Book excerpt: Call No Man Master is an intricately crafted historical novel that focuses on a young woman of mixed heritage, Carmen Rangel, and her participation in the events that lead to MexicoÕs independence from Spain. After the ideals of the Revolution are betrayed, Carmen takes up arms for TexasÕ independence from Mexico. Although born of an aristocratic Spaniard and an Indian woman, Carmen is raised to be proud and fearless and unfettered by any limitations that her sex and mixed heritage might impose. An ardent supporter of the Spanish crown, she witnesses the injustices that Indians, Mestizos and other people of color endure, first at the hands of the colonial Spanish government, then at the hands of the white power brokers that control the newly-independent Mexico. Persecuted and hunted by the authorities for her political activities, she flees disguised as a frontiersman north to Texas with Coalter Owens, a young North American committed to the independence movement. In a carefully laid-out progression of events, this epic story leads the reader through the attempt to establish a Texas kingdom, the early colonization of Texas by Anglo settlers, and the mounting hostilities that end in the conflagration at the Alamo. Throughout, such historical figures as Miguel Hidalgo, Stephen F. Austin, Jim Bowie, Sam Houston, Santa Anna and David Crockett are brought to life to interact with the fictional characters and reveal the true motivations behind the historical movements encompassed by the novel.