Yellow Rose of Texas, Freedom Fighter, 1836-1865, is the historical fiction account of Rose, a quadroon slave born in 1814 on a Louisiana cotton plantation, sold to a representative of the Republic of Texas, trained as a spy, and placed into Santa Anna's headquarters. She is recognized as a hero of the Texas Republic and continues to serve into the Civil War. Author Joe B. Hewitt enables the reader to enter the mind of this character, Rose, a slave girl, who is abused by her master and dreams of freedom. She is determined to fight for freedom for herself, and for all people. Yellow Rose of Texas is an adventure story, a love story, a spy thriller, but it is also a lesson in Texas history, abolition of slavery, and conflict between the whites and Comanches. The book also expresses the deep-set convictions of Southern gentry and clergy that rationalized slavery and justified treating people as property.
About the Author: Author Joe B. Hewitt started writing as a newspaper reporter. He covered the police beat, courthouse beat, and was an investigative reporter. He went under cover for three months and published an expose of vice and crime. He served as national and international news editor and "slot" man on the city desk. He owned and published Texas weekly newspapers. At age 32 he was called into the ministry. While still a seminary student he started pastoring a small church while serving as editor and publisher of a Texas weekly paper. During the first several years at that church he worked as public relations director for a church-supported temperance organization. In that capacity he wrote teacher in-service training manuals on drug abuse, designed catalogs, edited a monthly magazine, wrote and voiced public service radio announcements, and appeared on television interview shows regarding drug abuse education, and spoke at high school assemblies and churches. Throughout his pastoral ministry Hewitt never stopped writing. He ghost-wrote a book on Bible prophecy for a famous radio preacher. He wrote a nonfiction book on personal experience that has sold 45,000 copies. He wrote curriculum for Bible study teachers and teachers commentaries for LifeWay, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention as well as the youth devotional guide, and Open Windows the 1.1 million-circulation adult devotional guide. For 10 years wrote columns for the Rockwall Success, and Rowlett Lakeshore Times, local newspapers. His magazine articles were published in Mature Living, The Baptist Standard, and Leadership magazine (published by the Baptist General Convention of Texas), Faith for the Family, Reproduction Methods, and the Christian Crusader. Photographs have been published by Associated Press, United Press International, Popular Mechanics, and several detective magazines (from the days when he was police reporter.). His travel articles and pictures have been published in The Dallas Morning News, and the Houston Chronicle's Sunday Magazine. Guest editorials have been published in The Dallas Morning News and Spirit of 76, publication of Fort Worth, Texas, Mensa. Hewitt received a BD degree from Bible Baptist Seminary, and an MA degree in Biblical Studies from Dallas Baptist University.