AUTHOR THOMAS PREISS
 The Hassayampa King - It's here!
Cover of the Hassayampa King
Thomas with carnation in his mouth
In a photo entitled “Speak No Evil,” taken 28 years ago at a younger brother’s wedding, I emulate the fashion of the day complete with a white carnation placed in my mouth in an effort to have me forever hold my peace.  I loved the shirt.  I had four of them, souvenirs from a restaurant I worked at.  The picture was taken in an old Phoenix neighborhood during the monsoon season

 

The Hassayampa King

A book review By Lauren Pickwood

Local author Thomas Preiss has released a fiction novel about a road to enlightenment. What I like about the story is that the road to enlightenment for the protagonist in the story is a road any one of us could or already have travelled upon. It’s an everyman story. I read an average of fifty books a year and I found Preiss’ tale to be a refreshing and unique presentation of style and voice, far from the beaten path of mechanized commercial story telling.

The title refers to the ten thousand year old mythic story of the Fisher King, which suggests that the deepest wounds in a person’s life can become that person’s greatest teacher; the proverbial double-edged sword which allows for more that one interpretation of events in a person’s life. It also refers to a river that flows south of Prescott Arizona, where the author spent a part of his childhood. The Hassayampa River and its tributaries Wolf Creek and Groom Creek occupy a large portion of the settings found in the story.

This story offers the Fisher King truth in a very in-depth study of the protagonist Mitchell’s life. Character development in the story is stunning, and allows for the reader to completely submerse him/herself into the lives found within, made that much easier by the detailed scenic descriptions, which will, if the reader allows, affect a transcendental experience that adds to the unfolding of Mitchell’s life. While scenic descriptions and superb dialogue pull the reader in, foreshadowing of events that occur later in Mitchell’s life add to the mystery and intrigue of the story. The book offers a stunningly romantic tale of love. The love story is contrasted by the violence and cruelty fate puts forth, compelling Mitchell to answer the question exemplified in the mythic Fisher King tale.

The book also offers much in the way of social commentary and I found many times holding my own life up to the template that is Mitchell’s life. Mitchell ultimately finds God through an intimate dialogue about good and evil. Preiss reminds the reader the importance of leadership in children’s lives and how the quality of that leadership defines good and evil as a child’s life unfolds.

An interesting side note is the story of publishing the Hassayampa King: The book is self-published by Preiss using his publishing company, Peralta Publishing, LLC, listed with Bowker’s International as a legitimate publishing company and the books are hand-made by Preiss in his home using the varies machines (graphic printer, cutter, and binder), including the hardware and software involved in setting the story up in book form. He says “if I am going to self-publish, then let me truly self-publish. Let there be no middlemen between my pen and the readers who enjoy my writing.”

Preiss is holding two books signings in March, both at marketplaces held on March 20th and March 27th in front of Bashas’ in Gold Canyon from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

The book is published by Peralta Publishing, LLC, and can be purchased through the author’s website at www.authorthomaspreiss.com, by phone at 480-288-4306, or by email at thomaspreiss@msn.com.