Shadows Over Dawnland
I am happy to announce that my first historical novel will be published this summer by the Beacon Publishing Group (beaconpublishinggroup.com)!
Shadows Over Dawnland tells the tragic story of the impact of the arrival of English settlers along the shore of what is now Southern Connecticut and the impact their arrival had on the Indigenous Quinnipiac who had called the region home for thousands of years.
Told through the eyes of a Quinnipiac shaman I gave the name of Ponaim, it chronicles the historic events that took place between 1630 and 1686 that all but destroyed the Quinnipiac people due to disease, ecological collapse, and cultural marginalization.
Having lost his parents and sister as a young boy due to a smallpox epidemic that decimated his village of Mennunkhtuck as well as the other Quinnipiac villages, Ponaim is taken in by the great shaman of the Quinnipiac, Commossuck. Thus he begins a life-long struggle along with his mentor to save his people and their culture. Will he be successful?
In writing Shadows Over Dawnland, I followed closely the actual historical events that shaped this period of English/Quinnipiac interaction. In doing so, I sought to honor the actual Quinnipiac who lived during the time by using their names; those of the sachems such as Shaumpishuh, the female sachem of Mennunkhtuck and those of individuals who’s names were recorded by the English.
Stay tuned fro more information on Shadows Over Dawnland.
About Me
The past is all around us, it has shaped who we are just as our time will shape that of those who come after us. As an author I am driven to tell the stories, sometimes little known, that have given meaning to our lives and where we live..
Below is the image of the face of Hobomock on the ridge in North Guilford Ct. called Bluff Head.
Author James T Powers 