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Summer is upon us, and 2026 has been a challenging year for Jeffrey W. Massey. Family health concerns have slowed his ability to work consistently, but completion of his fourth novel is right around the corner. A tale of historical fiction entitled Reata, the novel will be of great interest to all readers who love the combination of history and compelling drama.
The story follows the protagonist of the same name, a Frenchman by ancestry who becomes embroiled in the Seminole War of 1817-18. After the warring Red Stick Indians were defeated at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814), many of the survivors relocated in Spanish Florida, along the lower Chattahoochee River Valley. These natives did not give up the fight for their homeland, and continued to attack settlers on the southern frontier.
Reata follows the aftermath of the famous Scott Massacre, where a large force of Seminole and Red Stick warriors attacked a U.S. Army supply vessel traveling up the Apalachicola River. While Jean Louis “Reata” Breneaux is enlisted to help the U.S. Army in subduing the Red Sticks and Seminoles, his primary objective is the recovery of an American woman held prisoner. The book is loosely based on the story of Elizabeth Stewart, who was captured after the Scott Massacre and held prisoner by hostile Indians until the U.S. Army was able to free her.
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After the robbery and attempted murder of a dear friend, Brook Miller is forced to come to grips with his own mistakes and missteps in trying to help solve the crime.
A story about starting over and seeking redemption, Standing Too Soon is sure to keep you turning the page.