Meet Jack Erwin, the leading man from my (short story “The Raid on Camp Struthers” which takes place around 1896 AD (right now it is awaiting revision). Hailing from a struggling family in rural Kansas, Jack has spent an arm and a leg venturing to the colonial protectorate of British East Africa in search of diamond wealth. After the local warrior queen Anyango accosts him for trespassing and stealing from her people, Jack offers to help her rescue her brother from imprisonment by a British colonial garrison to redeem himself in her eyes.