So …I was asked why I write about the supernatural and where do I get my ideas, especially those that relate to Native Americans. The conversation took place about a month back, at a Mexican restaurant over an early dinner with a friend. Nothing formal, just a casual chat, and the question was one that I hadn’t seriously contemplated. Writing with Native Americans as the centerpiece of a story is a given being that I am Native American. I was born and raised on a Native American reservation, surrounded by “crazy” Indian relatives and Indian friends and acquaintances. I’m using the word “crazy” in a figurative way, not literal. Conversations with relatives and friends always included—and still do—a high degree of laughter and joking around. That’s just the way Indian folks are. Reminiscing about the old days and stories passed down were a part of my childhood. Some were outright preposterous, most were not. They all stayed with me, so it is a natural thing for me to incorporate them into my writings. An example could be the shape shifter (yenaldlooshi-Navajo) in Shadow Hunter, or the mention of the appearance of the owl in Falling Stars, or the significance of the legend of Falling Stars (yes, I know they are really meteors). My late father feared owls. According to him, owls are harbingers of bad news. And there’s the spider wasp and the tarantula in I’ll Kill You Later, which, I suppose, comes from living in the desert. I realize the spider wasp has a role in nature but I hate them. Anyway, when I left the reservation—although still to this day I call it home—all the reminiscing, the conversations, and stories stayed with me as I aged and for that I am grateful.

I attended a boarding school located on the Navajo Reservation—a Presbyterian Mission—so my environment continued on there. My schoolmates came from many reservations. All possessed stories of their own. In my reply to my friend, I threw out several reasons but I’ll only mention two here.

First, Indian folks (Native Americans for the PC crowd) are superstitious. I mean, really superstitious, which makes for rich stories, fabulous gossip, and goosebumps. There’s a scene in Falling Stars where an owl appears and instant fear and silence falls upon the gathered people. This is a true event. How could I not use this in my story? Also true—or as legend has it—is the scene where death occurs. A stars falls in the night sky, signaling the passing of a cherished one who has momentarily returned (in the form of a brilliant light) to say goodbye to those left behind. It is a sign to comfort the grieving, letting them know that their ancestors have come to lead them to the Shining Path and all is well. What a wonderful legend!

Second, Native Americans are a diverse people, loyal and respectful of the land. They are law-abiding (for the most part) and do not go disrespecting other folks’ property, and they still care for their elders. I used Cody Lonewolf (a fictional retired Army Ranger) to exemplify this characteristic. In I’ll Kill You Later, I used an Apache Crown Dancer (a fictional retired Marine) to show the ferocity and relentless courage of Native tribes. Ryder Jae Lee, the main character in the Shadow Hunter Series, is from a Plains tribe. She is young, tough, but scared to death of her calling. She is the reluctant soldier in whose veins flows the blood of her warrior-ancestors. It is the blood and traditions of her ancestors that drives her onward regardless of her fears.

As for the supernatural element…well, I simply think it is a fascinating subject and since Indian folks believe in the supernatural, I hear plenty of stories that involve the subject. The story involving the yenaldlooshi was told to me—and fellow students—on a bus as we returned from our high school senior trip. I do not remember where our trip took us but I do remember the stories told on that long bus ride. It was night, the moon was full, the landscape full of shadows, and we were all deathly silent as the bus rolled along and we listened to a classmate, a Navajo girl, telling us stories that involved the dreaded shape shifter. To her, the stories she shared were frighteningly real.

Not all my stories involve Native Americans but those that do are the easiest to write. Again, it’s my childhood, my teenage years, my adulthood. It is me.