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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENEW BOOK LAUNCHES HISTORICAL TRILOGY INTO THE SECRET DIARIES OF CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AS WE CELEBRATE THE 400TH BIRTHDAY OF JAMESTOWN 1607 TO 2007Take a Step Back in Time as America’s First Permanent English Settlement is Brought to Life in a New Historical Trilogy; In the Land of Whispers.Kingston, New York, March 2007 – As we celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the Jamestown Colony this year, The Weight of Smoke by George Robert Minkoff, (McPherson & Company/Ingram Distributors, December 2006, hardcover, $24.95), is the first novel of the historical trilogy, In the Land of Whispers, that depicts the first two disastrous years at Jamestown and the desperate struggle for the colonies founding father, Captain John Smith’s survival. The founding of Jamestown in 1607 sparked a series of cultural encounters that were pivotal to the history of the nation and the world. As a band of English adventurers landed on Virginia’s shore with dreams of riches, power, and independence — the world they were about to encounter was one they could never have imagined! Harsh weather, lack of food and water, disease, power struggles amongst the settlers, and attacks from Algonquian tribes of the Native American’s almost destroyed the colony the first year. We meet the ambitious, young Smith, as he rises to a leadership role among the settlers — while at the same time trying to resist the growing temptation of power, lust, and desire. The lure to overstep his authority, or to relinquish his self-possession, or to yield to his desire for Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas, creates a great internal strife for Smith. In December of 1607, he’s captured and taken to meet Chief Powhatan, where it is alleged his life was spared at the behest of Pocahontas, and it is believed in fact that he was involved in a ritual to symbolize his death and rebirth as a member of the tribe. This pivotal event created a friendly relationship with Smith and the colonists, however, it would eventually create doubt for many who supported him, and would enrage those who opposed him. The growing conflict in the colony was wrought with hatred, greed, and willful misunderstanding and Smith’s initiation would only complicate this as he became caught between two worlds. Told by Smith and a former alchemist, Jonas Profit, and old sailor driven by a furious guilt, who decades before had been Sir Francis Drake’s right arm when that scourge of the Spanish Armada was Queen Elizabeth’s pirate of choice. As Profit recounts around the Jamestown campfires Drake’s bold challenge to the Spanish rule of the Caribbean seas, John Smith hears the unmistakable ring of person prophesy: not how his own acts in this brave new world will be measured not by his immortal glory, but by degrees of desperation. The Weight of Smoke begins George Robert Minkoff’s three-volume epic historical fiction, In the Land of Whispers — a visionary witnessing of the birth of the British Empire recovered from the secret diaries of Captain John Smith. The Dragons of the Storm, volume two is scheduled to be published in July 2007, and the final volume, The Leaves of Fate will be published in January 2008. # # # The Weight of Smoke Historical Trilogy: The Dragons of the Storm, volume two of the historical trilogy by George Robert Minkoff’s, In the Land of Whispers is publishing in July, 2007. This is the book of trial and expulsion as we see Smith rise to power to become president and save Jamestown, only later to be condemned for his trouble, and finally to suffer a terrible wounding. As Profit relates the terrifying circumnavigation of the globe by Drake, and the eventual sinking of the Spanish Armada, we find ourselves along for the ride as Smith battles once again for his survival. The Leaves of Fate is the final volume of the historical trilogy, In the Land of Whispers by George Robert Minkoff. Scheduled to be release in January 2008, this volume follows Smith as he is forced to return to England — never to set foot in the Jamestown colony again. Despite his successful expedition to map the New England coast, Smith is cast aside. The colonies move inexorable toward a slave economy. Smith is reduced to the role of witness, but becomes a best-selling author. His reunion with Pocahontas in England is brief and bitter. Praise for The Weight of Smoke by George Robert Minkoff: “An excellent, vivid evocation of the beginnings of the Jamestown Colony. There was a continent to be grabbed – the great American middle, between the French in Canada and Spain in the Caribbean – but the grabbing was not easy. And, in a broader sense, it’s a story of Europeans encountering full-face the might of the American wilderness and the peoples who inhabited it.” Larry McMurtry “A vivid retelling of crucial events, enlivened with aphorisms and, best of all, a new incarnation of a legendary romance.” William T. Vollman “A truly unforgettable experience. The style makes me feel language is an utterly new instrument again, vital and pliable. George Robert Minkoff has given us back so much of what we have erased in order to survive by forgetting.” Jorie Graham |
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