stewart, and Dr. Ruth, and a wide variety of entertainers, including, Kris Kristofferson, Alice Cooper, Dolly Parton, Steve Martin, Allman Brothers Band, Jimmy Buffet, Barbara Mandrell, Ray Charles, Reba McEntire, Dizzy Gillespie, Iron Butterfly, Dave Brubeck Quartet and Willie Nelson.


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Can you, for those who don't know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
 
I’m not a writer by trade or training. I’m a sound man, an audio tech who spent the last four decades relatively unnoticed in the middle of large crowds surrounded by knobs, faders and meters, quietly controlling what they hear and experience. I have been a sound engineer on concerts in 48 state and 5 provinces in Canada. Traveling around the continent, each new day was a different venue, different crowd and often different artists or events. This broadened my horizon and gave me a unique behind-the-scenes perspective into the ceremony, pageantry, group-bonding, and inherent need of people to gather in mass celebrations.
However, when I write I find that I’m most creative when I’m far from crowds and as close to nature as I can get.

Tell us about Storykeeper. What is it about?

Storykeeper is about a first encounter between two completely different cultures and the tragic results that followed. It unfolds through fireside stories told to and by three protagonists, each a generation apart. In June of 1541, the Spanish conqueror Hernando de Soto and his army of three-hundred conquistadors arrived in the Native American nation of Casqui, forty miles west of present day Memphis, TN.
Below the surface, the novel is really about storytelling. I think it is one of humanity’s most basic and defining characteristic, the unique ability and the driving desire to tell stories. All stories from ancient cave painting to the most structured novel contribute to the enduring nature of humankind and are crucial for the survival of any culture.
A tip for new writers, don’t tell an agent that you are writing a novel about story “telling” even if you are.

What genre is it?

Storykeeper is a historical literary novel, based on actual events documented in four surviving sixteenth-century Spanish journals. It is also a coming-of-age adventure with a cast of thousands in great ceremonies, battles with an amphibious assault, life-changing journeys, and very small love interest. At its core, Storykeeper is a Native American novel, formed and told from their perspective, reflecting their ancient traditions and culture.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?

I hope that it would be appreciated and enjoyed by a wide range of readers. It will appeal to anyone with the desire to learn more about ancient Native American culture and a neglected, formative period of American history. Some of my favorite comments come from readers who say; this is not the type of book that I would normally read, but I really liked it and I learned something.

What are you passionate about these days? 

Music - I’m passionate about music, especially live music. My occupation has afforded me the opportunity to listen to hundreds of entertainers and bands perform live. When live music begins, what would otherwise be a random collection of people become a community. For an hour or two they all share a common joy and lasting memories. The value of live music has been continuously reinforced over thousands of years though all cultures.

What do you do to unwind and relax?

I like to drive out into the country and listen to music usually jazz, when I have had a stressful day even though it’s almost always dark when I get off from work.

How to find time to write as a parent? 

I need to be away, by myself to write and be productive. I prefer to be outdoors or as close as I can. I began my first book by writing on weekends when rest of the family was sleeping-in. I would get up before dawn, drive country roads until I found an isolated, inspiring spot and then start writing in the car or if weather permitted out in the woods. As the story became more demanding, I began getting up on weekdays around 3am and writing until the rest of the family began to stir.

Describe yourself in 5 words or less! 

Hard worker, slow but persistent

When did you first consider yourself a writer? 

I started with no experience or training to consider myself a writer. When I published my first book, I had no sense of how Storykeeper would be received. Then I started getting reviews from readers in England, Canada and across the US. When the reviewers referred to me as a “writer,” complimented my style or included a quote from my book then I felt like I was indeed a writer.

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

My spirit animal would be the Turtle. In the second chapter of my first book, I wrote a short story, called The Great Turtle and the White Bird. I eventually edited it out of the book and published it separately. From that time till now, I have had many turtle encounters at varied places but mostly in my backyard. I have at least 6 shells from turtles that came into my yard to die, mostly box turtles but two were snapping turtles, that crawled a ¼ miles from a near-by lake to my yard to leave their shells.
A couple of times in the last few years I discovered a female turtle digging a hole to bury her eggs. I have even seen a recently-hatched turtle smaller than the palm of my hand. The most amazing turtle sighting I was privileged to witness was of a male and much larger female involved the slow, drawn-out mating ritual of the common box turtle. All that and more just in my backyard seems to indicate that turtles are here for me.

How did you come up with the concept and characters for Storykeeper? 

Early on, while doing research for the project, I realized that the book had to be built around a concept of generational storytelling. It was and is an essential element of the Native American life and important in their effort to combat the further loss of their rich cultures, traditions and knowledge.
As for the three main characters, I had nothing to do with creating them. They came to me of their own volition and on their own time-table. They came full-formed each with a story that needed to be told. I had only to be quiet, patient and listen for those faint, distant voices.

Where did you come up with the names in the story? 

Names were the same kind of situation as the concept, I did not create them. As I wrote each of the three-different storyline, the main characters would eventually reveal their name.

What attracted you to this story, and how much research did you have to do?

I have always been interested in ancient historical monuments, intrigued by their mysteries and drawn into the effort of so many to uncover their lost stories. Driving around my home state on business in the 1990s, I realized that there were prehistoric monuments, mounds, canals, earthworks, and an astonishing host of ancient artifacts in my own backyard. I began reading about Arkansas’s prehistory and learned that the first documented expedition into the state, led by Hernando de Soto, recorded twelve different nations, many densely populated and some eight hundred years old. Within a few years, it is estimated that 90% of that native population had died from diseases carried by the Europeans, famines, drought, and wars.
I wondered, what would it be like to be the last person who remembers? The scenario piqued my curiosity. Over the next three or four years, I visited museums, archeological sites, studied old maps and read all I could find on the time period. But it was an image that came to me on a late-night drive through the Ozark Mountains of old man filled with suppressed stories of haunting losses finding a small abandoned child in her own grave that pushed me to begin writing Storykeeper.


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