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In The Wild
Bloodroot follows one man’s story of survival in America’s earliest settlement. What inspired you to write a book about Jamestown in 1609?
I’ve always been a history buff, and I majored in History in college. Jamestown is not far from where I ended up living, so I could imagine what life was like for both the Algonquins and the settlers. I began to imagine what it would be like for a young man raised in a civilized country like England to suddenly have to survive in a wilderness with no amenities.
What were some ideas that guided Matthew’s character development?
I wanted Matthew to be of the working class with working class values. He is practical, and as such chose carpentry as a profession where work would be easily available. This is accentuated by the contrast with his friend Richard’s scholarly pursuits and who ultimately could not survive in the wild environment.
I enjoyed the well defined historical aspects of this book. What kind of research did you undertake to ensure the story was accurate?
I took many trips to Jamestown and studied the architectural reconstructed site, and I was able to make use of much of the historical data they have to offer. I also took advantage of several written accounts in libraries and online to acquire the names of the ships and their captains for the first, second and third supply missions. Everywhere I read, there was a fascinating account of Captain John Smith and the various presidents and governors of the fledgling colony. It was a joy to research.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I have just finished the final edit with my publisher of Blood Before Dawn, the sequel to The Dung Beetles of Liberia. This book focuses on the bloody coup d’état and murder of President Tolbert and will be available December 1, 2021.
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Virginia, 1622. Powhatan warriors prepare war plant from the sacred juice of the bloodroot plant, but Nehiegh, The English son-in-law of Chief Ochawintan has sworn never to kill again. He must leave before the massacre.
England 1609. Matthew did not trust his friend, Richard’s stories of Paradise in the Jamestown settlement, but nothing could have equipped him for the violence and privation that awaited him in this savage land.
Once ashore in the fledging settlement, Matthew experiences the unimaginable beauty of this pristine land and learns the meaning of hope, but it all turns into a nightmare as gold mania infests the community and Indians become an increasing threat. The nightmare only gets worse as the harsh winter brings on “the starving time” and all the grizzly horrors of a desperate and dying community that come with it.
Driven to the depths of despair by the guilt of his sins against Richard and his lust for that man’s wife, Matthew seeks death.
In that moment of crisis, when he chooses death over a life of depravity, he unexpectedly finds new life among his sworn enemy, the Powhatan Indians.
What will this new life mean for Matthew, and will he survive?
The Dung Beetles of Liberia
![The Dung Beetles of Liberia: a novel based on true events by [Meier, Daniel V. Jr.]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41pzVomjteL.jpg)
An adventure story of a young man trying to escape his past and punish himself for the death of his brother. Set in the wild and lawless country of Liberia, this story is an epic roller coaster ride that takes you through the exciting highs of life in a proper libertarian society, while not being shy about the harsh realities of life without law. It has romance, action, villains and an unconventional good guy pilot who might be rough on the outside but has a big heart for the country he decided to call home. Quite an education into the airline industry in a third world nation.
This novel does a great job of highlighting some inconvenient truths of emerging countries who accept deals from international companies and the harshness that occurs to the regular people.
Resource rich nations with uneducated citizens have been dominated by the rich since history began and The Dung Beetles of Liberia does a fantastic job at unmasking the on the ground truth of this exploitative situation.
Told through the eyes of a young American man running away from his problems back home, it does a great job of placing him in many different situations and meeting many different people involved in the shady business of a resource rich country, capitalizing on the lack of education of the majority of its people.
Some of the language used makes it hard to read when the author is trying to convey the accents of the natives and other pilots in the story. I felt that it could do without the misspelling of words that conveyed and the accents of characters.
The plot of the story is a bit scattered, leaving me to wonder what the central adventure/struggle was that the main character should overcome. Whilst this kept things interesting, it would have preferred to have had a few less love interests, and a stronger focus on just a few issues Ken was to face in his journey.
Overall, this story is well worth a read and does a great job in depicting what it would be like in an emerging 3rd world country that is run by dictators who are making obscene amounts of money off the backs of the native people. This is a story that is hard to put down and keeps you on your toes as to what will happen next, right down to the last chapter.
Pages: 289 | ASIN: B07PJ1K929
LITERARY TITAN 