Author Profile: Ivory Simone

“Bloodlines Not Race Tell The True American Story”

“Americans are a very racially mixed group of people,” says Ivory Simone, author of the new e-novel, Havasu Means Blue Water.  Instead of relying on racial characteristics to identify a person, Simone suggests we try a novel approach, “Study an individual’s bloodline. It’ll give you a more accurate picture of his true racial identity.”  Born and reared among the diverse cultures and peoples of the Southwest, Simone marvels at how often the big picture is missed when it comes to American history, “The bottom line is you don’t have to trace family bloodlines too far back to discover we (Americans) are all related,” she said.

Havasu Means Blue Water is an epic tale about families and bloodlines. This heart wrenching story is pieced together through the valiant efforts of Lyla Amir,  the novel’s heroine. Lyla, a history graduate student, travels to Wilburn, Arizona to examine the facts surrounding 1918 lynching of a black farmer’s wife as part of her master’s thesis on race, gender and violence. Her research into the tragedy takes the readers on an amazing journey through a past which has strong parallels to the present, to uncover a timeless love story.   

“I believe everyone has at least one great story to tell. ‘Havasu Means Blue Water’ is the story I was born to write,” Simone said.