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The Faqs
and just the facts.
October 2011 Update
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Over view:
FAQ means, "Frequently Asked Questions." The questions listed on these two pages come from
conversations I have had in person as well as from email inquiries. I've worded some questions to combine a number of similar questions.
FAQ pages are intended as a convenience to web site visitors. Questions listed here have no particular order.
What is your book about?
I supplied written and video synopsis on the "synopsis" page; see full menu.
In brief, these novels are works of historical fiction. The stories concern the relationship of Native Americans, Euro-Americans and Metis (mix
race) cultures and the Churches and society in general from 1934-2010. The primary setting is in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Why produce [2nd] second editions?
The original novel, Hawk Dancer, came out from contract with Publish America (original publisher) in April 2011. The follow up novel,
Cloudburst was granted an early release from contract in November 2010. There had been a number of revisions and corrections I wanted to make.
So, with publishing contracts ending, I took advantage to make these changes and issue revised second editions through Lulu.com publishing.
What are some of the changes?
The most notable change is the price. I felt that Publish America overpriced my novels. I did my own lay out and lowered the prices by nearly 40%.
I offer 10% off each title every day through Lulu.com. Thus reducing the price of my novels nearly 50%
from the original editions. (Note: also available at list prices through Amazon.com).
I enlarged all original illustrations by
Kathy Johnson and improved the clarity and resolution
for these 2nd editions. More illustrations and photos have been added (and the price reduced.)
Both of your novels have fewer pages.
Yes. I eliminated bits and pieces of perhaps a phrase or a sentence or two here and there that did not make that much
difference in the story. I eliminated nearly a whole chapter in Hawk Dancer that I'm sure would not be missed. I selected better type face and reduced
the amount of empty space found in the originals. You are actually getting a better product per buck with the 2nd editions.
Did you have issues with your work in the original edition?
Yes. Every artist critiques their own work and wished he or she had a chance to improve on it. My chance came when the books came out from contract
with the first publisher. Hawk Dancer is my baby. I'm proud of her, but I saw a few spelling errors and I thought of ways to enhance, strengthen passages.
I think those edits actually makes the story flow better.
Cloudburst, the second novel, had some sections that I felt were too violent. I can write good fight scenarios, but I felt I got carried away
in some places. I cut some scenes and tempered others.
You books are morally sound and clean. How did you get away with that?
Easy; the overwhelming majority of people like a clean book and a clean movie. The rough and tough tumbles of life are there. Readers know that there
are characters in the books struggling with moral issues. I did not find it necessary to graphically detail those situations; or for the most part, say much
about them.
I think I did a good job depicting fisted duels that went only so far. I steered clear of glorifying violence and of getting
too graphic.
How did I get away with it? I just did it. Good, clean, morally sound books sell well. In fact, both my publishers encouraged good clean writing.
They know what sells best; that's why they are still in business.
How can people book a retreat at Annunciation Friary?
Sorry, but these are novels. That means they are works of fiction. The Friary does not exist. I wished it did.
The Order of Native American Friars is very realistic. Does a Native Order exist?
Probably not. There has been recent attempts by others, but I think they fizzeled out. I wrote out a rule and constitution for the Franciscan
Congregation of St. James you find in my novels. It is a blending of the real Franciscan Third Order Regular Rule and the Letter of St. James. Such an order
can be formed in real life.
Fr. John Hascal, (Anishinabe), is a Capuchin Franciscan and told me it would be good if there was an Ojibwe Franciscan Order. That's
when I set to work trying to write such a rule.
I read your original and your 2nd Edition of Hawk Dancer. You gave no name to the Native American order in the original version.
How very observant. Thank you for picking up on that, and for following these works with such intensity. I began work on the Rule and Constitutions
when I was nearly finished writing Cloudburst, the second novel. In fact, I had an Eastern Catholic order in mind originally, more along the lines
of the rule by St. Basil and a bit like St. Benedict. Neither one would fully permit the monks in the novels much freedom of movement as the western
styled mendicant Orders did, such as Augustinian Dominicans and Franciscans, and maybe like some Carmelite groups.
