I was inspired by a little known bit of history regarding the Hohokan Indians before I began writing my historical romance debut, CAPTIVE SPIRIT.
When I first moved to Arizona from Illinois, I learned that the Hohokam Indians arrived around 300 BC from ancient Mayan and Aztec cultures and traveled north to settle in the desert valleys formed by the Gila and Salt Rivers in what is now known as Arizona in the American Southwest. They existed peacefully as farmers and master canal builders until the dawn of the sixteenth century when their population vanished for reasons unknown.
Weird, eh?
There are lots of theories as to why the Hohokam vanished—famine, war, climate changes, migration—but no one really knows for sure. And that’s the piece of history that inspired me to write Aiyana’s story in CAPTIVE SPIRIT. Why would a thriving population of 50,000 people just up and leave?
Here’s the back copy blurb for CAPTIVE SPIRIT to give you a little flavor of my novel:
Aiyana isn’t like the other girls of the White Ant Clan. Instead of keeping house, she longs to compete on the Ball Court with her best friend Honovi and the other boys. Instead of marriage, she daydreams of traveling beyond the mountains that surround her small village. Only Honovi knows and shares her forbidden wish, though Aiyana doesn’t realize her friend has a secret wish of his own…
When Aiyana’s father arranges her marriage to a man she hardly knows, she takes the advice of a tribal elder: Run! In fleeing, she falls into the hands of Spanish raiders and finds herself being taken over the mountains against her will. Now Aiyana’s on a quest to return to the very place she once dreamed of escaping. And she’ll do whatever it takes to survive and find her way back to the people she loves.
It took me about a year to research and write CAPTIVE SPIRIT. It has all the things in a novel that I love—epic themes, Native American culture and legends, history, passion, suspense and, of course, a love story.
And now I feel very privileged to share CAPTIVE SPIRIT with you.
Anyone who makes a comment or asks a question today is entered to win a free digital copy of CAPTIVE SPIRIT. Â
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Liz Fichera is an author living in the wild, wild West by way of Chicago. Her debut historical romance novel, CAPTIVE SPIRIT, is available from Carina Press. Please visit her web site at http://www.lizfichera.com/.
0 COMMENTS
Tia Nevitt
14 years agoI tried to comment earlier, but my employer blocks Coffee Time Romance. So, blog owners, feel honored that you are big enough to be blocked!!
Anyway, don’t enter me in the contest because I’m already reading this novel and I’m enjoying it very much. I’m just kind of following you around, but hopefully in a non-creepy way!!
Liz Fichera
14 years ago*Hugs* Tia!
So great to find you here! Wow, your employer blocks Coffee Time? Well, I have a friend who’s employer blocked Twitter. Go figure.
Glad you’re enjoying the book so far. Look forward to hearing what you think of the rest of it! 🙂
Amy S.
14 years agoCaptive Spirit sounds good! What was the most interesting thing you found out about in your research?
Liz Fichera
14 years agoHi Amy,
Probably the most interesting thing about the Hohokam is that they simply vanished and no one really knows why. That’s the piece that has stayed with me for so long. And since it was so long ago and because they were so isolated in the desert, no one knows for sure. A really great place for Native American research is the Phoenix Heard Museum.
Liz Fichera
14 years ago**Announcement!!**
It’s been wonderful blogging at Coffee Time today. Thanks for the great comments and questions. The winner of the free digital copy of CAPTIVE SPIRIT is Amy S.
Amy S.: Please contact me through my web site with your email information. I’d be honored to send you a copy of CAPTIVE SPIRIT.
Thanks!