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Thrilling and Unpredictable
Native Arcana follows a Cherokee marshal who has survived multiple traumas throughout her life as she plunges headfirst into the mystery behind a series of occult murders. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Anyone familiar with Eastern Oklahoma knows it has a deep undercurrent of mystery and strange folklore, which made it the perfect backdrop for Native Arcana. The initial idea came to me back in college while brainstorming with a writing partner, but it ended up sitting on the shelf for years. It wasn’t until I met my wife that the story truly came to life. She’s a proud Cherokee woman who grew up in and around Tahlequah, and when I shared the concept with her, she immediately connected with it. She began contributing her own insights, cultural knowledge, and ideas, which really shaped the story’s themes. Many of Nita’s mannerisms and experiences are drawn directly from her life.
As for the occult elements—Oklahoma has a strange history that includes everything from the OKC bombing to isolated incidents of cult-like behavior. With enough research, you start to notice peculiar threads connecting some of these events, often rooted in fear, hate, or darkness. I felt like the only kind of character who could face down that kind of evil was someone like Nita: someone who has endured trauma without losing herself to it, someone who turns pain into purpose and strength. She’s the kind of person who helps others not despite her suffering, but because of it.
What do you find is the most difficult thing about writing a thriller?
For me, the biggest challenge was keeping the story grounded in reality while also exploring some of the mystical elements that naturally arise in a story like Native Arcana. Balancing believable law enforcement procedures with moments of the supernatural was tricky. I wanted the narrative to remain thrilling and unpredictable without veering too far from authenticity. Hopefully, I found that balance—but ultimately, that’s for the readers to decide.
Which of your characters do you feel you relate to most and why?
All the characters carry pieces of me, especially Nita and Blake. But if I had to choose, Nita feels the most personal. She’s a reflection of the strong women who shaped my life—most importantly my wife, my mother, and my sister, but I’d be remiss not to mention my aunts and cousins as well. I often say I was raised by strong women, and that gave me a deep respect for their resilience, complexity, and quiet strength. Writing Nita was my way of honoring them—of capturing their spirit and putting that strength on the page.
Can fans look forward to a follow-up to Native Arcana? What are you currently working on?
While Native Arcana stands strong as a standalone novel with a complete arc for Nita and the supporting characters, I’m definitely exploring where her journey might lead next. As a Cherokee Marshal, there’s no shortage of strange, dark corners of the world she could uncover. I’m currently developing ideas that would push her into new mysteries and challenges—ones that test her resolve and reveal even more layers of who she is.
In addition to that, I’m working on a couple of other projects, most notably The Drums of Secession, Book II in the Cannon Fire Plot series. It’s the sequel to The Wages of Kin and continues the saga of the Battier family as they fight back against a tyrannical regime in a fantasy world inspired by colonial America. The series explores revolution, loyalty, and identity in a richly imagined world filled with complex characters and high-stakes conflict.
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Before that, Nita was an everyday Cherokee Marshal, working Cherokee Nation and policing its laws. However, a desire to live a stable life was always out of reach. She is a survivor of many traumatic events: The Oklahoma City Bombing, a shootout, and most recently, the death of her husband. In the aftermath of the latter, she struggles to mother her autistic stepson as the violent incidents around her begin to mount.
A series of occult murders involving an Amish girl, a ranch hand to a multi-millionaire, and demonic iconography leads to a task force to hunt down the culprit of these heinous acts – including OSBI and Nita’s old friend and Thorpe Ranch owner, Blake Edwards. But, with her persistence and unique capabilities, Nita soon realizes she may be the only person equipped to uncover this mystery.
Native Arcana
Native Arcana doesn’t ease you in—it grabs you by the collar, throws you into a blast, and dares you to look away.
This book has grit. It’s soaked in real talk, tragedy, folklore, and violence. You feel every punch, every loss, every flicker of memory. Nita Ross, the main character, is not just some badge-toting marshal. She’s layered. Tough as old leather but still bleeding inside. Her pain is palpable, and her strength is relentless.
The book opens on the Oklahoma City bombing and never lets go. It leaves a mark on her and on the readers. Nita is a survivor of this tragic event and has faced a multitude of heartaches throughout her life. Caughman has crafted an incredibly relatable character readers will find themselves clinging to and rooting for throughout her story. It’s part crime thriller, part Native myth, and part emotional gut punch. And it all works.
The dialogue is sharp and natural. Just people talking like people do. There’s no highbrow nonsense. Just raw words and even more raw feelings. The writing hits like a slow-burning bonfire. Warm one minute, raging the next. And just when you settle in—bam—a masked killer with owl eyes shows up.