I re-worked the descriptions for the 2nd edition of Hawk Dancer to fit the Native American Franciscan idea, and to include their official title
Franciscan Friars of St. James, or shortened to CSJ, Congregation of St. James and sometimes nicknamed the Jamians.
Did you ever consider starting such an Order?
Under different circumstances, I might have. I am a perpetually vowed member of the Society of St. Paul. I like this life and I take my vows
seriously. I did, however, establish a lose association of Jamians. That consists of a handful of Native People already active in some form of ministry
related work within Indigenous communities or circles. We net work and share information supportive to each other's endeavors. I openly offer what ever
support and assistance I can should a person of sound mind and body feel called to start such an order. Starting a new Order, holy and honorable as
that is, is a very difficult undertaking.
You did not officially list your book as a Catholic or as a Christian novel. Was there a marketing reason for this?
I certainly would not avoid the listing just to market a book. However, the books do not exclusively fall under either heading, though they could qualify
had I done so. My books appeal to a wide audience. Such a listing
would probably deter a number of folks from reading it. Listing it as historical fiction,which I think is the best description of these works, provides a
wider audience.
[Note: Catholic is Christian. I questions others who might have asked: Is it Catholic or Christian?]
Some of the major players in the story are based in part on Protestant relatives, including some ordained Methodist Ministers. There is a Jewish
element in the stories. My readership and my characters includes Buddhists, Christians of many denominations, Indigenous Traditionalists, and other faith
walks, and folks with no particular religious affiliation. It is only natural that I, being raised Catholic, would be able to give more concentration on
that Church. At the same time, I have not down played or shied from religious issues either. I just don't think a writer has to always right about religion,
though they should keep their religious moral values intact while writing what ever they want to write.
Character development: next column. →
You have believable characters. Are any of them real?
No. There is brief mention of real persons, such as who was
president at given times, or the names of famous singers and song writers.
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F.A.Q.s Continued:
Are any of the characters in your book an alter-you?
Basically, I'd say no. My personality, expression and agenda are certainly found throughout the book and aspects of who I am filters into many of
the characters. However, none of the characters are me.
There is one partial exception in the character of Sgt. T. Douglas. I used my physical features of the same era for him; tall and skinny in the 1970s.
Other wise, Sgt. T. Douglas is his own character.
Tell us about some of your characters. How did you develop them?
← Start with this Sgt. T. Douglas.
Thank you. I like feed back on my characters. I began writing Hawk Dancer in the first person. Fr. Jeff, who followed much of this writing project,
suggested wisely that it would be difficult to continue in the first person considering the extensive time period I was covering. I wondered how, if this
was to read like a true story, a first person author would have been able to have access to so many characters and in such detail. So I created Sgt. T. Douglas. He
became the chronologist that interviewed folks, took notes and would endeavor to annotate as much of the information as possible.
In real life, I had a number of folks provide me with materials, stories, experiences and research. I placed their findings into the care of the
fictional character, T. Douglas; effectivly blaming him for providing the material in the novels. The images I drew of him are based on photos of me.
He, like all my characters are a blending of different people I knew or ran across.
Character development in general:
I tossed in a variety of traits garnished from several people in real life to present each singular character in my books. Randy, for example, is
a composite of several Indigenous and Metis Baby Boomers. In some cases these are stories shared with me, and in other cases, these are the interpretations
of my observations.
Randy 
Many stories that stands the test of time has a cute kid in it. Cute, but self centered will not work. Helpless, vulnerable, crippled or orphaned
is a winner in the classics. Randy fits the bill.
The older generation approves of his good manners and sensible behavior. At the same time, he was definitely a kid of his Baby Boomer
generation with his long hair, hippy beads, sandals and ultra skin tight jeans. He played folk and classical violin, listen to rock and roll and sang popular
folks songs of revolution, social challenges and love.
Randy was among a small but growing handful of youths in the 1950s and 60s to learn Indigenous language and custom and show a respecting pride in
his Anishinabe heritage and spirituality. Although he was not a registered member of the fledging American Indian Movement, he looked to his Elders for
inspiration and genuinely loved his culture. He was mildly ahead of his generation in these things. He peruses the promotion and acceptance of Indigenous
culture within the Churches and mainstream society. Though he is not a radical, opposition members comfortable with the status quo of a segregated society might
view him as an idealist on the edge.
