“What do you write?” Have you heard that question before? For literary writers this question is like a grain of dirt on the ass cheek of a wild hog running through the brush in the Ozark Hills. Every time I go to answer the question I know what’s going to follow. It’s going to be another question, with a quizzical expression on the questioner’s face, asking me, “What’s literary fiction?”
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Native Voices for Native Audiobook: Recording Chapters in CALLING FOR A BLANKET DANCE
I can’t tell you how grateful I am to be able to read for my debut novel. Many writers don’t get the opportunity to record for their own audiobooks. Because my novel is polyvocal and comes from the heart of tribally specific communities, Kiowa and Cherokee, I was more than happy when Algonquin Books asked me to read for the male characters in my debut. Moreover, they hired a Native actress to read for the women characters: Rainy Fields.
(more…)Native Writers Made ABA’s Indies Introduce List & my Appearance on Library Journal’s Day of Dialogue
It’s been a day. A good day. Busy, but good busy. Got some great news. Well, I guess I got the news a couple weeks back and sat on it until today. Why? Because today was the day the American Booksellers Association made the announcement for this year’s Indies Introduce list. And guess what? My debut novel, CALLING FOR A BLANKET DANCE, made the list! Only 10 adult fiction novels are selected each year, and it looks like 2022 was my year.
(more…)Independent Bookstore Day!
There are some great bookstores in your community. And today is a great day to stop by. It’s independent bookstore day and local businesses need us to shop local to sustain the unique qualities of our specific communities. Local bookstores do great things like support artists, hold readings for children, and give authors a community platform to share their work. If you haven’t attended your local bookstore, please take the time to stop in today. Once we get in the habit of shopping at our local bookstores, we foster a network of creativity, compassion, and spirit.
(more…)Back to Blogging & Goodbye Social Media
It’s gotten crazy out there. These social media giants are getting more and more ridiculous every day. They’re contributing to the polarization of the politics in America as opposed to just running their companies. Their egos are bigger than their platforms. I’m not going to name any names here so I don’t contribute to their idiocy. But we all know the name of the newest buy out and the one who started it all. At one point, I’d say back in the good ol’ days of MySpace, it was an environment where we could create our own content and engage with each other freely. Now algorithms and propaganda have disrupted our freedom. We no longer have an array of personalities with unique qualities. Now it’s one of two choices. Get in your line and stay in your lane. Way too rigid for my tastes. So I’m back!
(more…)Work-In-Progress Indian Child Welfare Novel
Often I use my blog here to think through dynamics in a story line. I try to stay subtle and not give away any major plot points. And I’ll do my best to do the same here. I’ve been thinking a lot recently on my book 3 project. It’s in need of a new title. But I’m unsure of exactly how to go about it.
(more…)Goodreads Book Giveaway for Native American Debut Novel: CALLING FOR A BLANKET DANCE
I’m super excited to announce there are 30 FREE advance reader copies of my debut novel, CALLING FOR A BLANKET DANCE, available on Goodreads. Here’s a chance to win and read before the book releases on July 26, 2022. You’ll get all the juicy details before it hits the shelves!
(more…)The Revival of Juxtaposition & the Reveal of Thematics
When we pick up any literary novel we must commit to being an active reader. We can be entertained by the surface plot and the triangulation between characters, certainly. But the purpose of literary fiction is to dive deeper into the text and search for symbols. Not only the symbols that comprise a larger thematic in a storyline, but, more importantly, the symbols that shape the really real world we walk through every day.
(more…)Highly Anticipated Debut Novel in 2022 from Native American Author
So I know it’s not cool to say “own voice writer” anymore these days, but we have to give credit to the Native writers writing from inside our own tribal communities. It doesn’t happen as often as you might think. And you know what happens even less? When a debut Native writer from inside his tribally specific and historically targeted community gets a little recognition.
(more…)Digesting Fragments as Memories: CALLING FOR A BLANKET DANCE
Let me ask you a simple question: What was a significant event in your life? Moreover, how did it impact you, change you, make you into the person you are? What I like most about this question is how it immediately takes us deep into memory. Suddenly a series of memories flood our minds and we rifle through each to determine which might be the most impactful. Now let me switch it on you. What if I asked each of your relatives about the most significant event in your life?
(more…)Gritty Conversational: A Contemporary Native American Voice to Combat Erasure
So I was sitting in a classroom at the University of Oklahoma. This was about a decade ago. I was in my master’s program and it was a special topics course on heteronormativity in American culture. We were discussing James Baldwin’s work, and the professor said, “I love Baldwin’s writing and I don’t know how he does it.” Then he looked at me. We locked eyes for a moment. I’m the only one in this MA program who has a BFA in Creative Writing. I immediately thought, I know how he does it. But before I had a chance to respond, he quickly stated, “And I don’t want to know,” as if he knew I was about to break the spell.
(more…)The Aftermath of the Final Draft: Novels
So I’m about to use this post as catharsis. I’ve done something tremendous. So momentous that it’s a little unsettling. Or maybe I’ve made it unsettling by overthinking. But I can’t help but wonder if this is a normal part of the process once a writer has submitted the final draft of her novel to an editor.
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