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Land Shadows
Winner New Mexico Writers Debut Book 2026
Winner of the Maxy Award Historical Fiction 2026
First Runner-Up for Historical Fiction, Eric Hoffer Award 2026
Shortlisted for the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize 2026
Orphaned during the Highland Clearances, Murdoch McNeil claws his way into New York's legal elite—then stakes everything on a forged deed to New Mexico's Maxwell Land Grant. As the U.S. government sorts fraud from legitimacy, he uproots his family to defend a lie, dragging them into a battle over belonging, justice, and truth.
His fate entwines with Kewanee, a Potawatomi girl resisting forced assimilation at the Carlisle Indian School. Across decades and three continents—the Scottish Highlands, Gilded Age New York, and the contested lands of New Mexico—Land Shadows explores America's westward expansion not through conquest alone, but through compromise, betrayal, and resilience.
Winner of the Eric Hoffer Da Vinci Eye Award
Finalist for the Eric Hoffer First Horizon Award
Named one of Shelf Unbound's Top 100 Notable Indie Books
Kirkus "Poignant & engaging."
Praise for Land Shadows
"Striegel's vivid writing brings to life a sweeping story of land, legacy, and betrayal... a richly imagined historical novel with modern resonance."
—BookLife by Publishers Weekly
4/5 Stars! "A page-turner... well-researched, enjoyable, and compelling."
—Patti Kidd, MA English, PhD Education, Reedsy Discovery Reviewer
"An engrossing tale with spellbinding characters... you're watching history unfold."
—Marianne Goodland, President, Denver Press Club
"An enlightening and thoughtful approach to how land rights were handled during another era... Highly recommended."
—Ann Howard Creel, The Magic of Ordinary Days
358 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2025
About the author
R.J. Striegel
2 booksHis debut novel, Land Shadows, received the Eric Hoffer Da Vinci Eye Award and was named First Runner-Up for Historical Fiction in the Eric Hoffer Awards.
Ron (R.J.) Striegel grew up in New Mexico after moving to Albuquerque from Oklahoma in the early 1960s. A member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, whose tribal lands are located in Oklahoma, he spent his childhood between Albuquerque and Taos, developing a lifelong connection to the landscapes, histories, and cultural intersections of the American Southwest.
After living for many years in Colorado, R.J. returned to New Mexico to accept a faculty position at San Juan College in Farmington, where he teaches primarily Diné and Latino/a pre-service teachers in the college’s Teacher Education program adjacent to the Navajo Nation.
Although he grew up without a strong connection to his Potawatomi heritage, shaped in part by the lingering effects of the boarding school era within Native communities, R.J. later began reconnecting with his cultural background through regional Potawatomi gatherings and the revival of traditional Potawatomi silversmithing. His work received an Honorable Mention at the 2021 Heard Museum Indian Arts Market competition.
R.J. holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Regis University and a master’s degree in education specializing in Teaching and Learning Theory from Capella University. While his professional writing background is rooted in academic work, his lifelong interest in the overlooked histories of the American West inspired his debut novel, Land Shadows.
Influenced by both the mythology of the American frontier and later historical research into land dispossession in New Mexico and southern Colorado, R.J.’s fiction explores themes of cultural erasure, identity, displacement, corruption, and survival. His work seeks to illuminate the often-forgotten experiences of Indigenous, Latino/a, immigrant, and settler communities whose lives shaped the American West beyond its popular myths.
Awards and Recognition for Land Shadows
• Winner, Eric Hoffer Da Vinci Eye Award
• First Runner-Up, Eric Hoffer Historical Fiction Award
• Finalist, Eric Hoffer First Horizon Award
• Shortlisted for the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize
• Winner, Maxy Award for Historical Fiction
• Named to Shelf Unbound’s Top 100 Notable Indie Books
• Kirkus Reviews “Get It” Recommendation
• Praised by BookLife/Publishers Weekly
Ron (R.J.) Striegel grew up in New Mexico after moving to Albuquerque from Oklahoma in the early 1960s. A member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, whose tribal lands are located in Oklahoma, he spent his childhood between Albuquerque and Taos, developing a lifelong connection to the landscapes, histories, and cultural intersections of the American Southwest.
