Author Patrick Chalfant interviewed at TheBookInsider.com

Author Patrick Chalfant was recently interviewed by TheBookInsider.com about his newest book, "Bury My Heart at Redtree," which eloquently combines Patrick Chalfants' pride in his Osage Indian heritage with his passion for penning stories that capture the essence of life in the American heartland.

Heartland Reviews say, "'Bury My Heart at Redtree' is a highly unusual psychological thriller set in Oklahoma. Although it happens in modern times, there is much connectivity to old Native American ways. We rated this excellent and surprising thriller a very high four hearts."

Here is an exceprt from the interview, and the entire interview may be read at http://www.thebookinsider.com/Interviews/PChalfant.htm


THEBOOKINSIDER.COM: Where did you grow up, and have reading and writing always been a part of your life?

PATRICK CHALFANT: I grew up on a large ranch near a very small town in Western Oklahoma, which was a fantastic place to spend my childhood. Growing up around animals really gave me a different perspective in life. When you spend time with animals you soon realize that their only concerns are their fundamental needs. They don’t care about toys or their social status or any of the other intrusions from the outside world. As long as they have enough food to eat and a little companionship, they’re happy. It was a great lesson to learn. Growing up on a ranch enable me to separate myself from the rest of the world and gain a fresh perspective on what truly is important in life.

I knew early on that I wanted to be a writer. I first started writing in junior high. My stories were mainly spoofs about teachers and the culture of our school. My friends loved reading my stores. They would laugh and encourage me to write more, but I feared that they were just being nice. It was difficult for me to gauge the entertainment value of what I was writing. My confidence was bolstered when I was a junior in high school. An area McDonalds held a writing competition for a promotion they were doing. All the area students from surrounding schools were asked to write creative stories that involved McDonalds. I made up some crazy tale about the Hamburglar. I don’t even remember what I wrote, but it won third place. I was awarded a hat that looked like a Big Mac. Even though it was pretty insignificant, it marked the first time that I felt that my words had made a connection with others. I really liked that feeling, so I earned a degree in English in college and have been writing ever since.



THEBOOKINSIDER.COM: Who and/or what have been your biggest influences with regard to your writing and why?

PATRICK CHALFANT: My family is a big influence overall in my life and that certainly trickles down into my writing. The biggest influence pertaining to my writing, though, is art. When I look at a painting or hear a song and feel that I connect with what the artist envisioned, it moves me to try to move others with the written word. It happens so often with music. The majority of my writings have been influenced by songs. One line of a certain song provokes a thought that leads to a concept and ultimately a story.



THEBOOKINSIDER.COM: Please tell us a little about you newest novel, "Bury My Heart at Redtree."

PATRICK CHALFANT: The novel is a psychological thriller that centers around Taylor, a young graduate student working on his master's degree in psychology. Taylor was abandoned at birth, spent time in an orphanage, and was later adopted by a Native American couple on an Indian reservation. The radical shift in culture between the orphanage and the reservation makes a strong impact on Taylor and is a very telling sign of the controlled chaos that dwells within him.

After Taylor leaves home for college, his parents are murdered by a group of wealthy businessmen who dispensed deadly chemicals on tribal lands in an effort to acquire the property for financial gain. To avenge the death of his parents, Taylor calls on two of his childhood friends and together, they track down the investors one by one and expose them to a psychological experiment that is based on Taylor’s graduate thesis.

My goal for the novel was for it to be thought provoking, but also fast-paced and entertaining. Native American mysticism is meshed into the story, so it has a dark flair of the supernatural, which I think gives the story depth and uniqueness.

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Read the entire interview with Patrick Chalfant at http://www.thebookinsider.com/Interviews/PChalfant.htm or visit Patrick online at http://www.patrickchalfant.com


"Bury My Heart at Redtree"
Patrick Chalfant
Publisher: Hawk Publishing Group (June 15, 2005)
ISBN: 1930709536