Update on Lone Dog Road

An official release date –November 21 — has now been set for Lone Dog Road, my new novel described as “a picaresque tale of compassion and redemption played out against the haunting backdrop of the American high plains during the drought-stricken summer of 1950.”

It took a courageous young company, Polished Stone Publishing, to get this to you. The major publishers were afraid of exactly what I consider the strength of the book — my choice to have people of different races and backgrounds speak in the first person about the journey of two young Lakota boys in search of pipestone to replace the čhaŋnúŋpa — or sacred pipe — of their aged great grandfather.

The first person is a dangerous device because you are speaking from within someone, not about someone. No external narrator, no distant perspective. But I believe that one of literature’s most sacred tasks is to use the imagination to enter into the minds and hearts of people unlike ourselves to let us see the world from other points of view. And so I chose to take the chance.

I love Lone Dog Road and the people in it. It is a relative to Neither Wolf nor Dog, but more expansive in its voices. I can’t wait to get it in your hands. I hope you will enjoy it.

More updates will be coming.

20 thoughts on “Update on Lone Dog Road”

  1. Can’t wait. Really looking forward to it. Thanks for all the hard work.
    All the best…

  2. Yes. First-person can be dangerous on several levels. My anticipation of this coming read is intense, but I feel deeply moving joy on the horizon.

  3. I wish I could do what you do — entering into the first person is hard! I’m eager to read it.

  4. I look forward to purchasing and reading the book. You are one of my favorite authors.

  5. Steven Reynolds

    If Lone Dog Road is anywhere near as good as all the rest of your books, it too will become a gift to my friends who have received them in the past, and more in the future. As we say in northwestern Minnesota, “Yah shure, that Knerburn guy is good to write.”

  6. I’ve been fortunate enough to have read an early draft of this book — and I told Kent it’s simply one of the best novels I’ve ever read. (And I read a LOT of novels!) It’s brilliant, it’s touching, it tells a great story with a great ending. I LOVE this book and will give several copies to friends and family for Christmas presents.

  7. Yes, I know you will keep us posted. That’s a very good thing. Love your “elevator” summary. If this doesn’t attract readers, they don’t deserve you. Also, it’s fun to share in your enthusiasm about getting the book into readers’ hands – and ears?
    CatherineStenzel
    Beltrami Island Forest

  8. Catherine Stenzel

    Yes, I know you will keep us posted. That’s a very good thing. Love your “elevator” summary. If this doesn’t attract readers, they don’t deserve you. Also, it’s fun to share in your enthusiasm about getting the book into readers’ hands – and ears?

    I’ve just about to finish my latest book which is first person. You’re right. The work is daunting but oh, so worth the effort.
    CatherineStenzel
    Beltrami Island Forest

  9. Douglas O’Neill

    Thank you again for continuing to write with a unique ability that few authors I enjoy, are able to do.

    Waiting for a new release from you is like a Christmas present, I can hardly wait to open and turn the cover to the first page and not have to wait till Christmas.

    I hope you will take away from us who love your books, how much happiness and peace of mind and hope you have given us.

    Doug

  10. Tanya McElfresh

    I have every one of your books and cherish them all! Can’t wait for the new one! And about that sculpture…how much does it cost? I love it!

  11. Neither Wolf Nor Dog was recommended for me to read prior to a recent Rural Area Veterinarian Services trip to the Lakota Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, and was so deeply moved. Kent Nerburn’s writing and deep understanding of our First Nations is extraordinary. My mother, who tends to prefer newspapers, has also now read and learned so much from Chief Joseph and the Flight of the Nez Perce. Will read as many of his books as I can get my hands on. Delighted to hear there will be a new book coming out soon, too!

  12. Thanks for the kind words. NWND is my bell cow, but I think I’m proudest of Chief Joseph. Four years, assiduously researched, and written to read like a novel, though it is accurate to a fault. It’s a story that needs to be told and heard. I’m always happy when a reader finds it. Please, Heather, check out the two follow-ups to Neither Wolf nor Dog — The Wolf at Twilight and The Girl who Sang to the Buffalo. They carry Dan’s story further, and to unexplored places.

    Again, my thanks.

  13. William J Richardet

    Maybe I’ve been remiss and missed the books release? Please update me Kent! I am veracious to read Lone Dog Road. Please update.

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