The book is called "How the Strong Survive" (and for those who don't
know who I'm talking about, the author is Newton Love).

Ben Pace is a Lakhota Sioux apparently transported from the "Rez" to
the environs of Baltimore.  The book takes place in that area of
Maryland. John Keagey is a serial rapist, who was  tried for the rapes
of four women, but found not guilty, not because he was innocent, but
because he's a member of the powerful Kinkaed family who could afford
high priced lawyers and could exert their influence to get the verdict
they want.

Ben is referred to the women to extract justice, which he agrees to
do, but in the Lakhota way, which looks for spiritual healing of the
victims in the process. He devises a plan to do this which takes back
the power Keagey stole from the women why imposing a form of
punishment that was not handed out by the authorities, but for some
reason, it's unsatisfactory. More needs to be done, and it is, in
Lakhota fashion.

I don't want to say any more, because the bulk of the book is taken up
with the planning and execution of Ben's plan, and to get into it more
would be a spoiler. It's not a murder mystery, or crime novel like you
would be used to, in that the crimes are committed before the book
starts, and the perpetrator is known. The only mystery is whether Ben
will succeed in extracting the justice the women seek.

Ben must resort to the ways and means of the Lakhota people to help
him in the process, since, while he is a healer, he's still a bit of a
novice. There is a lot of spiritual discussion between Ben and his
guides in Nature, and ordinarily, I would have had a hard time
suspending my disbelief, as, for instance, Ben has regular discussions
with a raven, who is his primary spiritual guide.

However, in a weird but pleasant way, it all works. Newt uses humor to
create a relationship between Ben and his guides, so that by the end
of the book, I was very comfortable with his reliance on things I
would have found odd (as a proverbial white man) in real life. I found
myself reading these discussions more as metaphorical conversatons Ben
had with himself as he worked out the intricacies of his plan, than as
real life conversations. The book is written in a way that allows
that, and I think only a talented writer can pull it off. I think of
John Connolly's spiritual interludes as comparison.

So in short, I give the book a definite thumbs up.  

Patricia, I'll send it up tomorrow.

Patricia
[to email remove the knot]

However, John - I've met you, and I believe I can say without
reservation that you are an actual white man.

Patricia will be sending the book around RAM, if you want to wait till
she's done.

John,
Since I sent you the RAM pass around copy of HTSS,
I have not been able to take a deep breath while reading
RAM. The anticipation and anxiety of "Will he like it?"
has been almost too much.  I am glad that you read it and
gave us your "read" on my "write."

Jr@Ease  wrote more:

Jr@Ease  wrote more:

May I please have your permission to quote your comments
(without edits / changes) on my web page for the book?

Blessings on your path,

newt

Some Lakhota believe that stones are alive and talk, while others
don't. From the modernist perspective, they scoff at those who
believe in things that are only provable by faith in ancient stories.

Those groups can be seen in any society. There are those who
walk by faith, and those who are agnostic or athiest.

I rewrote the Ben Pace and Raven-Who-Hops dialogs
many times, until I felt that they were in the realm you
identified.  Is Ben Pace really so saturated in his spirituality
that his participation in the real world is through a fractured
psyche, or is his religion a methodology for processing a
complex world that he came to depend on after the fall from
the telephone pole broke his back?

For that matter, what is religion?  The age-old questions are
still with us. Did God invent Man, or Man invent God. Do we
through our superstitions imagine divine beings to blame or
explain phenomena outside our control?  Were the existentials
of old actually mental patients that got good publicity, or were
they right about how we can participate with the creator(s) of
the universe?

I do not attempt to answer those questions.  I wrote characters,
some with profound spiritual beliefs, and some with none at
all, excepting maybe a strong Cynicism.

Through it all, I hoped to find a resonate thread between them,
namely that violence against women is wrong. That is why
I wrote the crimes occurring before the book started.

I wanted to turn the typical serial killer / rapist genre on
its ear.  My wife Nance is my 1st reader.  I took a clue from
her that she was tired of books that spent a large percentage
of the pages in squeemishly detailed descriptions of violence
against women. When the killer / rapist was finally caught,
they were treated with gentleness and given their Miranda
Rights.  At most was a little physical scuffling while the
killer / rapist resisted arrest.

I didn't want to repeat that.  I decided to make the violence
against women occur before the book started.  The female
protagonist, Rita, is able to show one of her knife wound
scars as prooof the rape occurred, but the actual degradation
that happened to Rita is never written.  On the other hand,
the degradation of the rapist was completely open for
exploitation to the writer.  I decided to take that approach.

I asked myself, what would happen if the "frontier justice"
of the 1800s were applied to a modern crime?  The unbridled
nature of "cowboy and indian" relations of the past spilled
over into the pages of HTSS.

So, taking a page from those who have found success in
"morality plays," I wrote HTSS to address the terrible
problem of violence against women.  It is sad that this
occurs in "Christian" countries, but at least it is not codified
in our law as it is in some Muslim / Islamic countries.
I am saddened to read that violence against women is the
fastest growing crime on American Indian reservations
and the surrounding communities.

