By DeAnn Lubell
Roccie Hill is an American writer and a native Californian. She received her BA in Philosophy and History at UCLA, and her MA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University, where her short stories appeared regularly in the literary quarterly. After graduate school, she moved to Salinas, where she worked with César Chavez as part of the United Farm Workers union.
She lived and worked in Paris for 8 years as a journalist, a teacher of Creative Writing, a Marketing Officer for the Statue of Liberty Centennial, and as a mother (her most important job ever).
She also lived in England for 8 years, mostly in Gloucestershire, where she worked for non-profits and produced a variety of short films and celebrity/royal events, including an exclusive dinner at the private home (Highgrove) of His Majesty Charles III.
Upon her return to California, she became a career non-profit executive, and was the Executive Director for 7 years of Guide Dogs of the Desert, as well as the elected Chair of the California Association of Non-profits Public Policy Council.
Roccie published two novels, several short stories, a play, exhibited her photography in Palm Springs, and studied the history and genealogy of US borderlands culture in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. She is a professional genealogist, with a focus on Native American ancestry. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Genealogical Society of Hispanic America-Southern California and of the Virginia Genealogical Society. She is a member (and former 1st Vice Regent) of the Cahuilla Chapter DAR, and a former Board Member of both the Palm Springs United Nations Association and the Palm Springs Writers Guild.
Her novel, In the Blood of My Mother was inspired by her own family history that kept eluding her. Try as she might, she was never able to uncover what had happened to her great-great grandmother, Eliza, who was brought to Texas as part of the Stephen Austin Colony when the land was still Mexico, and who lived under 4 flags over the course of forty years. Inspired by this mystery, Roccie began sketching the life of Eliza, turning it into the plot of this novel, together with real-life characters from Texas history and members of her own family who fought at the Battle of San Jacinto, who farmed the rich agricultural acres of the state, and who lived through decades of prejudice of many kinds.
“In the Bood of My Mother, author Roccie Hill has crafted a heartbreaking and beautiful, bold, and courageous coming-of-age tale set in a meticulously researched 19th century Texas, said Baron Birtcher, Los Angeles Times bestselling author. “Hill’s lyrical prose is the heartbeat that drives a fascinating narrative rich with imagery of a rough land suffering the birth pangs of a territory on the precipice of statehood, and all the lawlessness, wickedness, bravery, and grace that it entails. The resonance of antebellum language, customs and mores of the times suffuses the poignant and compelling story of protagonist Eliza Green, whose pluck and grit are revealed through the voice of an author that is nothing short of transcendent. Exciting, often terrifying, and ultimately hopeful, THE BLOOD OF MY MOTHER is a relentlessly entertaining and unique novel–Bravo, Roccie Hill!”
For more information about Rocci go to www.roccihill.com
