I'm going to be away from ecf for a fairly long time as I began my research for my next book. My current work in progress, Naked Alliances is scheduled for publication in September. Some of you have asked about it. I'll drop a line as soon as I have the publication date.
My next book has already been outlined and I will be meeting with representatives from all six Seminole Indian Tribes over the course of the next few weeks; Panther, Bear, Deer, Wind, Bigtown, Snake and Otter. There are six reservations in the Federal Trust that I will be touring; Hollywood Seminole Paradise, Big Cypress, Tampa Reservation, Brighten Reservation, Immokalee, and Ft. Pierce.
Each and every Seminole man, woman and child receives a check of from $7000. to $150,000 per year from the tribes' gaming industry and non-gaming enterprises. The tribes have quickly gone from poverty to immense wealth over the past three decades. With a new generation that has never lived in the thatched roof chickees of their ancestors, or suffered the deplorable conditions of reservation life in the sixties and seventies, new problems arise as they receive distributions that lead the young people to believe they do not need to go to school or work for a living. Crime, excessive gambling, financial irresponsibility, and drug and alcohol problems threaten the existence of their culture. This is the skeleton that forms the basis of my next crime novel.
Huge efforts are being made to bring the youth back into the fold.
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Wish me luck on my new adventure.