INITERVIEW AT
WRITING RAW.COM
The WritingRaw.com 7 Question Interview
Please let us know who you are and how we might know you:
I'm actually at least two writers. Win Blevins came first and has published a shameful number of books, deforesting the world. I, Caleb Fox, am his creation (pen name) and very much his junior, much better looking, and a lot more fun. If we give birth to another pen name, we will be a formidable trio.
My own first book was the historical fantasy ZADAYI RED. The sequel to it, SHADOWS IN THE CAVE, comes out this month from TOR. Both are about the magical world inhabited by the ancestors of the Cherokees more than a thousand years ago.
Win and I were born on the edge of what was once called Indian Territory. When we were a teenager, our aunts revealed to us that we were part Cherokee, or “redneck on one side of the mountain, redskin on the other.” They told us that no one in the family would ever discuss this fact with us again.
Though Win and I needed to take care of college, grad school, and learning to make a living, we finally gave in to our curiosity about who our Cherokee ancestors were and why they hid their red blood. The search brought us to many Native people of a number of tribes, to thousands of stories both mythic and modern, hundreds of sacred ceremonies, and to our own commitment to walking the red road. Since that time we have lived near or among Native people, gathering their wisdom and sharing their laughter at life. Our joys are writing, playing music, and hanging out with
our wife Sarita. We trust that this kind of polygamy does not make us criminals.
Any news you would like to share concerning upcoming projects:
No one knows less about what we may do next than we do. I would love to write another fantasy. Win wants to write a biographical novel about the young Mark Twain,the guy who was a silver prospector and fledgling journalist. I want to do a comic and romantic story about the inter-cultural dance of the red and white people who live here on the edge of the Navajo rez. If we give birth to a third writer, he'll probably want to
something completely crazy.
Thoughts concerning the current state of the literary world:
All we know for sure is that human beings need stories. We have a tee shirt that says on the front, Member of the World's Oldest Profession, and on the back, STORYTELLER. Stories doubtless were born as soon as someone had any kind of adventure worth telling about, and they are the mythical-historical memory of the human race—from them we get our sense of who we are. So regardless of any so-called innovations in fiction, or the state of book publishing (a mess), there will always be a demand for stories, and writers to fill it.
Who is your favorite author/s and why?
Our favorite writers change with the day, but there are only so many days. Shakespeare for the glories of his language. Mark Twain for his understanding of ordinary human beings, and because he is the progenitor of all American fiction. Dylan Thomas for the magnificent intensity of his poems. E. E. Cummings (and he liked his name in capital letters) for his uniqueness and the vividness of his evocation of human emotion. Tolkien for the majesty of his imagination. When Saturday and Sunday come,
we'll have other favorites.
Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to publish?
We've each started book that didn't work. We haven't finished any books that started out making the rounds of publishing houses and died of disappointment and exhaustion.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Writing fiction is a wondrous occupation. The writer gets to step into the mind of all sorts of people--women, men, children, the elderly, Anglos, blacks, red people, Asians, etc., and look at the world through their modes of awareness. For us, this is what fiction essentially is. It's a great challenge and great fun.
How do you feel about what WritingRaw.com and other literary sharing sites are attempting to do for new writers?
We are for a thousand times as much exposure for all writers. We're especially in favor of more attention for writers who write for a wide audience, rather than other people with masters degrees in literature.(The ancient stories were for everyone in the community.) Some day we'll be strong advocates for senior-citizen writers.
http://writingraw.com/files/7%20Question%20Interview%20with%20Caleb%20Fox.pdf
ZADAYI RED REVIEWED
by Tia Nevitt
FANTASY DEBUT web site
"I think Caleb Fox has a brilliant future.
"ZADAYI RED is a fantasy novel based on a Cherokee legend. It starts with the tale of Sunoya, who is marked as a shaman at birth because her last two fingers on her left hand are webbed. She was bears another mark--a mark of doom--and according to tradition should have been killed at birth. Her mother concealed this mark and warned her never to reveal it.
"She has a vision that the clan's most precious object--the Cape of Eagle Feathers--has become descecrated and powerless, rendering the clan deaf to the wisdom of the gods. To avert this calamity, Sunoya travels to the cave dwelling of Tsola, the Seer of the Galayi people. Together, they embark upon a journey to the spirit world to learn why this is going to happen. They learn that it was the fault of the Galayi, for they will start to kill each other. And when they do, the gods will turn away from them.
"They also learn of a way they can earn another cape. It will require a hero."
See the rest of the review atthe link just below.
GREAT REVIEW OF ZADAYI RED
IN LIBRARY JOURNAL
"Fox's debut delivers a powerful reshaping of a Cherokee legend and blends fantasy traditions with Native American culture and myths to create a unique atmosphere of nature magic and Indian lore. Fans of Native American myths as well as fantasy should enjoy this new twist on a young man's rite of passage and his date with destiny."
FIRST REVIEW of ZADAYI RED, from the trade mag KIRKUS
Fantasy debut retells a Cherokee legend.
"The heroic magical quest is a well-worn convention in this genre, but Fox adds a fresh element with his engaging Native American cultural setting. Sunoya, a young shaman of the ancient Galayi, has a vision of the tribe's magical Cape of Eagle Feathers—worn by the Seer of the People to see the future and protect the Galayi—smeared with dirt and blood. She also predicts the birth of a hero who will restore the cape and save the tribe.
Her cousin's infant son, Dahzi, may be that hero. As he grows up, he faces many perils: His sinister grandfather hates him; tribes at war threaten him; and he must undertake a dangerous mission.
Religion-tinged magic suffuses the story throughout. Sunoya, for example, has telepathic conversations with her spirit-guide and converses with a wide variety of animal-deities. The author, himself half-Cherokee, provides an insightful portrayal of the daily lives of an ancient people.
Fox draws effectively on Native American mysticism to create a fine fable."
"ZADAYI RED is a brilliantly-woven tapestry. This fantastical epic adventure set in the traditional Cherokee homeland takes us from the depths of the Emerald Cavern to the highest mountain top roost of eagles to beyond, to the realm of the Immortals. Caleb Fox depicts a pre-Cherokee world peopled with richly developed characters caught in an intriguing plot. From love to war, this novel has it all."
Dr. Kimberly Roppolo
National Director, Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers
"An epic interpretation and retelling of ancient Native American myth and legend by a masterful author"
--Clyde Hall
Shoshone/Metis Tribe
Author & Historian
"Caleb Fox has written a magical novel that is deeply rooted in the oldest storytelling traditions of North America. His skillful re-working of mythic themes and archetypes rings true on many different levels. I highly recommend ZADAYI RED to all who love mythic fiction and fine fantasy."
--Terri Windling,
author of THE WOOD WIFE
