Calling Tsela follows a Navajo Nation police officer nearing retirement who discovers his ex-wife and best friend have been murdered and sets out into the desert to find their killer. What was the initial idea behind this story, and how did that transform as you were writing the novel?

The initial idea behind the story was to highlight the human condition and human struggles. Struggles with fear, how we perceive ourselves and how we react to tragedy. No matter how we define ourselves, invariably, others define you differently. So, whose definition of who you are is correct? As one looks at himself and the life he/she has lived, does one’s perception align with that which others have of you and your life? Sometimes, the most accurate mirror to our souls is held by outsiders.

As I wrote this book, I became increasingly interested in Navajo history and culture, both past and present. It was always meant to be a book about supernatural intervention, and a man’s struggle to find peace within himself, but the theme became progressively important as I discovered how to weave it into traditional Navajo spiritual beliefs and practices.

I found Tsela Adakai to be an intriguing character. What was your inspiration for this character?

My inspiration for Tsela was me. While examining my life, I realized that I wasn’t as bad as I thought I was. All my transgressions were a mere blip on the radar of human experience. The scene where Tsela listens to the executioners’ deeds is an example of how Tsela’s image of his own life was put into a new perspective. He thought he was a terrible person before understanding the breadth and depth of our human experience. In the end, he realized that in the grand scheme of things, his past deeds were rather benign, and he deserved happiness.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

I wanted to explore the topics of fear and self-loathing in addition to the idea that life goes on past our physical death. We have guides who are here to help us if we just listen to them and focus on awareness. I wanted to educate the reader on Navajo history and culture. I wanted to show how a person like Leo could start out life as a middle-class, suburban girl and transform into a homeless drug addict. She, like many others, slid so slowly into the darkness of that world, that the journey from straight and sane to drug-addled and dependent went largely unnoticed by her, yet obvious to everyone else.

I find a problem with well-written stories in that I always want there to be another book to keep the story going. Is there a second book planned?

Although my first novel The Ring Of Corlan became a trilogy (The Ulian Chronicles), Calling Tsela is a stand-alone novel. Maybe my next book Wilder’s Wish will evolve into another trilogy.

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A science fiction, action, thriller with a supernatural twist

Navajo Nation police officer Tsela Adakai

hopes for a quiet retirement, but he’s not

going to get it. The Navajo spirits are calling,

and they won’t take no for an answer. When

his ex wife and his best friend are murdered,

he sets his sights on revenge. But things get

messy when drug gangs and the CIA

show up in town. When the killer he’s chasing

heads out into the desert, Tsela goes after him.

But what he doesn’t know is that the gangs

and the CIA are close behind. Now he is both

the hunter, and the hunted in a violent and

surreal desert chase. Will the Navajo spirits

help him get his man, or will the gangs and

The CIA get to him first?