Hawk MacKinney

Moccasin Trace is at heart a tender love story with a generous dollop of military history and commentary about war and its leaders. In 1859, Hamilton Ingram of Moccasin Hollow and Sarah Greer of Wisteria Bends, passionate young lovers residing on neighboring plantations in a region of Georgia somewhere between Augusta and Macon, become engaged and are looking forward to their grand wedding. They "jump the gun," but no one notices--or so they think. They don't realize the seriousness of the show more winds of "secesh," blowing from Washington City to Charlestown, and their families get caught up in the path to war. The main story is how they and their love manage to survive the war's devastation and desolation, as well as their personal losses. The strength of the book lies in its description of the war's effect on farmers and on commerce, on ports and harbors, something that is dry in history books, but comes alive in these pages. The conversations between the older men and their sons reveal various attitudes people had toward the upcoming secession and about their leaders, which may be relevant to the world today. The characters are well-drawn and likable, distinctive, strong, and even heroic.

The dialogue is believable. This author is at his best in his wonderfully descriptive passages...

Swarthy billows belched from the twin stacks, and settled out on the river. Dockside mooring lines cast off from the bollards splashed the water, dragging alongside, and the gangplank hoisted, swung inboard. Twin paddle wheels sloshed several lazy rotations; stopped; slowly churned in reverse; stopped again. The Harbor Pilot let her drift away from the dock. She took to the river; the current swung the bow...and the city slipped astern. A white egret winged its way over the syrupy water. Settled ahead of them down-river among the tall regal cypress trees, that seemed to be wading through the lush undergrowth along the banks.

MacKinney has a distinctive style which has a charm of its own. Sometimes it tends to keep the reader outside the story rather than inside, but that's okay; it's recognized way of writing. Moccasin Trace is an entertaining and informative addition to the War of Northern Aggression bookshelf. Mr. MacKinney, author and public speaker, is a former Navy commander and professor and lives near the area described in this book.

Anne Lovett, News Magazine
Georgia Writers Association show less

Don’t let the cover for Hidden Chamber of Death by Hawk MacKinney fool you. This story is darker than you think.

A death brings ex-Navy seal, Craige Ingram, and Terri, a recent widow and bank examiner, together. Embezzlement puts Terri smack dab into the middle of danger. Craige will come to the rescue, which is what I expect from a hero. :-) Craige is a great guy. He takes you as you are, no bigotry, no judgments.

A grizzly murder and a psycho serial killer always catch my attention. I find show more out early who the killer is but there is more going on than murder. A death starts an inquiry into the bank records that someone desperately wants to keep quiet.

A bit of romance, a psycho serial killer, greed, embezzlement…it’s all good to me.

I’m not sure what it was about the writing, but it seemed a bit slow and I stumbled off and on…BUT, the ending makes it all worth it, so read on. I will be looking for the next adventure into the Vault of Secrets.

I received a copy of Hidden Chamber of Death by Hawk MacKinney in return for an honest review.

To see more visit http://www.fundinmental.com show less

Several years ago, I told a student that it serves little purpose to be the smartest person in the room, if no one understands what you are talking about. Fast forward to last week, and the same can be applied to Hawk McKinney's The Cairns of Santuarie: The Bleikovat Event. No, this is not my normal read, but I am fair and read/review vast numbers of materials and am always fair in my assessments and reviews. I also had the pleasure of meeting Mr. McKinney last year at the Augusta Literary show more Festival and when I came across his book, I thought, why not?

Mckinney is a gifted story teller and man of vast intelligences and depth. It is obvious that he has spent a great deal of time in the development of this fantasy world, the inhabitants, the foliage and even on the beasts of burden. McKinney is a scholar with a background in academia and professional fields that many long to even attempt. His travels and teachings in Jerusalem are evidence in the details he spends on the cartography of the land and maps which are included in the back of the book to help you understand remote province of Bleikovia. I think it was about all I understood.

What I like about this book is detail that he spends laying out the peacefulness of the life of the Malfesian Murians who are enjoying the bounty of the harvest festival. They are not aware that outside of their peaceful part of the world a war is raging and headed towards their doorstep. McKinney paints an image of an idyllic life where the village elder Feldovats assures his clansmen that no one is going to bother us here. From that point, there is war, fights, lots of characters whose names I cannot process, let alone pronounce, and green Murian blood flowing from bodies gnawed on by war Claks.

What I did not like about this book was there were lots of characters whose names I cannot pronounce, even though the pronunciations where listed in the back of the book. The back of the book also lists the Murian tongues and dialects along with the names and pronunciations of terminology. Honestly, I learned Klingon easier than I got through chapter two, I kid you not (jIH [kid] SoH ghobe').

What would have made this an easier read for the non-genetically brain gifted layman would have been to make the epilogue the prologue. Further, it would have been nice to introduce the regions and why these people are moving towards an intergalactic event along with the main characters before we hit chapter one. It would have also been nice to understand that a Clak, as seen on the cover, is a horse dog. Also, that a gelf is a sort of herbivorous farm able that also serves as meat. Last but not least, Murians and peace loving people.

This was an interesting read that is a gift to the intellectual fantasy reader that goes beyond the fires of Mordor.[bc:The Bleikovat Event|16082546|The Bleikovat Event (Vol I - The Cairns of Sainctuarie)|Hawk MacKinney|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1350063924s/16082546.jpg|21882408] show less

Blood of the Dragonfly by Hawk MacKinney centers around a fire that ended up taking out a bigger part of the Corpsewood Manor, along with bodies found in the burned mansion. Former Navy SEAL-turned-PI Craige Ingram along with his buddy, Head of Buckingham Homicide Investigation Lt. Graysen MacGerald is immediately on the case to find the reasoning behind the burned bodies, as well as who started the fire in the first place.

Craige Ingram is the person to follow as he starts the journey of show more solving the crime. A lot of things are happening in this story, many twists and turns that will keep you guessing. MacKinney does a really nice job choosing characters that develop well throughout the story. Lots of ups and downs and tension flowing around. Blood of the Dragonfly is a very well written book, the first book I have read by Hawk MacKinney, and I look forward to reading more. If suspense is what you enjoy, this would be a great choice for you.

A special thanks to the author/publisher for a copy of this book. I am not required to write a positive review, the opinions here are mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. show less