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Lizards Hold the Sun: A Contemporary Rez Romance

Dani Trujillo

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Archaeology has historically been a field for white men only. Not anymore. Xiomara Chavez has dedicated her life to the preservation of her Mexican homeland. Out of hundreds of applications, she alone was selected to lead the creation of the Bunchberry Tribal Museum. Faced with her most remote project ever, Xiomara must rely on the help of Calehan, the aloof museum architect. Sparks fly in the archives as Xiomara struggles to refrain from dating in the workplace.

Tight-lipped Calehan Yellowbird has been tethered to Bunchberry, Canada for a thousand years. After the loss of his mother as a teen, Calehan has been providing for his family more than half his life. While he earned his architecture degree nearly a decade ago, the Bunchberry Museum would be his first official project. The pressure was immense, and Calehan felt the pressure of this project being his first…and last. Romance and dreams weren’t in the cards for someone like him. For Xiomara though, he was willing to take the chance.

Thrown among ancient artifacts, shooting stars, and cultural obligations, Calehan and Xiomara must decide if they belong to each other or if the responsibility to their tribes and families are where they must be.

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Posts about this title from Boozhoo Books

Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Mar 29

\ \ So excited to announce that I will be moderating a panel at Bay Area Book Festival this year! And it’s on Indigenous romance! \ \ Eeeeeeeek!\ \ The panel is From Colleagues to Courtship: Indigenous Romance and features Tashia Hart, Pamela Sanderson and Dani Trujillo. I’ve linked their books below!\ \ Will I see you there?](https://boozhoo.binderybooks.com/item/exJ0tb4ihzRFFejqNpS9/)

I’m moderating: Bay Area Book Festival

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Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • May 18 2025

Do Our Tastes Align? Indigenous Edition.

Indigenous edition! How many of these have you read and how many are on your TBR! Add them up and drop your score below! Also, if you’re seeing this and you haven’t followed me on Bindery yet for free, can you please do that? It’s quick and simple and would make an impact! #boozhoobooks #indigenous books #booksrecs

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Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Sep 26 2024

Hello Friends,\ \ Thanks so much for coming to Quiet Time Book Club this week. It's so much fun to read and then chat with each other about what we are reading and what we want to read next.\ \ I've added some of the books we talked about here.\ \ I hope you can join us next Monday at 5pm PST. I will post the zoom link here and in my Discord.\ \ ​

Books We Talked About at Quite Time Book Club

Here are some books we discussed this week. Hope you can join us next Monday at 5pm PST.

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Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Sep 1 2024

Hello Friends,\ \ Another thanks to everyone who joined me with Michael LaBorn's Left Unread bookclub on Friday. We were joined by six of the author's from Never Whistle and night and had a great convo!\ \ You probably already heard, but Never Whistle at Night is getting a sequel: Back for Blood and if you're an Indigenous author and have a horror story you can submit here: Indigenous Horror\ \ Below is a list of past and upcoming projects. Excited to point out that Theodore C Van Alst Jr's "Pour One For The Devil" is an Indigenous Bingo book!\ \ Andrea L. Roger's "The Art Thieves" comes out in October and we would love to have her back for an event after the release!\ \ ​\ \ Shane Hawk:\ \ In addition to working on the sequel to Never Whistle at Night, Shane is also working on a horror play with fellow NWAN contributor Andrea L Rogers, which will premier on October 17th in Olympia Washington. It is titled: The Land has Spoken. And you can find more information here: https://www.washingtoncenter.org/event/the-land-has-spoken-10-2024/\ **Anoka **( Co-written with Seweryn Jasiński)\ \ Shane also contributed to several other anthologies, including: Global Indigenous Horror collection (edited by Naomi Simone Borwein), Howls from Hell, and Diabolica Americana.\ \ Theodore C Van Alst Jr:\ \ Pour One for the Devil\ \ Sacred Smokes\ \ Sacred City\ \ Sacred Folks\ \ The Faster Redder Road: The Best UnAmerican Stories of Stephen Graham Jones (EDITOR)\ \ The Longest Street in the World: from Never Whistle at Night\ \ Andrea L Rogers\ \ Andrea is working on a horror play with fellow NWAN contributor Shane Hawks, which will premier on October 17th in Olympia Washington. It is titled: The Land has Spoken.\ \ Chooch Helped: Picture Book\ \ Man Made Monsters\ \ The Art Thieves\ \ Mary and the Trail of Tears\ \ When We Gather (Ostadahlisiha): A Cherokee Tribal Feast\ \ Tiffany Morris\ \ Green Fuse Burning\ \ Halloween Night: Anthology\ \ Shadow Atlas: Anthology\ \ Blood, Sweat, and Fears: Horror Inspired by the 1970s (Anthology)\ \ Wax & Wane: A gathering of Witch Tales (Anthology)\ \ Mathilda Zeller\ \ The Bee King\ \ The Revenge of Bridget Cleary\ \ Dani Trujillo\ \ When Stars Have Teeth\ \ Lizards Hold the Sun: A Contemporary Rez Romance\ \ ​