After living for many years in Colorado, R.J. returned to New Mexico to accept a faculty position at San Juan College in Farmington, where he teaches primarily Diné and Latino/a pre-service teachers in the college’s Teacher Education program adjacent to the Navajo Nation.
Although he grew up without a strong connection to his Potawatomi heritage, shaped in part by the lingering effects of the boarding school era within Native communities, R.J. later began reconnecting with his cultural background through regional Potawatomi gatherings and the revival of traditional Potawatomi silversmithing. His work received an Honorable Mention at the 2021 Heard Museum Indian Arts Market competition.
R.J. holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Regis University and a master’s degree in education specializing in Teaching and Learning Theory from Capella University. While his professional writing background is rooted in academic work, his lifelong interest in the overlooked histories of the American West inspired his debut novel, Land Shadows.
Influenced by both the mythology of the American frontier and later historical research into land dispossession in New Mexico and southern Colorado, R.J.’s fiction explores themes of cultural erasure, identity, displacement, corruption, and survival. His work seeks to illuminate the often-forgotten experiences of Indigenous, Latino/a, immigrant, and settler communities whose lives shaped the American West beyond its popular myths.
Awards and Recognition for Land Shadows
• Winner, Eric Hoffer Da Vinci Eye Award
• First Runner-Up, Eric Hoffer Historical Fiction Award
• Finalist, Eric Hoffer First Horizon Award
• Shortlisted for the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize
• Winner, Maxy Award for Historical Fiction
• Named to Shelf Unbound’s Top 100 Notable Indie Books
• Kirkus Reviews “Get It” Recommendation
• Praised by BookLife/Publishers Weekly
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 20, 2025
Such a wonderful book. It opens up the world of railroading with a gentle touch.
I absolutely loved the character Lincoln and how wonderful of a person he is.
Additionally, it was a quick read because of the quality of writing.
We need more stories like this onei give this a strong recommendation.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I absolutely loved the character Lincoln and how wonderful of a person he is.
Additionally, it was a quick read because of the quality of writing.
We need more stories like this onei give this a strong recommendation.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
May 24, 2025
Desperate parents make a fateful decision as they lose everything in the land in which they were born. An orphaned boy learns to fight his own battles and falls in love with books. And a lawyer makes a decision for which he will carry a life-long guilty conscience.
‘Land Shadows’ is the story of Murdoch McNeil, an orphaned boy from Scotland, whose life collides with the upper class/elite Townsends of New York. As he yearns for stability and belonging, he learns that upward mobility comes at a price. Through Murdoch’s story, and a brief introduction to his childrens’ and grandchild’s lives towards the end, Striegel brings alive the tensions of class, the inequities of structural prejudice, the brutalities of ignorance and power, and the struggles of the ‘common’ folk who simply want to live their best life.
This was a compelling read for the important stories it attempts to tell - of the ‘landless’ in Scotland to the ‘landless’ working class in cities to the ‘landless’ indigenous people of America. It holds up the coloniser - in all its forms, from land-grabbing tycoons and corporates to government and courts - to close scrutiny through the eyes of the colonised. Even though it’s the story of one man, the story’s sweep - starting in Scotland and ending on an Indian Reservation in America - tells a universal story of power, greed, arrogance, and corruption, and also of redemption in some ways. The story is somewhat bleak, but all the more realistic for it. This narrative, with its legal and justice angle, also underscores the need for understanding histories, and not merely History, to even begin contemplating issues of justice. Definitely should be recommended reading for educational programmes/courses on history, law, politics, and governance!
The only reason I knocked down this book to 4* was because it could have had been better edited, esp to eliminate some of the repetitions of the storyline, positioned almost like a recap in some places. This really jarred the reading experience. But these are minor irritations given the story’s plotline and pace!
Thanks to the author and Book Sirens for an ARC of this book!
‘Land Shadows’ is the story of Murdoch McNeil, an orphaned boy from Scotland, whose life collides with the upper class/elite Townsends of New York. As he yearns for stability and belonging, he learns that upward mobility comes at a price. Through Murdoch’s story, and a brief introduction to his childrens’ and grandchild’s lives towards the end, Striegel brings alive the tensions of class, the inequities of structural prejudice, the brutalities of ignorance and power, and the struggles of the ‘common’ folk who simply want to live their best life.
