THE PONTOTOC CONSPIRACY'S OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PROMOTIONAL TOUR KICKS OFF WITH AUTHOR ENGAGEMENTS IN THE HEART OF THE CHICKASAW NATION

Phillip M. Swatek, author of The Pontotoc Conspiracy, will kick off his Oklahoma and Texas promotional book tour with engagements in Ada, Oklahoma, beginning October 20. The Pontotoc Conspiracy is a historical novel of outlaws, renegades, and lawmen set in the last days of Indian Territory and the first years of Oklahoma statehood, and is based on actual events.

ADA, OKLA. (PRWEB) October 17, 2003 - The author of The Pontotoc Conspiracy, Phillip M. Swatek, will be in Oklahoma and Texas promoting his new book starting October 20.

The release of The Pontotoc Conspiracy, a story of mystery, murder and revenge set in the final days of Indian Territory and the first years of Oklahoma statehood, was announced October 7th.

Phil will be presenting and signing copies of The Pontotoc Conspiracy at several events in Ada, Oklahoma the week of October 20. He will speak at the Ada Public Library at 10 am on Monday, October 20, with a booksigning to follow. On Tuesday, the author will present The Pontotoc Conspiracy at the Ada Lion's Club at 12 pm, with a booksigning at Hastings Books in the North Hills Shopping Centre from 6 to 8 pm. On Wednesday, Phil will speak to the Pontotoc County Historical & Genealogical Society at 1 pm.

Phil will be touring local bookstores in Oklahoma and Texas following his visit to Ada, and has interviews scheduled with members of the local press. Phil will be in the Oklahoma City and Norman area beginning on Thursday, October 23, and in the Tulsa area Friday and Saturday. Phil will then be visiting Fort-Worth and Dallas, starting Monday, October 27.

Phil looks forward to further inquiries from the Oklahoma and Texas press, and will be available for interviews. Contact information is available on the The Pontotoc Conspiracy website, as well as up-to-date event information.

A true crime story of the Old West, The Pontotoc Conspiracy describes the ambush assassination of a former U.S. Deputy Marshal, how the murder was solved with the help of a legendary Chickasaw tracker, and the sensational crime that followed as desperate citizens took the law into their own hands. The Pontotoc Conspiracy recounts the unsettled conditions in the last part of Indian Territory, including Pontotoc County, heart of the Chickasaw Nation, where distant courts and thin law enforcement brought many to administer their own personal justice.

"Law enforcement in Indian Territory and in Oklahoma's early days makes a fascinating story and much of it is captured in The Pontotoc Conspiracy. It's a good read for those interested in the history going back to the Indians' Light Horse Police," says Al Ritter, Editor, The Oklahoma State Troopers Magazine.

Phil Swatek has taken a tragic event in the history of Oklahoma and turned it into a modern mystery," says Dr. Lewis Wynne, Executive Director of the Florida Historical Society. "Those familiar with Oklahoma history will identify with the characters and the rough-and-tumble society of Indian Territory. Those who may not be familiar with early Oklahoma history will enjoy this book as a first-rate 'whodunnit."

Brenda Tollett, Managing Editor, The Ada Evening News, and past president of the Pontotoc County Historical & Genealogical Society, says The historic lynching in Ada in 1909 could be considered a kind of morality play-the struggle between good and evil-but the requisite moral isnt entirely clear now, nearly one hundred years later. The Pontotoc Conspiracy takes up this conundrum as an historical novel set in the last days of Indian Territory and the first years of Oklahoma. Easy to read, The Pontotoc Conspiracy still reflects careful research."

The historical novel The Pontotoc Conspiracy is published by the Florida Historical Society Press. Included in the 237-page hardcover book are twenty-three period maps and photographs. The book is available on Amazon.com and may be ordered through the publisher by phone, e-mail, or regular mail. In Oklahoma, several Hastings stores now carry the book and Barnes and Noble stores will be stocking it soon. The Pontotoc Conspiracy sells for $23.95 plus shipping.

Note: Complimentary copies of The Pontotoc Conspiracy are available to the media upon request.

About Phillip M. Swatek:

Phil began his writing career as a newspaper reporter and editor in West Texas, and went on to become Washington Correspondent and Chief of the Washington Bureau for The Cincinnati Enquirer. His great fascination with the history of the Old West, and of Oklahoma in particular, is reflected in The Pontotoc Conspiracy. This is his first book.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Phillip M. Swatek

phil@pontotoc-conspiracy.com

Shelby Swatek

mktg@pontotoc-conspiracy.com

Dr. Lewis Wynne

Florida Historical Society Press

wynne@flahistory.net

More detailed sales information is

available on the website:

http://www.pontotoc-conspiracy.com

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