HMG ePublishing Announces the 'Return to Southampton County' Reaches #1 'best seller' designation in Amazon Kindle Store

David J. Mason’s The Self-Liberation of Parson Sykes: Return to Southampton County Makes the Top 100 Best Sellers in Amazon’s Black & African American History

PRINCETON, NJ, UNITED STATES, February 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- HMG ePublishing, LLC announced today that The Self-Liberation of Parson Sykes: Return to Southampton County, the latest volume in author and historian David J. Mason’s acclaimed Parson Sykes trilogy, was selected as Book of the Day by OnlineBookClub.org on February 4, 2026. The designation generated strong reader engagement and propelled the title to #1 bestseller status on the Amazon Kindle Top 100 in Black & African American History.

OnlineBookClub.org is one of the web’s longest-running global reader communities, highlighting select titles each day based on editorial selection, reader interest, and community response. Books chosen as Book of the Day receive prominent exposure across the platform’s website, forums, and social media channels. During its feature window, Return to Southampton County drew notable praise for its historical depth, documentary rigor, and emotionally grounded narrative.

As part of the February 4 promotion, OnlineBookClub.org selected The Self-Liberation of Parson Sykes: Return to Southampton County as its featured title, ranking it at the top among featured titles, reflecting strong reader downloads, sustained discussion activity, and a positive community response throughout the promotional period.

“This recognition matters because it comes from readers,” said David J. Mason, author and founder of HMG ePublishing, LLC. “The reader community engaged seriously with the book’s historical themes, freedom, Reconstruction, and the unfinished work of citizenship after emancipation. That level of engagement affirms the book’s purpose as both narrative history and public memory.

Return to Southampton County continues the true story of Parson Sykes—an enslaved teenager from Southampton County, Virginia, who self-liberated during the Civil War, served in the United States Colored Troops, and returned home to confront the realities of Reconstruction, racial violence, and fragile freedom. The Parson Sykes trilogy blends documentary research, genealogy, and narrative Reconstruction to illuminate a rarely documented Black family experience across slavery, war, and emancipation.

The #1 “best seller” designation reflects the book’s ranking within the Amazon Kindle Store, underscoring the impact of OnlineBookClub.org community-driven discovery and reader engagement. HMG ePublishing not only celebrates the significance of reader-based recognition but also emphasizes transparency in how rankings are described.

The Parson Sykes trilogy is drawing sustained interest from genealogists, educators, libraries, and public history institutions for its disciplined use of primary sources and its careful portrayal of ordinary individuals navigating periods of profound national upheaval. Grounded in the scholarly disciplines of Black and African American history, the series contributes to the ongoing effort to center practicable experience, documentary evidence, and community memory in the interpretation of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras.

About the Author

Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, David J. Mason holds a Master of Science degree from Hampton University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Norfolk State University. He is also a graduate of the United States Army War College. A two-time recipient of the International Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) Book Award and a Literary Titan Gold Book Award honoree, Mason brings a disciplined research approach shaped by military leadership, historical scholarship, and multigenerational family heritage to his writing.

About HMG ePublishing, LLC

HMG ePublishing, LLC is an award-winning independent publishing company that employs a disciplined five-phase framework to guide authors from manuscript development to market distribution. The company provides comprehensive and cost-conscious eBook and print publishing services, including editorial refinement, professional design, digital production, metadata strategy, marketing support, and multi-channel retail distribution. By integrating established publishing standards with contemporary digital technologies, HMG ePublishing delivers professional-grade solutions that enhance content integrity, strengthen market positioning, and support long-term credibility in both retail and institutional markets.

Paige Hinton-Mason
HMG ePublishing, LLC
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