TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEW BOOK.

The Sound of Wolves, Apache Bride is my latest and last installment of the Native Bride Series. Each novella is a stand alone and can be read in any order.

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This particular title jumps right into the action. It opens with Christine River, the daughter of an outlaw turned rancher, whom, after delivering the pay to her father’s drovers, finds an orphaned Apache baby on the trail. 

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Christine, having been raised to live like a man, is surprised at the amount of maternal instincts and protectiveness she feels towards this innocent baby. She is determined to keep the child and raise him as her own, until she is ambushed on the trail by a rather large and fierce looking warrior claiming she stole his son. 

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Believing that he has captured a man and a human trafficker, Thomas Shadow Wolf, an Indian police for Agent, John Clum nearly takes the kidnapper’s life. He is shocked to discover that he has in fact, holding a knife to the throat of a woman. Her pleas to spare the life of the child touches him and then as the story progresses, they discover the ugly truth about the plight of the Apache women and children in the Arizona Territory and also discover a deep and emotional bond between them.

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This story does contain quite a bit of language, some violence and one graphic sexual encounter, but the story is based on many truths in history and is as much as an adventure, as it is a romance.

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HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE TITLE FOR THIS BOOK?

As I wrote the story, the line, The Sound of Wolves appeared on the page and I knew it was the best representation for the story and the series.

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WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS BOOK? IS IT PART OF A SERIES?

Honestly, I love children. I am almost always including babies in my romances. Yes, it is the last and final Native Bride installment.

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HOW MUCH OF YOUR BOOK IS BASED ON YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES OR THOSE OF SOMEONE YOU KNOW?

Most of the book is written around actual figures in Arizona’s history which I explain in an author’s note at the end. I love Arizona history and the people who once walked this sacred ground were tough, fierce and interesting.

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WHAT KIND OF RESEARCH WENT INTO WRITING YOUR BOOK?

I travel around the state quite a bit diving right into local history. The local library and Google are my new best friends.

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WHAT CRITERIA DID YOU USE WHEN SELECTING THE COVER FOR YOUR BOOK?

I wanted it to represent the seriousness of the father, and it needed to fit with the series by having at least one animal on the cover. It needed to speak to me in some way as well.

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WAS THERE A MESSAGE IN YOUR BOOK THAT YOU WERE TRYING TO CONVEY?

Yes. That as a woman, you don’t have to act like a man to have great power. There is tremendous beauty in being a woman and a power beyond imagination. We as women don’t have to scream to be heard.  Old fashioned thinking on my part? Maybe, but it’s my truth. The strongest, bravest women I’ve known, were the ones who led by example.

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IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD CHANGE ABOUT YOUR BOOK?

I wish it were longer. But I never push a story or add to a story to meet a word count. When it’s done speaking to me, I quit writing.

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IF YOUR BOOK WOULD BE MADE INTO A FILM, WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY THE LEADS?

Ooh, I LOVE this question.  I would want brand new actors and actresses. Unknowns to tackle this. There needs to be more Native Actors for sure!

 

WHEN AND WHY DID YOU BEGIN WRITING?

I began writing more than 20 years ago. One of my first stories is now published. It’s titled, “One Hundred Horses.” And at it’s debut, rocketed to number one in Native Literature. What a shocker and a pleasant surprise for a brand new author. Since then, I typically publish about three titles a year.

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WHEN DID YOU FIRST CONSIDER YOURSELF A WRITER?

I’m not sure I consider myself a writer, rather than a story-teller. To me, a writer has a great skill of putting words to paper. For me, I am deeply involved in telling the story as if the reader is with me around a fire with the stars over head and the coyotes howling in the background. I have nothing but a high school education and a calling.

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DESCRIBE YOUR WRITING STYLE.

To the point. LOL. I am a little bit raw with language and I keep my descriptive language brief. I do think my words flow well. It should almost read like a song.

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WHAT IS THE HARDEST LESSON YOU HAD TO LEARN AS A WRITER?  

That writing the story would be the easy part. Being an author is a business and there are many facets to running that business for success. You won’t become rich over night, you have to roll up your sleeves and work.

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WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE AS A WRITER?

Promoting is tough. Keeping my big mouth shut is tougher. With social media diving into every topic including politics, I just want to jump right in and be heard. It is still my biggest struggle not to separate my personal self from my professional self. Also, I’m not the literary type. When I attend book signings, I’m the cowgirl with hay in my bra or mud on my boots, or better yet, wearing camo and looking like Sarah Palin’s lost sister. LOL.  But, I have this need to bring forth the west in a realistic and yet, entertaining way, and what’s a girl to do?

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NOT INCLUDING FAMILY, WHO SUPPORTED YOUR EFFORTS TO BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR?

Other authors. FJ Thomas, Rc Matthews are just a few who push me along. I have a great group of supportive friends in the field that have enough confidence to just let me be me and not try and shove a square peg into a round hole. I don’t really fit in anywhere, but I am deeply grateful for their understanding and kindness.

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WHO WAS YOUR FIRST PUBLISHER AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THEM?

It was ugly. My first publisher closed and took all my royalties with them. Thank GOD for Solstice Publishing and it’s CEO, Melissa Miller for picking up all my abandoned titles and re-publishing them. I’ve learned to be much more selective when I do choose to traditionally publish now. There are a lot of scammers out there.

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DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR NEW WRITERS?

Write with passion. Write big. Don’t try and fit in. The writing world needs new ideas, new voices and new story lines. Be brave with your work and readers will find you. When they do, they will be  yours to keep because they will understand and appreciate your voice. The money will come later, and will last longer when it does.