This was a compelling read for the important stories it attempts to tell - of the ‘landless’ in Scotland to the ‘landless’ working class in cities to the ‘landless’ indigenous people of America. It holds up the coloniser - in all its forms, from land-grabbing tycoons and corporates to government and courts - to close scrutiny through the eyes of the colonised. Even though it’s the story of one man, the story’s sweep - starting in Scotland and ending on an Indian Reservation in America - tells a universal story of power, greed, arrogance, and corruption, and also of redemption in some ways. The story is somewhat bleak, but all the more realistic for it. This narrative, with its legal and justice angle, also underscores the need for understanding histories, and not merely History, to even begin contemplating issues of justice. Definitely should be recommended reading for educational programmes/courses on history, law, politics, and governance!
The only reason I knocked down this book to 4* was because it could have had been better edited, esp to eliminate some of the repetitions of the storyline, positioned almost like a recap in some places. This really jarred the reading experience. But these are minor irritations given the story’s plotline and pace!
Thanks to the author and Book Sirens for an ARC of this book!
January 18, 2026
Ran into this book in Taos, New Mexico and was intrigued. Got an autographed copy of the book. Started reading and couldn’t put it down. Excellent story which did teach me not only a lot about New Mexico history but open my eyes to what happened in Scotland and Life in New York. Don’t know how close this follows to real life, but eye-opening and entertaining. Recommend.
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May 24, 2025“A compelling appraisal of cultural heritage, belonging, and identity.” —BookLife Review (Publishers Weekly)
Land Shadows earned high marks across all BookLife review categories, including an A- overall, and is featured in the June 2025 BookLife catalog.
Review by the Reedsy Discovery Team
4/5 stars
“A page-turner... well-researched, enjoyable, and compelling.”
—Patti Kidd, MA English, PhD Education
*Land Shadows* exposes how far a person will go to get what they want—and the consequences of wanting too much. Told through multiple points of view, the novel explores obsession, legacy, and betrayal across 19th-century Scotland, New York, and New Mexico.
A compelling, historically immersive story that confronts America’s expansion not just through conquest—but through compromise, revision, and the pursuit of identity.
> *Originally reviewed on Reedsy Discovery. Full review goes public June 12, 2025.*
> [https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/lan...
Land Shadows earned high marks across all BookLife review categories, including an A- overall, and is featured in the June 2025 BookLife catalog.
Review by the Reedsy Discovery Team
4/5 stars
“A page-turner... well-researched, enjoyable, and compelling.”
—Patti Kidd, MA English, PhD Education
*Land Shadows* exposes how far a person will go to get what they want—and the consequences of wanting too much. Told through multiple points of view, the novel explores obsession, legacy, and betrayal across 19th-century Scotland, New York, and New Mexico.
A compelling, historically immersive story that confronts America’s expansion not just through conquest—but through compromise, revision, and the pursuit of identity.
> *Originally reviewed on Reedsy Discovery. Full review goes public June 12, 2025.*
> [https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/lan...
July 20, 2025
“He felt numb, emotionless, and detached. He had no capacity for empathy, and those around him suffered for it.” The novel, Land Shadows, by R.J. Striegel, leads us through the lives of the McNeil family, focusing on the childhood and rise of its leading protagonist, Murdoch McNeil, who survives an unfathomable family trauma when forced to leave his home in Scotland to only find himself as the solitary survivor on the docks of New York City. Through a family saga of betrayal and tragedy, Murdoch uses his intellect and determination to claim ‘new’ land in New Mexico in efforts to reclaim some of what his family had stolen from him in Scotland, seemingly unaware that his actions continue a similar misfortune that targeted his family. Striegel deftly portrays the struggle we have against our worst impulses in the guise of success with characters difficult to loathe, notably in the contrast of the adoption and encouragement that Murdoch shows Kewanee, a Potowatomi girl, tackling the many shades of honor.
I received an advanced complimentary copy and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
I received an advanced complimentary copy and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews