Book Release

David-Michael Harding’s Cherokee Talisman follows an orphaned shaman as he struggles to live a life of peace rooted in his Cherokee culture, despite the intrusion of early American settlers

TAMPA, Fla. – David-Michael Harding weaves his admiration of Native American culture and history in his newest release, Cherokee Talisman (ISBN 978-0615652535). While technically a work of fiction, Harding’s novel works off a factual base in order to educate readers about a unique period in history when one nation was born and another nearly died as a result.

Totshuwa, also known as Redbird, is an orphan who is taken care of by the Cherokee war chief, Tsi’yugunsini. This famous chief has a brutal impact on the white settlers, who refer to him as the Dragon due to his fierce presence. Chief Tsi’yugunsini is against the new settlers, refusing to sign treaties or make peace as to him they are invaders and terrorists.

Meanwhile, Totshuwa studies tribal medicine, history and culture, becoming the tribe’s primary shaman. While he provides medicine and spiritual guidance to his nation, he struggles with a sense of abandonment that has followed him throughout his life. When he meets and falls in love with Galegi, the couple wants nothing but to raise their family in peace, but the new world around them simply won’t allow it. As they teach their son Chancellor their Cherokee traditions and medicines, General Andrew Jackson is waging war against various tribes. When a beloved family member is kidnapped for the slave trade, the hard part has only just begun for the family and the Cherokee nation.

“My family has distant roots in the Tuscarora nation,” says Harding. “This novel evolved from a short story I had written about a boy and a warrior whose paths cross as the United States is forming around them. Cherokee Talisman is a sincere tribute to a lost culture and way of life.”

With its historical basis and fictional storyline, Cherokee Talisman will educate readers while entertaining them with a story of culture, inner conflict and the evolution of a nation. Harding hopes his novel will create an impact on readers and shed light on a lost, forgotten, and dark page of our history.

Cherokee Talisman is available for sale online at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, and everywhere fine books are sold.

“Cherokee Talisman brings to life characters from our history and through a flare for fiction and historical research, Harding tells their story. Cherokees that might be painted by racist misconceptions as blood thirsty savages are humanized by Harding, making them heroes of a very real time. History is written by the victorious, but when almost forgotten historical characters are brought to life they are preserved for the ages, and in this preservation David-Michael Harding has succeeded.” - Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker



About the Author:

David-Michael Harding is a life-long writer whose novel, How Angels Die, has received critical acclaim. A former semi-professional football player, his writing is hard hitting and passionate. He holds a master’s degree in education and is an adjunct professor of writing. His respect and admiration for Native American culture inspired this novel. Most of his days are spent writing from the cockpit of his sailboat, Pegasus, somewhere off the Nature Coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico.