KSER Sound Living Interview – Isthmus & Storyteller Award

Guest post by Avasta team. In an in-depth interview with Ed Bremer from KSER 90.7, Gar touched upon the Gar LaSalle Storyteller Award: his motivations and vision for this grant, in partnership with Artist Trust. Gar talks about the storyteller award at (48:16). You can listen to the interview here: [button link=”https://soundcloud.com/90-7-kser/kser-soundliving-08-07-15-isthmus-lasalle” color=”green” size=”small” type=”” shape=”round” target=”_blank” title=”” gradient_colors=”|” gradient_hover_colors=”|” accent_color=””…

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How to Create an Award-Winning Book Cover

My book ‘Widow Walk’ won the USA Books News’ Best Book Cover Design Award in 2013. Widow Walk is set in mid-nineteenth century Pacific Northwest region, called the Oregon Country, which included parts of present day Washington state and Vancouver B.C. Author and publisher Kelsye Nelson interviewed me last week. We talked about the processes…

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The Butterfly Victim

Last evening I had the opportunity to see (again) and hear Madame Butterfly, the Puccini 1904 grand opera set in 19th century Nagasaki, Japan. This version was produced by the excellent local company Lyric Opera Northwest whose mission is to provide classical operatic venues in which local talented young singers can perform with seasoned international…

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Does Isaac Rest?

DOES ISAAC REST ? It has been rumored that spirits haunt the fertile Ebey plateau. Some have said that on moonlit nights, looking southward from the crest of the tiny cemetery where the headless body of Isaac Ebey is interred with those of many other mid-nineteenth century Whidbey Island settlers, a pale specter can be seen…

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Reader’s Guide and Book Discussion Questions for Widow Walk

At the request of our publisher, we are adding a reader’s guide with questions for discussion groups and book clubs. Ten of these have been added to the forthcoming paperback edition of Widow Walk. Widow Walk Book Guide and Discussion Questions: 1. Widow Walk has been compared to Last of the Mohicans and Cold Mountain. How is…

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Tattoos: A Long-Standing Native American Tradition

    In Widow Walk many of the First Nation Haida, Tlingit, Bella Bella, Bella Coola and Kwakiutl characters wear prominent tattoos and other body decorations. In one scene, a Makah woman, slaved to a Salish tyee (chieftain), recognizes the distinctive markings of the naked Haida warrior she encounters while retrieving water from a stream. She…

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Port Townsend: History and Role in Widow Walk

Port Townsend, was named in 1792 by explorer George Vancouver after his friend the Marquis of Townsend. Located on the  northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula, it was inhabited solely by Native Americans throughout the 1700’s and early 1800’s. The Chimakum people were the predominant group. The Klallam Indians controlled the land that encompassed the area…

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Trappers: Life as a Northwest Fur Trapper

The Widow Walk characters Rene Marte and Ebin Cull, as well as the denizens in the Red Pelican Inn, are Northwest trappers. Marte is a “Métis” the term that is used for people of First-Nation and European mixed race descent. Cull is a former African slave who has migrated north. These characters are typical of the men…

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