Lewis, J(ohn) P(aul) Sinclair

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LEWIS, J(ohn) P(aul) Sinclair

PERSONAL: Male. Married; children: one daughter.

ADDRESSES: Home—Washington, DC. Office—Vivi-Sphere Publishing, 675 Duchess Turnpike, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Tor/Forge, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY, 10010.

CAREER: Publisher and author. ViviSphere Publishing, Poughkeepsie, NY, head of Epaulet Books division.

AWARDS, HONORS: Spur Award for novel of the West, Western Writers of America, 2004, for Buffalo Gordon on the Plains.

WRITINGS:

Buffalo Gordon: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Nate Gordon from Louisiana Slave to Buffalo Soldier (novel), Forge (New York, NY), 2001.

Buffalo Gordon on the Plains (novel), Forge (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: The grandson of Nobel Laureate Sinclair Lewis, J. P. Sinclair Lewis works in the publishing business and has written historical novels focusing on Buffalo Gordon, a runaway slave who makes a life for himself in the U.S. Army. The first in the series, Buffalo Gordon: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Nate Gordon from Louisiana Slave to Buffalo Soldier, is set in the U.S. Civil War era and narrated by exslave Nate Gordon, who becomes a sergeant major in the Union Army's Tenth U.S. Calvary. Following the war, he must face a devastated South as he seeks to complete his assignment of recruiting another African-American cavalry unit, called the Ninth Negro. The unit is ultimately put together and given the task of making the western frontier safe for the homesteaders and entrepreneurs pouring in from the East. The novel recounts the challenges faced by Gordon, many of them not associated with Native Americans, but rather with his own troops, including mutinies, substandard housing, poor wages, and inedible food. Gordon proves himself to be an excellent soldier and leader who even earns the respect of his Native-American foes. While a Publishers Weekly contributor found the novel an "unwieldy, overwritten attempt," Lillian Lewis, writing in Booklist, commented that "Lewis' debut displays a strong sense of people, places, and time that yields a convincing and compelling historical novel."

The second novel in the series, Buffalo Gordon on the Plains, is set on the plains of Kansas, where Gordon and his troops battle a bitter winter while fighting the fearsome Dog Soldiers of the Cheyenne tribe. Gordon is also troubled by nervousness while worrying about his lover, Cara, a Comanche Mexican who is pregnant with his child. In addition, Gordon must face the ignorance and prejudices of the army. Throughout the course of the novel, Gordon meets western legends such as "Buffalo Bill" Cody, Kit Carson, and the doomed General George Custer. Margaret Flanagan, writing in Booklist, commented, "though a bit contrived and formulaic, this rousing, well-researched saga does provide a glimpse into a neglected chapter in African American history."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Booklist, January 1, 2001, Lillian Lewis, review of Buffalo Gordon: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Nate Gordon from Louisiana Slave to Buffalo Soldier, p. 918; November 15, 2003, Margaret Flanagan, review of Buffalo Gordon on the Plains, p. 581.

Publishers Weekly, December 18, 2000, review of Buffalo Gordon, p. 54.

Times-Picayune, review of Buffalo Gordon, p. 7.