Carl R Brush

1859 San Francisco. Nita-short for "Bonita," her mother's name-is an energetic, intelligent, precocious twelve-year-old. She yearns for adulthood, chafes at the notion that she's a little girl, not ready for the challenges that beset her in the turmoil of this new city on the brink of cataclysmic upheaval. Readers follow Nita through encounters with the Underground Railroad (Yes, it did operate on the West Coast.), the forced removal and attempted genocide of the Miwok people, who are her dear friends. All this while she navigates the challenges of her own adolescence and the violence of a California that is still something of a raw frontier. A frontier that is yearning for maturity as much as Nita herself.

IT'S OCTOBER, 1914. Life is finally coming together for Andrew Maxwell and Theresa Many Clouds after years filled with violent turmoil and racial conflict. They have built a life as a couple ensconced in a small house with their two adopted half-Indian, half-white children. Andy's pioneer ranching family is among the most prominent in the Sawtooth Valley area of Northern California. Indeed, the Maxwells were among the most prominent in the whole state. But the envious and greedy and prejudiced and won't let the young family alone. A large eastern corporation wants a piece of Andy's and Many Clouds', land, and they've paid allies to help grab every inch of acreage they can. Soon threats to the couple, their children and their property, as well as the hostility of the law toward Native Americans threaten their very existence. Swindle in Sawtooth Valley is the story of the struggle Andrew and Many Clouds must wage to combat the forces that endanger everything they've fought for. Their family, their children and their very existence. It's the story of a struggle against long odds filled with romance, adventure, and suspense that will keep you reading to the very last page and then leave you hungry for more.

NOT AGAIN. It's taken Andy Maxwell two Years-1908-1910-to help his family recover from the vendetta that nearly killed his mother, burned their Sierra Nevada ranch house, and exhumed some long-buried family secrets, including the fact that his father was black. At last, Andy thinks, he can return to the University of California and pursue his history doctorate in peace. Not so. First of all, it turns out they don't want a miscegenated mongrel in the program. Then it turns out that the marauder, Michael Yellow Squirrel, who started all the trouble didn't stay Shanghaied. He's back for another try at eliminating every last Maxwell. So much for school. Then there's the election. Reform gubernatorial candidate Hiram Johnson wants Andy to run for the California legislature to help foil the railroad barons. And then there are the women-the debutante beauty and the Arapaho princess... Lots of romance and trouble...

Historically, the term "yellow rose" referred to an attractive mulatto woman. Also historically, the original "Yellow Rose of Texas" was for sure one Emily West, and her story is intertwined in song and legend with the Texas Revolution of 1836. That series of battles, led by Sam Houston, made Texas a Republic, its own country until it joined the union in 1845. The Yellow Rose is set during the revolution and supposes that Emily and Sam not only collaborated in certain incidents that gave the Texans victory, but became romantically involved in the process. The novel mixes legend with fact. No one knows for sure, despite the many tales about her that arose from her presence in Texas at the time, if our Emily ever met Sam Houston or if she participated in the revolution at all. On the other hand, no one has proved the contrary. So, The Yellow Rose asks the question: What if... A romance that changed history. The Yellow Rose is the monumental tale of a mixed race woman and her fraught affair with Sam Houston during the Texas Revolution of 1836. In addition to her loving relationship with Houston, Emily West-the true historical Yellow Rose of Texas-encounters the cruel dictator/general Santa Anna, a Cherokee chief, and a pervasive atmosphere of racism throughout the story. Readers will love her and love learning about a little-known and exciting episode in American history.-Lily Amanda of Hollywood Book Review

Meet Bonita. Often reckless, often victimized, a deeply spiritual person who transforms herself from a rebellious adolescent into a prominent entrepreneur. When we meet her as a twelve-year-old in 1843, she is living a privileged life on a hacienda overlooking San Francisco Bay. But she discovers that she's not who she's been told, so she strikes out on her own to discover the truth. Along the way, she becomes immersed in the swirl of historic events that surrounds her-the Mexican-American war, the gold rush, California's drive for statehood. An intense romance both complicates and enhances her quest. Her search and its discoveries create fresh challenges, challenges she meets with originality and boldness that by that point we've come to expect of this extraordinary woman named Bonita. Bonita is a strong-willed young heroine who discovers she has a hidden past and is determined to find out the secrets that lie behind it. Strong-willed and resolute, she fights for her rights as a woman in an era where patriarchy is upheld and revered.-Lily Amanda of Hollywood Book Review

Historically, the term "yellow rose" referred to an attractive mulatto woman. Also historically, the original "Yellow Rose of Texas" was for sure one Emily West, and her story is intertwined in song and legend with the Texas Revolution of 1836. That series of battles, led by Sam Houston, made Texas a Republic, its own country until it joined the union in 1845. The Yellow Rose is set during the revolution and supposes that Emily and Sam not only collaborated in certain incidents that gave the Texans victory, but became romantically involved in the process. The novel mixes legend with fact. No one knows for sure, despite the many tales about her that arose from her presence in Texas at the time, if our Emily ever met Sam Houston or if she participated in the revolution at all. On the other hand, no one has proved the contrary. So, The yellow Rose asks the question: What if...