Ask The Author: How did you become interested in Native American lore?

 

After the Civil War, my great-great grandfather, Gardner Avery left his New York regiment to settle with his wife, Helen Greenleaf Kern, in Jamestown, a rural area near Grand Rapids, MI.  He kept a diary, which remains in the family, of his daily activities & expenses. On the land he purchased to farm, a tribe of Native Americans resided. The couple let the Potawatomi continue to live and hunt on the land. Over time they developed close friendships with many of the tribal folk. My grt-grt-grandmother became very close to the Medicine Woman of the tribe who taught her the use of herbs in food and healing. The Avery’s interest in the art of the tribe eventually led to learning their customs and legends. Through stories shared around meals they learned the Spirituality of the Native Americans. 

At the time, Grand Rapids was one of the first large scale trading posts used by the Ottawa, Potawatomi and the Chippewa. My ancestors learned valuable information from their relationships with these tribes which lead them to have a successful farm and healthy family.

Despite the Avery’s wishes, the government forced the tribe off the land and into a reservation.  According to family legend, my gt-gt-grandmother and her dearest friend spent the last days together.  After hugs and many tears, she stood in a field and watched the tribe travel until they were out of sight.

The information, stories, and traditions my ancestors learned has been passed down through the generations. I grew up listening to the stories my grandmother told of visiting the farm and her grandparents. She also shared aspects of the Native American Spirituality and showed us how similar it is to Christianity.

In the 1950’s, my grandparents purchased property and build a cottage on Coldwater Lake, not far from Mt. Pleasant, MI. My family spent many summers at the cottage where we collected arrowheads we found in the sand pits. A Chippewa family owned a cottage near ours and our our families spent quality time together.  "Indian Dave” was a teacher and kept all the children captivated with stories, games, dances, and traditions while we sat around a bonfire. My favorite tales were those of Spirit Animals. In each book in the Legend of the Spirit series, his words live.

Ask the Author: Strangest Google Search

 

What is the strangest thing you’ve Googled while working on a story?

Penis Tattoos

I love throwing curves to my characters and surprises to my readers so while reworking the previously published Soul Series, I came up with an idea to give one of the heroes a very unique tat. I'm not telling which fella, readers will have to wait to find out. For those who've read the books, I'd love to see some guesses.

Who is getting a special tattoo?

Puzzola, Erick, Michael, or maybe Duncan?

Ask the Author: "How did you become a writer?"

As a child, I was a daydreamer. I loved creative play and listening to my grandmother tell tales of her youth. As I grew older, I fell in love with books and learned to put words together to create my own stories. In high school I wrote silly love stories for friends and poetry. In college I learned from a wonderful professor the skills and freedom of how to use the words I knew rather than fancy words not in my everyday vocabulary. With such tools and the creativity in my mind, I became a writer.

Ironically, my first book "Painted Soul" published in 2004 was based on a short story I wrote in a notebook when I was 16 years old, visiting friends in England. "Painted Soul" became the first book in a series of five, three of which were published by Vanilla Heart Publishing.

The Soul Series has been pulled out of publishing and I've received the rights back. I am currently reworking the books and completing the series for future publishing.

I recommend to those who wish to write, to do so often. Keep notebooks full of stories and poetry. You never know when years later, one of those little tales will inspire something much larger. 😉