Here is this weeks excerpt from my latest novel, The Awakening of Russell Henderson. Stay tuned for next week’s.

We drove in silence. I was lost in my thoughts of last night as we continued north on Highway 83 to White River and turned left on 183 towards the Badlands National Park and then to Rapid City. We went through the little town of Wanblee and to the Badlands. We didn’t have time to do a tour or any hiking, but we did go to an overlook. We stared out on a ghostly moonscape of eye numbing white rising out of a grassy base. Weathered, tortured spires and rimpled bluffs  went on forever into the distance. I stood there in awe. I could not believe what I was seeing. My chest almost ached with wonder of this landscape. My awe turned into an overwhelming emotion, bringing a huge lump in my throat and tears to my eyes. 

Hanna broke her silence and said, “This is so amazing. I had no idea that anyplace like this could exist on the face of this planet. What do you think?”

Seeing this and everything that happened yesterday, I was full of unknown feelings and I couldn’t answer her. I was too choked up. I simply looked at her, smiled a weak smile and nodded.

My muse has been resting somwhere and I need to wake her up so I’m going to write some haiku for a while to get her going again. Here’s No. 1. Hopefully stay tuned for more.

 Illusions abound.
 We walk through desperate lives.
 Birds still sing their songs.

Here is this weeks excerpt from my latest novel, The Awakening of Russell Henderson. Stay tuned for next week’s.

He went to the entrance, got down on all fours and crawled in. Hanna followed and I followed her. We entered and went to the left around the pit in the center. John and Hanna located and I located next to her, sitting cross legged.  We were on bare dirt. It smelled of sweat and some other smell I couldn’t define. Others followed, six other men and five women, until we were fairly packed in. I was uncomfortable in confined places to begin with, and to be crowded in with strangers made it even more uncomfortable. I took some deep breaths and tried to relax. I felt my heart pounding.

When all were settled, Raymond began placing the red hot rock into the pit with a pitch fork. Then he lowered the flap. It was pitch black. I suddenly felt the intense heat hit my body like it might feel to walk into a blast furnace. John began a chant with words I guessed were his native Lakota language. While I didn’t understand, I was guessing he was calling in the spirits as Hanna had said. My nervousness had left. I was becoming entranced by the chanting. I could feel some sort of emotion building in my chest. I looked around in the pitch black and could swear I saw shapes moving about. I immediately closed my eyes. John finished his chant and apparently poured a ladle of water on the rocks because I heard the sizzle and the steam hit me like a punch. It was so hot. I immediately began to sweat. I heard one of the participants begin to speak, also in Lakota. After some time the first person ended and everyone said, “Ho,” and another started.I was finding it hard to breath and was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. It proceeded around until I was up. All I could say was, “I pass.”