Book FAQs

     The Wooden Indian Resurrection traces a Native American woman in South Dakota who is as lifeless as the wooden Indian she impersonates at a mall until she faces whites who betrayed her and discovers it’s never too late to become who you're meant to be. The novel’s big question—who did YOU become?—is one I wrestled with.

    “A poignant reminder that we must face - not run from - our deepest fears. By doing so, we find the freedom we long for.”
    ~ Jean Snedegar, Reporter/Producer for BBC Radio and West Virginia Public Broadcasting

     Hooty McTooty Discovers True Beauty is a Seuss-like story in rhyme that takes a humorous swipe at our airbrushed, makeover society. It is reading-appropriate for kids preschool through third grade (though I've had plenty of adults get a good guffaw from it).
     "Colorfully delightful and carries the story line at an easy pace."
     ~Jewel Sample, Flying Hugs and Kisses 
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     Both are available here.      ​

In ​The Wooden Indian Resurrection,
​Deborah Running Bear gets into big trouble with this statue  ​​

Where did your ideas for these books come from?
     Wooden Indian: At a reunion of high school girl friends, we were a little self conscious, perhaps each wondering, “What have I done with my life?” By the time I reached home from the reunion, I had a rough draft in scribbled notes that reflected the question we all eventually ponder: has my life mattered?
     Hooty McTooty: I was going through a difficult time, so I chose to turn to rhyme. Hooty was hatched and swiftly dispatched, and speaks with the ring of a chime.

Hooty McTooty Discovers True Beauty
​is cleverly illustrated by Andrew Lucas

What motivates you to write?
     To understand our individual stories within a larger context. Life makes sense only in relationship to this bigger narrative, which I picture as a four-act drama:
​     Utopia - the creation of everything. Perfect.
     Dystopia - the crash of everything. Broken.
     Crosstopia - the rescue of everything. Sacrifice.
     Newtopia - the re-creation of everything. Party!

In Wooden Indian, loves breaks out at these falls

Where are we in this larger drama?
​     A twilight zone between Act Three and Act Four. The historical Jesus of Nazareth inaugurated the new creation. But we’re in a strange time of “now-but-not-yet,” waiting on tiptoes for the restoration of all that is good and right.

The Bird Body Shop, where Hooty McTooty gets a makeover

Why did you write about self image in Hooty McTooty?
​     I was alarmed for our kids. I heard that eighty-one percent of ten-year-olds in America are afraid of being fat. By teenage years more than half of all girls are on a diet or think they should be. What a trap to think we can be nipped, tucked, snipped, and liposucked into feeling good about ourselves.

     I invite you to join me in these adventures in The Wooden Indian Resurrection and ​Hooty McTooty Discovers True Beauty here.