Wastelakapi… Beloved

Cut Hand #5

by Mark Wildyr

Thirty-two-year-old mixed blood John Strobaw, known to the Sioux as Medicine Hair, returns to his Turtle Crick Farm after a six-year exile on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Grief-stricken at the loss of his mate and lover Matthew Brand, known as Shambling Bear, at the Battle of Wounded Knee, he struggles to become a farmer again while fighting an internal battle to let go of the past and face his future. Will that future be with his best friend Winter Bird or with Pretty Face, an outrageous flirt who hasn’t yet decided who he is?

But before he can come to grips with this, John faces several battles. Will his former friends and neighbors accept him now the Indian War has come to an end? Can John forgive those same friends and neighbors after the murderous ambush of the Sioux by the 7th Cavalry at Wounded Knee? Or survive the hostility of an Indian-hating sheriff named Charles Landreth and protect himself against the mindless fear and loathing for Two Spirits, men who love men?

275 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 23, 2021

About the author

Born and raised in southeastern Oklahoma, I am an Albuquerque writer of gay erotic fiction. One day, I picked up a book someone had left on a table at a bookstore, one for which my rural upbringing had not prepared me. It was hardcore erotica. Nonetheless, I read a couple of the short stories and decided I could write stories like that--and certainly better than the two I had read in that book, neither of which had a narrative beyond what was necessary to string one sexual escapade together with another.

So I wrote down the name and address of the publisher, went home, and wrote a story. The publisher bought that story and eleven others, none of which were ever published because of a legal dispute that essentially closed the business down. I know nothing of the details of the suit that was filed except that it prevented publication of my first sales. Nonetheless, I had been paid for them, so I was now a “professional” author. That was in 2001.

I immediately submitted other stories to other publishers who not only bought, but published my work. I had found my niche. Since then, I've sold about sixty of them to various publishing houses. Along the way, STARbooks Press has also published a novella and three novels. They have also has agreed to two additional novels, one due out in Spring 2014 and the other in Autumn 2014.

My short story erotica covers a broad range of types: mystery, adventure, love, fantasy, sci-fi, military, police, sport… and probably some others. Much of my work explores the sexual discovery process and often involved cross-cultural relationships. Native American cultures and their approach to “Two Spirits” particularly fascinate me.

I consider my books CUT HAND and RIVER OTTER to be historical novels more than gay erotica. Between the two, they span the 19th Century from 1832 to 1870, a period that encompasses the rapid expansion of Europeans into the Dakota Territory, until then considered to belong to the Indians. It also covers the entire duration of the American Civil War, and the effects that conflict had on the tribes. They also explore the difference between the way many native cultures view homosexuality. Man-love was considered sinful and an abomination to the Anglos, who viewed queers and fags and berdaches with fear and loathing. Such conduct was often a death sentence among the dominant culture. On the other hand, winktes, two-faces, and two-spirits were often accorded places of honor among some of the tribes. At the least, they were permitted to lead lives according to their nature, not what others deemed what their nature should be. A third in the series to be released in Spring 2014, ECHOES OF THE FLUTE continues the story line up through 1890, the end of the major Indian Wars.

THE VICTOR AND THE VANQUISHED is a contemporary story of a young man dealing with his gay nature and pulling himself out of poverty, alcoholism, and abuse. CHARLEY BLACKBEAR, due out in the Fall of 2014, approaches these issues from a different perspective.

After a three-year stint in the US Army (one glorious year of it spent in Germany), I took up art. Thereafter, I spent my free time painting. I even sold a few canvases for modest amounts. But eventually, I realized painting a landscape or a still life was not a relaxing pastime for me. To the contrary, the closer a canvas came to completion, the tenser I became.

I have always written, but not always in a focused way. Because of a childhood health problem, I spent many summers at the library doing research on other cultures—usually Native American—and putting the information into long themes or dissertations. Then I started making up stories based on my findings. In college, I majored in Government and History, and I have been a lifelong history buff. Now that I’m living and writing in New Mexico, which I believe is the greatest place on earth, I often set my stories in Albuquerque or other parts of the state to give my readers a sense of the cu

Reviews

[annob [on hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fantastic historical, romantic and simultaneously brutally sad family saga. Amazing five book series, and I spotted on the author's blog that a sixth instalment might be in the making. I keep my fingers crossed for more!

I'm delighted I have gained additional knowledge about historical American events and persons during the years these books are set, 1832-1892. A good fiction book is my favourite way to learn history, as it gives it the vital human touch it needs to stick in my memory. I also enjoyed the Lakota words interwoven into the dialogue, it was skilfully done in a manner that piqued interest rather than hindrance to my reading flow.

I love historical novels for their ability to transport me to another place in time, and here I could almost hear the howling winter winds, feel the sun beating down on the dusty short grass prairie and hear the sound of the family's construction of their farms and outbuildings. The books are not completely free of some minor flaws, but I'm in awe of this author's writing.

[PaperMoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never been disappointed in any of the author's books to date and this one proved an enjoyable as well as informative read (minus the few passages detailing Biblical injunctions against M-M sex/relations ... so over all that nonsense). Readers should be warned that this is a continuation of a long multi-character/generational arc starting with Cut Hand and as such ... should be best read in sequential order to avoid consternation generated by the repeated mention of multiple significant events in the plot.

I like MC Medicine Hair (aka John Strobaw) and his struggle to contain his grief, to moving on without his significant other, and the impact and ramifications these place on his familial and friendship dynamics. The continuing struggle for recognition, respect and justice faced by a conquered first peoples amidst a population of deeply suspicious and fearful ever-burgeoning population of settlers/newcomers is also honestly (and sometime brutally) told. 3.5 stars.

[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

** 3.5 Stars **