I wrote the Ben Pace character as an appeal to all men to
stand up and be men. Real men never hit women. If we
see someone physically or verbally abusing a woman,
we step up and tell them that they are sick, and not a man.
Real men rely on inner strength to persuade people. Real
men do not use violence to force others to do their bidding.

That made the metaphor for the book complete.
Might does not make right.
That is true at the individual level, and at the
state-wide level, and at the international level.
I tied the plight of the raped women to the
rape of the Red Nations by the US governement,
and to the great examples of character amidst struggles
shown by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, and
Mahatma Ghandhi.

It was an ambitious plot to tackle, but it seemed that
it was the only plot that would make it all work for me.
I hope it works for readers!

Thanks for the review, John.. Congrats to Newt, sounds like a very
interesting read...
(John or Patricia, can you put me on the mailing list please? ;-))

Pat, if you would like a copy to keep, I will
be happy to autograph one and send it to you.

Let me know who I need to send them to,

Next, I was excited that I had written novels. A few RAMmers told me I
was an idiot, and told me I knew nothing about writing. My opinions on
what made a good novel were stupid.  I was pretty offended. I struck
out, but was beaten back by the posse. I almost quit RAM.  (I have now
1 book in print, and sold two more. I must know something about
writing.)  By that point, I felt like a new author alone against a
huge crowd of RAMmer bullies.

Then, when I pointed out some errors in a few books, a lot of RAMmers
really unleashed on me. They called me a troll and taught me about
kill files. Sure, you can post in RAM, but the RAMmers can ignore you
as a pariah, too.   I went flame-on and faught for myself and for
respect. A few Old-Time RAMmers posted that my critical statements
about absolute errors in K.Slaughter's "Blindsighted" were correct and
justified. That mattered little, since I was on the kill file list,
and disinvited to all the good parties.  I took Sparkle Hayter's
advice and just vanished.

Months later, some RAMmers posted sarcastic insults about me
concerning the January Magazine interview I did on Sparkle with my co-
author Delphine Cingal. I guess I am not allowed to have feelings.

I stayed away from RAM and wrote and sold novels.  I came back,
timidly, only because some nice RAMmers started posting "where are
you" and "come back" notices that were forwarded to me by email.

If you notice, I am avoiding OT posts. I am not posting my views on
books or on writing topics.  I am not going to risk anyone posting
messages calling me an idiot or troll again.  If I don't post my
oppinions, I can't be ridiculed or taken to task for them. Perhaps
after I have 20 books in print, maybe a few awards and a few best
sellers, those who told me I know nothing about writing may allow that
I do know a thing or two on the topic.

I can still feel the sting of the vitriol thrown at me by RAMmers back
then. I think I have some scar tissue that may never disolve. No
matter... I realize that I am imperfect, and as such need to forgive
as much as I hope I can be forgiven. I have worked hard at forgiving
those who posted in RAM some of the most hurtful things I have ever
had directed at me.  I hope some of you will forgive me for having and
defending my opinions. I have worked hard to forget the specifics of
who posted what about me, and all the hurtful names I was called.  I
don't remember calling anyone a name, but if I did, I am truly sorry.

I really hope you all can get to know me. Me, the real newt, not that
guy you think you met when I was (out of character) fighting. In my
regular life, I am well known as a generous, kind, and loving man. I
have volunteered nearly a thousand hours of community service, am a
ten gallon blood donor, and have supported a lot of "pay-forward"
writers events. I endeavor to produce harmony and working together in
everything I do. I could point you to evidence, but that probably
doesn't matter.  What matters is what you see.  Perhaps reading my
book will help open your eyes to who I really am.

I poured my soul into HTSS, a book that I hope will help in the fight
against violence against women, and for equality of the Red Nations in
America and Canada. From the first day of writing, I hoped it would
have an impact for good, like To Kill a Mockingbird had on America.  I
have contributed money to both causes. I have attended rallies and
prayer vigils for both causes.

Read my book and discuss stuff with me. Maybe you will see what kind
of man I really am.  I hope I do really get a 2nd chance in RAM. I am
not a troll, and you can remove my name from your kill file.

Blessings on your paths,

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I remember you coming here, and posting, and a lot a posts directed at
you were, shall I say, negative. The word troll may have been used,
but I was called a troll too, so I don't make much of it. I will say
in all honesty, that much of whatever it was you read was a reaction
to you, and your posts, so you have to know that it was not all
one-sided. You were partially responsible for whatever you
experienced, good, bad or indifferent. As we all are with all of our
posts.  I too don't remember the details,  probably because  they were
inconsequential, in my eyes. You said things, others disagreed. Hey,
that's RAM. Were you here when Greg showed up? If not, I would have to
say that he dealt with far worse than you did, and he's still here
(off and on) and I think everyone respects him. I think we respect you
too. I personally respect anyone that can actually write a book, get
it published,and have it keep my interest.  So kudos to you for doing
that, and for coming back here and telling us about it. Stick around,
feel free to add to on and off topic posts. It's the only way to
settle in, in my humble opinion. Sure, some will disagree, but again,
shit, this is RAM. Get over it. :)

Got your book in a box from Momma Pat today and it is very close to
the top of TBR after I finish my current book and one I volunteered to
review.  I really think I will enjoy it from her review of it.

Congratulations on getting published.