Itchiwan

2022 FINALIST - READER'S FAVORITE INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARD
2023 QUARTER FINALIST - THE BOOKLIFE PRIZE (BookLife - a division of Publisher's Weekly)
     In 1968, four thirteen year old boys of diverse racial background meet on Cape Cod and form an unlikely bond which lasts a lifetime or two or three - two Wampanoag twins, Amos and Vern (poor townies), an Irish Catholic kid from Southie, Timmy (middle class summer cottage people) and a WASP, Brett (of rich second and third home snobbage).  You would never find these four's parents socializing together at a cookout. But in the summer of 1968, the boys were inseparable. They did things, which led them to try other things and as a result, find something, which ultimately leaves them having opened Pandora's Box, a box which will take them 24 years and two lifetimes to close ... or so they think.
     The boys unleashed a little known Wampanoag Indian legend, Pukwudgees - evil, vicious, homicidal, dwarf Indians that brought down giants, fed Wampanoag babies to crows and whose stories were used throughout the ages to keep Wampanoag children close to home. Their leader, Pomarat is a skilled killer. If he engaged you in conversation, he would send a cold chill of unease up your spine. He oozed evil and his swift, unanticipated actions soon after would confirm it.
     Simple story line? No, not quite. Enemies become friends and friends become enemies. Poor become rich, middle class become dead, and the rich, well ... stay rich. It is a story of human nature, be it evil little Pukwudgees, Wampanoags, Irish Catholics or WASPS. It's a story of diversity before there was social media, cell phones or the manufactured term "diversity".
     Buckle up for a fast pace thriller that includes, the golf shot of a lifetime, a sunrise fishing charter, an alleged witch, Bill Cosby, the former Wharf Tavern in Boston, Rockefeller Center in NYC, a shillelagh and a sling shot, up and coming Southie mobsters, pro football, Samuel Bellamy, and of course, mom, blueberry pie and the girl he left behind. This story is whacked.
 
"Itchiwan … I couldn't put it down. The book is action-packed, gruesome in more than a few places, but laugh-out-loud funny in others."

 Joanne Briana-Gartner, The Enterprise - Cape News.net

"… full of about every attentive response imaginable – horror, hilarity, gripping suspense, and breathlessness. This is a book to savor ... Stories such as these are too infrequently encountered. Treasure it."

 Grady Harp, Amazon Hall of Fame Top 50 Reviewer

"… thrills and chills of mythical marauders terrorizing everyone in their path. A violent and funny … adventure that leaves no one safe."

Kirkus Reviews

"… an extraordinary book. Reading Itchiwan … was one wild ride. I could not put the book down and … could see this as a movie. This was a non-stop thrill journey with an assault on all your senses."

Anelynde Smit, Readers' Favorite

"I've never been a big fan of gore or horror but these Pukwudgees are somehow lovable in their horrific mayhem! Pomarat could become one of the most evil characters of all time!"

 Tom Anderson, author of the musical "The Dismal Life of Conrad Crum"

"This isn't The Scarlet Letter. It's a roller coaster!"

Michael Varkas, Raconteur