Warrior's Song Cries Out To Each Of Us! Listen!

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"a 'Vision Quest,' they called it. These young boys would isolate themselves
for a period of time and pray they would receive a vision to chart the course
of their lives. The boys who participated in it would come back as men--
as warriors..."

Warrior's Song


  By Thomas M. Hill


When you read that this book is the "first in a four-part series that documents some of the most formative years in Parker's life as he crosses the great threshold into adulthood," you may immediately think it is a typical coming-of-age story...NOT... Thomas M. Hill's bio states that he is "an avid student of philosophy, history, politics, and social science." Indeed this first novel has a literary flair that merges this knowledge effectively into his fictional storyline!

Do you believe in destiny? Do you think an individual can be "called" for a specific purpose? I must admit that as I got involved with this story, I began to hypothesize what Parker Shaw might ultimately be at the end of the series. I found, I automatically began to wonder about his becoming president of the United States...and what an individual might be like as a president who was fulfilling his "destiny."

Would he be the "best ever" leader of our country? Or, would he fail having to deal with "the likes of us" here in America... I admit I was intrigued to consider the...possibility...

Parker Shaw is 20 when we enter his life. He is a student at the University of Virginia, in government. His father was a lawyer and his older brother became a lawyer as well and his family has been pushing him to follow in that path.

His personal interests have never led him to automatically follow so when he has a dream and then several other, shall we say, other-worldly experiences, he begins to really consider what his future holds for him.

Leaving school only meant that he would have a short summer before he returned to the University of Virginia, the school that had been established by Thomas Jefferson, a man for whom Parker had great respect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson

He had shared with his family about taking a Native American history class and learning of how some tribes considered it was a rite of passage for young men to go off into the wilderness for a while and just try to survive the best way they could with no food or water--that he wanted to do something similar. His father, however, was firm that he at least go for the interview at the Washington, D.C. firm. But there in Washington, he went to visit with The Thomas Jefferson Monument. He spoke as if talking to his mentor about all that he had learned, the teachings of Plato, whose words had made such an impression on him--as well as had Jefferson's. So many thoughts ran through his mind as he looked up to Jefferson's face and spoke of wanting to be like Lewis and Clark that Jefferson had sent out.

And as he thought, perhaps a form of prayer, he suddenly knew that he was supposed to go...

When he left the monument that day, he immediately met a fellow U.Va. classmate and adventurer extraordinaire, Sam Lukas, who was also a government major. Sam would become Lewis's Clark as they set off that summer...

As they traveled, Parker began to share about his vision of being a young Indian man...who had been killed by American soldiers... It was when they discovered that they could pinpoint exactly where the young Indian had died, that they knew they must find that spot. When they did, an older Indian told Parker that he had been waiting for him a long time...

Travel with a young man on his very own quest that, actually, followed his vision! A man following his destiny!

It may just be the path you may some day choose for yourself.

This book is so very inspirational. There are many young men in the United States who will study for and enter government activities at some time in their lives. They may have taken the same classes as Parker and Sam, but will they have the same drive, the need to reach out and know even more. If you have a teenage son, or daughter, looking toward college, I highly recommend this book be read by the entire family. Hill writes fluently from what he had studied, but more importantly merges his own personal philosophy that has undoubtedly evolved, and shares it with us as we each strive for success in today's world. This literary gem is undoubtedly the first in what will become a treasure of conceptual thinking and insight that will surely spark new enthusiasm in the lives of each and every reader. Don't miss the opportunity!

Book Received
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GABixlerReviews

Interview with Rome Sims - Author of Inside Awake

Rome, thank you for sharing a little with Book Reader's Heaven today! Where are you from?

I'm a current resident of San Diego California, but I'm from Racine, Wisconsin and grew up later in the metropolitan area of St. Paul/Minneapolis Minnesota.

So, when did you start writing?

I began writing at a very young age in Racine. My mother often scolded me for composing adventurous tales past bedtime, and frequently found me beneath a blanket with pencil, paper and flashlight, writing wondrous fiction well into the night. Back then, it was a means of escape. Those stories took me to far away places, from the chaos of a fairly large and somewhat typical dysfunctional family.

I suppose that’s how and when I developed my vivid imagination. Sometimes, I’d wish that I were riding into battle with the knights of King Arthur’s Roundtable or looking for fossils on a dark and cold Saturn moon. It was moments like those, when I was alone, that really defined me. I became very curious about the world, and consequently, extremely interested in all aspects of the natural and applied sciences. As a kid, I read any and everything that I could get my hands on regarding subject matters pertaining to anthropology to biology to physics.

Well, your book, Inside Awake, surely reflects all of that reading--it's a wonder you haven't written your first novel earlier! But perhaps your interest in science took on a life of its own?

I remember once while in my mother’s kitchen, using her pots and pans to mix spices, grass, broken sticks, crushed glass and dirt, trying to cook up a cure for every disease imaginable. And although that moment has long since past, every so often, I can still feel the sting of that admittedly justifiable paddling.

Hmmm, I think that would have stifled my "work" a little too! So when did you get serious about writing?

My first attempt at serious writing came when I asked and got permission to start a school newspaper while in 6th grade at Lincoln Elementary School. I recruited a couple of other students as reporters, and with the assistance of my teacher, Mr. Griffith as the editor/overseer, the two pages of the Lincoln Press was born. I don’t think I was really interested in journalism, but I learned the art of objectivity which further improved my skills, and I was able to write something other people would read.

And regarding your comment about writing my book earlier? Now you would think, a kid with a slightly above average IQ, rich imagination, and a natural writer (for the craft, for me, is as innate as speech)…surely, the road to success would be already paved with glittering stones of success…but au contraire. And it’s not to say that I haven’t had some success in the business world, for I’ve had a fair share. However, what I fail to realize, until later in life, is that sometimes for most of us, the past is difficult to escape, and sometimes for an unfortunate few, it won’t let you escape.

We are all inherently born with an inner voice whose sole purpose is to guide us safely on our journey through life so that we may be humane and fruitful. However, when traumatized, the human spirit manifests itself as a dark cloud of distrust and emotional seclusion. The condition eats away at the soul, consuming character, strength and will, eventually becoming comfortable like old leather. Our inner voice, that which guided us, becomes as distant as the sun.

I’d like for you to read a quote I penned, when one day while contemplating…well….me, I had a brief moment of undeniable clarity.

"Everyone is running from something. But if we’re lucky, really lucky, fate intervenes and presents an opportunity to conquer our fears. Only then, if triumphant, can a destiny bestowed become a destiny fulfilled."

Sad to say that in today's world that may be true; but, on the other hand, I think destiny is sometimes disguised... Sometimes the past may be rekindled, because that adventure that you dreamed about as a child is certainly in your book!

Well, I write as a means of discovery, and to share in that journey. And I can guarantee two things you will discover from reading my novels; my books will always be entertaining, and the characters will teach you something about yourself as they have taught me. Because when it really comes down to it, inside, I am like you, and you, like me.

Ahhh, but there is also complementary people...people like you, the writers. People like me, the readers! Yes, we may be alike, but you just may find that your new fans will fulfill and create a destiny that you never had even thought would be!

Thank you so much for sharing yourself with us today, Rome! Best wishes in your writing on the followup book to Inside Awake--The Commission!