This story mixes the real and the surreal, crime scenes and shapeshifters, meth and mysticism. And the pacing is wild. One minute you’re watching a kid draw maps, the next you’re in a moonlit brawl in the woods, getting slammed into trees and hunting a monster-man in an owl mask.
And the setting, Eastern Oklahoma, breathes on every page. The dusty roads, the fried food diners, the broken towns, the old men who never left. It feels lived-in. Like the place itself has stories it won’t tell you unless you ask real nice.
But make no mistake, this isn’t a whodunit with clean clues and neat endings. It’s messy. Personal. Deep. It’s about ghosts, literal and not. It’s about culture and loss. It’s about being Cherokee in a world that doesn’t always see you. And it’s about fighting anyway.
I highly recommend C.J. Caughman’s Native Arcana to any reader looking for a thrill ride of a tale. This ain’t your average crime novel. It’s weirder. It’s heavier. It’s better. Read it. But buckle up first.
Compelling Characters
The Wages of Kin follows a naval officer’s widow who ends up on the run from an oppressive government force while trying to protect her children. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I always wanted to craft a fantasy world different from the traditional medieval setting. With that, I was always drawn to maritime stories involving high-seas adventure and the people involved. Telling the story from multiple points of view helped show the world and all its many facets. However, none of that matters if you don’t create compelling characters to usher that story. Everything starts and ends with the Battiers. When I figured out who they were and the uphill battle they were going through, I knew I had the foundation of my story.
Did you plan the tone and direction of the novel before writing, or did it come out organically as you were writing?
I had an idea of what I was going for when I started writing, but the story grew and evolved in the telling. The world and number of characters expanded, and so did the journeys of the Battier family.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I believe family and the coming-of-age aspect that comes with that universal theme is the novel’s heart.
Will this novel be the start of a series, or are you working on a different story?
The Wages of Kin is book one in the Cannon Fire Plot Series.
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The Wages of Kin
In The Wages of Kin, C.J. Caughman masterfully weaves an engrossing narrative set against the backdrop of a family torn apart amidst political turmoil. The Battier family, spearheaded by the resilient Adelaide, finds themselves reluctantly thrust into a perilous journey following the execution of their patriarch, accused of treason against the oppressive Assembly.
The story unfolds as Adelaide, blindsided by her husband’s secret rebellion and the subsequent brutality meted out to her kin, endeavors to navigate the harrowing consequences of his actions. Despite their strenuous objections, Adelaide and her children are mercilessly sucked into the ensuing vortex of revolt as they grapple with a world intent on demanding they pay for sins, not their own.
C.J. Caughman seamlessly integrates a tapestry of complex relationships and emotional depth into the fabric of the novel, providing readers with a profound exploration of the dynamics of familial bonds. The nuanced portrayals of individual and collective struggles—whether they be between mother and children or amongst siblings—offer a deeply empathetic view into their world, making the Battier family’s ordeals strikingly relatable and the overarching theme of family significantly poignant.
The character development, particularly of Adelaide, demonstrates Caughman’s adept skill in balancing the progression of individuals alongside their familial roles. Adelaide’s past, imbued with rich culture and veiled in mystery, unravels delicately throughout the novel, offering readers tantalizing glimpses into her history without revealing too much too soon. This approach draws readers further into Adelaide’s world, skillfully keeping them engaged and constantly yearning to discover more.
Moreover, the author exhibits a commendable mastery over foreshadowing and buildup, crafting characters that are as distinct as they are cohesively bound by their shared turmoil. The novel does not merely linger on their shared pain but also spotlights their individuality, lending a harmonious equilibrium between their collective struggle and personal journeys.
The narrative is notably enhanced by Caughman’s articulate deployment of descriptive language and evocative settings, conjuring a world that is at once vividly imagined and harrowingly real. The meticulous details and creatively crafted environments serve not only as a stark backdrop for the unfolding drama but also as a character in and of itself, contributing to the atmospheric tension that permeates the novel.
The Wages of Kin is undeniably a compelling read, a genuine page-turner that is capable of whisking readers into the late hours, enthralled by the fates of its protagonists. It succeeds not merely as a tale of struggle and resistance but also as a heartfelt exploration of the indefatigable bonds that bind a family together, even in the direst of circumstances. C.J. Caughman has delivered a captivating and emotionally resonant narrative, solidifying their standing as a noteworthy storyteller in the realm of contemporary literature.
Pages: 393
LITERARY TITAN 