Welcome to the works and words of Ron Braithwaite
My first novel, Skull Rack, was released by my publisher [Harbor House, Augusta, Georgia] in October of 2007. Its sequel, Hummingbird God, will be released May 30, 2008. Together, these two novels tell the exotic tale of the Conquest of Mexico through the eyes of the conquistador, Rodrigo de la Peña.
In his old age, de la Peña has risen to the rank of Bishop of the Catholic Church and Inquisitor-General of Spain. He arrests a younger man—Jesuit priest, historian and fellow inquisitor—Enrique Mendoza, on the false charge of doctrinal heresy. Mendoza has written a religious history—Historias Glorias—on the Conquest of Mexico, a history that de la Peña has serious issues with. Under threat of execution, de la Peña forces Mendoza to alter his Most Catholic History to conform to de la Peña’s far more brutal recollections.
The two priests dispute the facts and motives of the conquest. There is discussion, debate and explanation of events. The cynical, oftentimes sadistic, de la Peña never misses an opportunity to torment Mendoza. He taunts, ridicules and terrifies his unwilling guest but never to the point that Mendoza becomes useless. De la Peña needs Mendoza so Mendoza lives, sometimes barely.
Over the protests of the weakening Mendoza, de la Peña tells his grim tale of gold and glory, greed and rebellion, wounds and disease, betrayal and death. He tells his harrowing tale of a Mexican holocaust and his undying hatred for Hernán Cortés.
Skull Rack and Hummingbird God available at: Amazon; Barnes and Noble; Harbor House Books and other major book sellers.
