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Debut Novel for Darlene Campos Gets Release Date
 

BY STAFF

 

Vital Narrative's newest signee Darlene Campos will finally release her much anticipated debut, Behind Mount Rushmore on May 19.

I remember learning about Mount Rushmore when I was in fifth grade. I learned it was in South Dakota, specifically in the Black Hills, and of course I learned about the faces that make Mount Rushmore – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. However, it wasn’t until my freshman year in college that I learned about Pine Ridge Indian Reservation from one of my history professors. He showed us a presentation about the reservation and told us about the poverty, the alcoholism, the teacher turnover rate, etc. Until then, I had no idea Pine Ridge Indian Reservation even existed, but I knew a lot about Mount Rushmore. How could this be possible when Pine Ridge is located, in my professor’s words, “just behind Mount Rushmore?” Since many have heard about Mount Rushmore, I knew using its name in the title would make the book stand out. The word “behind” lets the reader know the book is focusing not on Mount Rushmore, but what’s going on behind it.
— Darlene Campos

Behind Mount Rushmore follows the life of Geronimo "Nimo" Thunderclap as he grows up on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. "It was important to me for Vital Narrative Press to be the company that brings this novel to light," said Editor-in-Chief Gregory Hedgepeth. "The very first time I read it, I was completely blown away. I literally stopped everything I was doing, cancelled all the appointments I had scheduled for that day and spent it reading her book. It's THAT good. We really can't wait to share this project with you." Pre-orders for Behind Mount Rushmore will begin on April 14.


Darlene P. Campos earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso. She also graduated from the University of Houston with a BA in English-Creative Writing and a minor in medicine and Social Studies. She is from Guayaquil, Ecuador, but currently lives in Houston, TX with her husband David and an adorable pet rabbit named Jake. Her website is www.darlenepcampos.com. You can support her work here.

Vital Narrative Press Announces Entire 2019 Release Schedule Will Be Filled By Women Authors

BY: STAFF

First announced on Instagram Wednesday for International Women's Day, Vital Narrative Press will dedicate its entire release slate for 2019 to women authors, "specifically women of color." 

The announcement states that the all-woman release schedule "aligns with our WWORD Initiative committed to encourage and empower women and girls through literature." The Initiative also looks to hold writing workshops for women, donate books to shelters and allow teenage girls the opportunity to become published authors. Although, the releases are still a little under two years away, Founder & CEO Gregory Hedgepeth II is very excited to push the pillars of the Initiative out quicker, as early as this year. "It's important to recognize women's contributions to the literary arts and continue to build on that legacy by empowering even more women authors to share our stories," he said. The post also states that the company plans to publish "between twelve and twenty-five new books" in 2019.

What's Next For Gregory Hedgepeth?
 

BY GREGORY HEDGEPETH

 

Soooooooo, the other day someone asked me if I had retired from writing.

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The answer is simple: of course not. In fact, I'm just getting started out here in these literary streets. I know it's been well over a year since I put out something new, but trust, I've been writing every single day since I dropped A Collection of Echoes last spring.

So I know what you're thinking - if I've been writing every day, what's the hold up? Let's just say I've just been busy with... ummm... various activities that have been taking up a lot more time than I imagined they would.

But anyway, I'm working on several different projects all scheduled to drop within the next 12-16 months.

First is my long-awaited spoken word album, Smudge. I've been putting that off for at least 3-4 years now and it's time to put it out. The pieces are all written - it's just a matter of getting in the booth and getting all the vocals together. The plan is to put it out before the end of 2016, but it could easily stretch to early 2017. I just want to make sure I'm happy with it.

In addition to that, I've been working diligently on my second novel, A Very Strange Fascination With Violence. It's going to be the first book of a trilogy and I'm really excited to put that out. I really think the fans will dig it. It's got romance, murder, government conspiracies and all that good stuff that people love.

I'm also working on a web series called Kush & Corinthians. As of right now, I'll be writing and directing. I haven't decided if I'm going to succumb to the acting bug that's been digging at me for the past year or so, but I'm definitely open to challenging myself and doing something completely out of my comfort zone. It's shaping up to be a stoner dramedy, but I'm really, really excited about it. The script is still very early in development, but I'm shooting for next spring to get that out.

My good friend Q. Vergara and I have been kicking around ideas for a book project called Down The Rabbit Hole which should be out by next summer. There's also going to be a documentary included with that project that we'll be shooting out in Cali, so expect a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff when that project is about to drop.

And last, but certainly not least, The Dirty Dozen: Volume 3 will be releasing on December 12. If you were a fan of the first two, you're going to love the third (and possibly final) installment.

So there's your update. I hope you're as excited as I am for all these projects to come to fruition. I'll be dropping more and more info as these projects reach completion.

That being said, if someone comes up to you and asks if you've heard about Garvey Hemisphere dropping anything new, you already know what to say.


Gregory Hedgepeth is the editor-in-chief of Vital Narrative Press. You can follow him on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Feel free to follow on all three. Or maybe just two. Yeah, two’s probably good — he’s not that interesting. Gregory Hedgepeth is also the author of MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT SUNRISES, THE YEAR THAT ANSWERED and A COLLECTION OF ECHOES. BUY THAT SHIT.