Trudy
Her earlier childhood was secure and sensible. The tragic death of her younger brother by poachers as she entered her teen years challenged the
family. Her parents divorced. Although I mention the murder without much detail, only her and her mother are mentioned from about 1963 on.
She had a warm facination for Randy in grade school. He left the village at age 12. She dates one guy during her whole high school years. She retains
a moral center, though she is typical of many her age in dabbeling with pop fashion and ideals that challeng the social norms of the times.
Dean
I enjoyed playing with this complex character. Dean's life long friendship with Randy begins casually as grade school classmates. The friendship,
oddly enough, is strengthened after they engage each other fist and cuff in a school yard scuffle, (age 12).
← Dean doesn't fully realize that his friends accept him as he is. He is sometimes preoccupied comparing himself to others, wishing he could be more
"cool" or popular. He wishes he was taller and stronger. He pulls off practical jokes that backfire on him. He's
a bit spacey. His daydreams draws him away from group conversation. His attempts to re-enter the discussions are clumsy and at times hilarious.
His gentle nature conflicts with his risk taking attempts to prove to others that he is a better person than he thinks he is. This includes some
stunts and dares that lands him in minor trouble. He picks a few fights in the vain hope he can prove his manhood before his girlfreind. He loses all
but one, (even that one is questionable).
His blunderings, however misguided, are thought of as cute by Cynthia. To that extent, his awkwardness brings out her
kinky side. The two of them date steady for most of their high school days.
 ← Raj
Jig Rajan, nicknamed Raj, is an exotic type for the Birch Clump class of 1969. His portrayal in the novels is brief, but memorable. His family is
from Surinam in South America. His English sings with a blend of Caribbean and Dutch influence. He is very attractive, and the smooth blending of multiple
races and
his smiling personality and acceptance of others may be what spared him from overt racial discrimination.
Agreeable and likable as he is, very little is known about him. There is a hint of a risque side to him. I thought of students from transient families
back in my school days. They
were likable people, but they were in and out of town before any of us got to really know them.
His character is still under development in some up coming short stories. Some suprising things will surface about him.
There is an unintended symbolism built into Raj's charisma and his mystery about the facade individuals put up to shield their inner selves.
Cynthia 
Also known as Cici, went to the high school prom with Raj. She was attracted to skinny guys shorter than her. Seeing as Dean declared an interest
to enter seminary, she made her play for Raj in the final weeks of secondary school.
The mothers of Cici and Dean carried on a feud of sorts. Flo, (Dean's Mom), proves good humored about the competition. Mrs. DeLeon, (Cici's Mom),
is disgruntled, more so when her daughter picks up with Dean. The kids find their mother's antics amusing.
Jacob and Job
They are the main co-protagonists in the story. They were born a couple hours apart, in different states, March 25, 1917. Jacob is named Richard at
the beginning of Hawk Dancer, the first novel. They set the novels' inculturation agenda, that is promoting the Anishinabe language and culture. Job grew
up in the culture on a reservation. Richard (Jacob) observes his Ojibwe roots through his father and other relatives, but learns the language and gets
deeper into his heritage beginning in 1934 at age 17.
Randy, (Ojibwe) and Dean (Euro-American), both born in 1951, comes under Job and Jacob's tutelage.
Other characters
I'd rather not give away to much on these web pages that might spoil the plot, twists and turns.
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Faqs, page 2
More Q/A
"2nd Ed." Buy the "2nd Editions" of these novels (2011). Links on this site will take you to my books on
Lulu.com and Amazon.com. Lulu has the best price and offers only 2nd editions. Make sure you are ordering the paper back (print) or the PDF or
E-book (download) version you want.
Amazon site is a bit tricky as they offer both the now out of print originals and the
recomended current 2nd editions. Order the 2nd editions.
Disclaimer: I hope it is obvious that the picture of the Pope holding up a copy of my first novel is the result of cutting, pasting and cropping seperate and unrealted photos.
I decided to include a disclaimer because a few vowed religious thought it was scandelous. However, they have
so far failed to explain what is scandelous about it; so I think they just have a bug up their ass; and this "disclaimer" gives me a chance to poke fun of them.
:)
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