Worth His Salt by Dr. Joel Anthony Hamilton

Where is salt? It pumps through your veins, dusts your fingertips in the drive-thru, and has seeped into that comforting bite of your favorite childhood meal. Surprisingly, salt is not in the earth’s crust, not anymore. Centuries of overharvesting, spurred by human gluttony and the food industry, have depleted every source of salt beneath the surface. To make matters worse, global pollution has become so severe that other sources of salt, like seawater, have become too toxic to ingest. The Armageddon that ensued would convince you the world was at war or a zombie apocalypse had begun. This lasted until Pillars, mysterious human-like creatures made entirely of salt, suddenly appeared in one country. The government seized this opportunity to reignite their economy, spurred by powerful food companies, and gathered them into salt farms. The country’s profits and standing in the world blossomed with this newfound resource. In order to keep this momentum, it became law to turn every Pillar into the government. However, one small restaurant defied this order when they agreed to hide a water-bottle-sized Pillar named Geo. They risk their careers, families, and very lives keeping him hidden from random inspections, salt hounds, and Inspector Hans. To save their future, all it takes is a phone call to turn him in and obtain their monetary reward. To keep him concealed takes a sacrifice few are willing to make anymore. They weigh these choices each day and must decide if he is truly worth his salt.

Mud Crab Kingdom: My People or My Peace? by Dr. Joel Anthony Hamilton

Following the Indie Ink nominated book, the Soft-Shelled Prince, this slow-burn sequel shows Marcious Leojè's life after creating his Mud Crab Kingdom. Like that of his childhood, the walls of his kingdom keep discrimination and persecution at bay. However, they also keep the true Marcious locked inside. Marcious must constantly choose between what's best for his kingdom and himself; the advancement of mud-skins and the pursuit of love; his people or his peace. The demands of his citizens, opinions of outsiders, and thoughts in his head create an inescapable constant roar. Even so, he must make choices that leave some, or someone disgruntled, disowned, or dead.

Mud Crab Kingdom: The Soft-Shelled Prince by Dr. Joel Anthony Hamilton

In a time ruled by fair-skinned kings and racial divides, the son of a fair-skinned king and mud-skinned peasant, Marcious Leojé, spends his days far beyond his father's kingdom in the muddy mangroves with his best friend, Etel Duetman. Here, they form an unusual kinship with the native crabs and build a mud kingdom. These two mud-skinned teenagers feel invincible within this playground-sized fortress. The discrimination within the kingdom cannot reach them and the mud walls provide a sense of security. However, they soon learn that their kingdom is nothing more than a mud wall, as it is unable to protect those they love. Cast into despair and the unknown world, they must learn to build a kingdom capable of protecting those they love. Along their journey they encounter people who show them the products of love, war, and despair. However, Marcious cannot envision his product, his own kingdom. Everywhere, being mud-skinned is worse than murder, and being "different" is worse than being mud-skinned. Will his vow to create a kingdom withstand the rising tides or will it wash away like that of his childhood?