Never Whistle At Night Authors

A list of what these authors are working on

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Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Aug 2 2024

Hello Readers!\ \ Let's talk about all of the exciting things going on in this community this month.\ **Good Day to Read Indigenous book club **is reading I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones.\ \ Join Club: https://fable.co/club/good-day-to-read-indigenous-with-fromthemixedupdesk-125290577858\ \ Women in Horror book club is reading The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim.\ \ Join Club: https://fable.co/club/women-in-horror-with-fromthemixedupdesk-534117318256\ \ Our community has taken on a worthwhile cause. We are supporting author KB Brookins in helping make sure other people pick up his new memoir about being Black and Trans in America. We want as many readers reading this as Pageboy! Join the readalong and project in the Discord: https://discord.gg/S6vwHnjfZh\ \ August is a special month (MY BIRTHDAY, VIRGO POWER) and a month of Giveaways! Please see the Giveaway schedule below:\ \ 8/5- 3 month subscription upgrade for one free subscriber\ \ 8/9- a handsigned copy of The Famliar by Leigh Bardugo\ \ 8/12- 3 month subscription upgrade for one free subscriber\ \ 8/16- copy of Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse\ \ 8/19- 3 month subscription upgrade for one free subscriber\ \ 8/22- hand signed copy of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo\ \ 8/27- signed copy of Dread Nation and Deathless Divide by Justina Ireleand\ \ The book giveaways are limited to US Residents Only.\ \ There might be a few more surprises! Stay Tuned!\ \ The **subscription upgrade **is something that I am really excited about because it is bringing me back to work on building out the paid tiers to make them worthwhile for everyone. I believe that more paid subscribers will help me speed the imprint journey along (That's why we are all here, right? **We want to publish Indigenous books together! **We are going to make that happen. We are the movement!) Thank you so much to those early paid subscribers who believed in this project from the first minute. (including you, mom, who I also bullied into joining).\ \ If you were a paid subsciber at the $5 or $12 level, what special perks would you want. I'm going back to the drawing table this weekend to do some work. You may notice that I renamed the tiers. The $5 tier is now Buddy Reads. The $12 tier is Enemies to Lovers. I think it's cute. What do you guys think?\ \ I hope everyone has a great weekend full of good reads. I will be finishing Lizards Hold The Sun, Gods of Jade and Shadow and starting I Was A Teenage Slasher. Tell me what you're reading below!\ \ How Do I Sign A Newsletter,\ \ Naomi, from the mixed up desk\ \ ​\ \ ​

Notes From The Mixed Up Desk, August 2, 2024

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Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Jun 29 2024

You may not have heard this, but Bindery Books signed a first look deal with Bad Robot. That’s super exciting news for the first four books coming out this October.\ \ It’s hard not to get excited about the possibility of an Indigenous Imprint. I read in every single genre, but I would be super excited about fantasy, thriller, horror and romance! The popularity of Stephen Graham Jones and the success of Never Whistle at Night is an undeniable force. White Horse by Erika T Wurth, Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris and Bad Cree by Jessica Johns are some of my favorite horror books!\ \ Indigenous romance is also on the rise! My book club is reading indie Indigenous romance Lizards Hold The Sun by Dani Trujillo in July and the first traditionally published Indigenous romance, The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava, will be out from Berkley this August. (Spoiler Alert: It will be the pick for book club in September!)\ \ Rebecca Roanhorse! Cherie Dimaline! Darcie Little Badger! Moniquill Blackgoose! all have had massive success in the fantasy arena.\ \ And I think Vanessa Lillie’s thriller would lend itself great to television!\ \ Speaking of television: Dark Winds and Rez Dogs are two Indigenous tv series that people can’t stop talking about.\ \ And I want to see Lily Gladstone IN LITERALLY EVERYTHING.\ \ I feel like a studio would JUMP at the opportunity to have the next big Indigenous tv show or movie with an already built in audience - and that’s US! Fans of the future Bindery published book (fingers crossed!)\ \ I know that there are Indigenous writers out there who are writing and waiting for the opportunity to be published and I know that their books are not getting prioritized like their contemporaries. We can help to change that.\ \ You are already helping by just being here.\ \ I saw Jenn Harper, Ceo of Indigenous makeup brand Cheekbone Beauty speak at an Indigenous women’s conference not long ago and she said, “I don’t come from generational wealth, I come from generational poverty” and that is something that has stuck with me and I repeat often, because I find it all too relatable.\ \ I come from poverty, so I want to make it clear, though I would love everyone to eventually become a paid subscriber, I know that is not feasible for everyone and I want to make sure I always have free content available. You being here supporting is important to me and I am happy to have you along on this journey to imprint.\ \ If you can afford to buy me a coffee once a month, please consider subscribing at the $5 level.\ \ If you can afford to buy me a lunch once a month (okay, you buy the salad, I will buy the Diet Coke LOL), please consider subscribing at the $12 level.\ \ Please don’t forget to join the Discord and come chat with others who are passionate about Indigenous books and making this Indigenous imprint with Bindery a reality. I have a channel in there now dedicated to the journey to imprint.\ \ https://discord.gg/7feMCgFEuK\ \ Miigwech,\ \ Naomi

Imagining an Indigenous Imprint

click here to read the entire blog about our dreams of an Indigenous imprint with Bindery Books.

