New Novel Teaches Timeless Lessons

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Dec. 27, 2017 - PRLog -- REDFISH OAK, written by Los Angeles screenwriter George Putnam and St. Augustine Beach author Jewel Grutman, is a new adventure-mystery Young Adult novel suitable for older readers as well. Bestselling author Steve Berry says, "An intriguing mix of hopes, fears, and history, briskly paced and cleverly told. As a resident of St. Augustine it was fun to read about the town in the aftermath of the War of Northern Aggression (as us southerners like to call the Civil War)." Released in October in electronic format, the paperback edition will be available for readers on January 8 at all online and some St. Augustine area stores.

Ten years after the Civil War, race-based fear and hatred threaten lives in the once-idyllic resort of St. Augustine, Florida. When a train arrives carrying renegade Plains Indians ordered to Ft. Marion for imprisonment, the community erupts. From this combustible mix emerge three unlikely allies determined to stop the violence: a White girl, a Negro boy, and a young Indian warrior. They make a dangerous pact to stop the injustices that others won't challenge. Based on documented factual events, REDFISH OAK is an adventure with a mystery and a bit of romance, too.

Jewel Grutman is a retired attorney and author of books about Plains Indians. Her historical novel, The Ledgerbook of Thomas Blue Eagle, illustrated with pictographic art, won a Christopher Award and an International Reader's Association Award in 1994, and has remained a top-seller ever since. Chronical Press published two other books by Jewel about the Lakota: Julia Singing Bear and The Sketchbook of Thomas Blue Eagle.

In 2009, she and her twin-sister Gay began a historical novel about a group of Plains Indians sent in 1875 to St. Augustine's Ft. Marion, but Gay died before they finished it. With years of research completed, Jewel continued the novel with George Putnam and REDFISH OAK was completed early in 2017.

George Putnam is the author of the crime novel, The Honey Bubble. He is also a published ghostwriter, the screenwriter of "Unlawful Entry" and "To Kill For", and has written episodes of "NYPD Blue" and "Deadwood." His new crime novel is due to be released in 2018.

For more information visit George and Jewel at http://www.RedfishOak.com.