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Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Jun 28 2024

[Hello Everyone,\ \ Thank you so much to everyone who has shown up to support and to join our little community of readers who are passionate about Indigenous books. As I mentioned in my video, the ultimate goal is to be our own imprint and publish Indigenous stories.\ \ We talk about all kinds of books here. I read in every genre so you will get a wide range of recommendations.\ \ Here is everywhere you can find me online:\ \

  1. JOIN THE BOOZHOO BOOKS DISCORD\ \ https://discord.gg/3jpQ4m9X25\\ \ My Discord is great to join because all of my events will be listed there. In my Discord, we do readalongs of Indigenous books and horror written by women. In July, we will be reading Braiding Sweet Grass by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Linghun by Ai Jiang. I will also be doing a readalong of Black Sun, the first book in the Between the Earth and Sky Trilogy by Rebecca Roanhorse.\ \ There are many channels about different subjects. One of my favorite channels is the horror movies channel. I want to do a horror movies night.\ \
  2. Good Day To Read Indigenous Book Club on the Fable App\ \ https://fable.co/club/good-day-to-read-indigenous-with-fromthemixedupdesk-125290577858\\ \ Our July Read is Lizards Hold The Sun by Dani Trujillo. Dani has also agreed to do a zoom call with us at the end of the month.\ \
  3. Women in Horror Book Club on the Fable App\ \ https://fable.co/club/women-in-horror-with-fromthemixedupdesk-534117318256\\ \ Our July Read is Diavola by Jennifer Thorne. This looks to be a spooky vacation horror, which is perfect for summertime. You can expect a summer horror reading list coming from me shortly!\ \
  4. On TikTok:\ \ https://www.tiktok.com/@fromthemixedupdesk?is\_from\_webapp=1&sender\_device=pc\\ \
  5. On Bookstagram:\ \ https://www.instagram.com/fromthemixedupdesk\\ \ Again, I am so happy that you have showed up for Indigenous books. Please let me know below if there is any specific content you'd like to see from me or any questions you might have for me about Bindery, or in general.\ \ ​\ \ ​\ \ ​\ \ ​\ \ ​\ \ ​](https://boozhoo.binderybooks.com/item/ZcE2VBkHUSrrKVztXy9k/)

Welcome

Welcome to My Bindery

5 books

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Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Jun 20 2024

My Indigenous book club on Fable is voting on our July book.

My Indigenojs book club on Fable is voting on our July book. Please join us if you are interested in reading more Indigenous books.

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Posts about this book from across Bindery

Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Mar 29

I’m moderating: Bay Area Book Festival

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Bien Leidos\ \ tomesandtextiles\ \ • Oct 13 2025

Join for free

Latinx Heritage Month Personal Curriculum Day 29

Day 29: Lizards Hold The Sun by Dani Trujillo #booktok #romancebooktok #tiktokshopcreatorpicks #tomesandtextiles

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Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • May 18 2025

Do Our Tastes Align? Indigenous Edition.

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Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Sep 26 2024

Books We Talked About at Quite Time Book Club

Here are some books we discussed this week. Hope you can join us next Monday at 5pm PST.

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Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Sep 1 2024

Never Whistle At Night Authors

A list of what these authors are working on

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Sep 1 2024

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[Thank you to everyone who stopped by on Friday and spent time with us! It was such an incredible experience, getting to celebrate these incredible authors and to encourage them in the important work they are doing!\ \ For those of you who missed it, one of the highlighting conversations we had was the way that Never Whistle at Night is not just an anthology, but one that highlights Indigenous people and opens the door for newer Indigneous voices. And y'all know that if there's one thing about me... I love anything that opens doors for more people of color.\ \ And even more exciting... they are doing it again.\ \ Starting this morning at 11am CST, the editors of Never Whistle at Night (Shane Hawk and Theodore C Van Alst Jr) are looking for more indigenous voices to add to the sequel: Back for Blood! So if you are a North American Indigenous writer, and have a horror story idea, please submit your story for this amazing anthology.\ \ Here is the website to submit to: indigenoushorror.com\ \ MORE ABOUT THE AUTHORS\ \ Shane Hawk:\ \

Never Whistle at Night: More about the Authors

We met with six of the contributing authors to Never Whistle at Night on Friday August 30th and WOW, what an incredible time! If you want to see more about those authors, including their other projects, feel free to check out this post!

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Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Aug 2 2024

Notes From The Mixed Up Desk, August 2, 2024

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Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Jun 29 2024

Imagining an Indigenous Imprint

click here to read the entire blog about our dreams of an Indigenous imprint with Bindery Books.

7 books

10

Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Jun 28 2024

Welcome

Welcome to My Bindery

5 books

3

Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Jun 20 2024

My Indigenous book club on Fable is voting on our July book.

My Indigenojs book club on Fable is voting on our July book. Please join us if you are interested in reading more Indigenous books.

3 books