Moccasin Thunder: American Indian Stories For Today, edited by Lori Marie Carlson (Harper, 2005). Features “A Real-Live Blond Cherokee And His Equally Annoyed Soul Mate” by Cynthia Leitich Smith; other contributing authors: Joy Harjo; Sherman Alexie; Richard Van Camp; Linda Hogan; Joseph Bruchac; Louise Erdrich; Susan Power; Greg Sarris; and Lee Francis.

The other writers’ work for children and teens includes: The Good Luck Cat by Joy Harjo, illustrated by Paul Lee (Harcourt, 2000); A Man Called Raven by Richard Van Camp, illustrated by George Littlechild (Children’s Book Press, 1997); The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich (Hyperion, 1999), and Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac (HarperCollins, 2001).

Cynsational Thoughts

In my short story, “A Real-Live Blond Cherokee And His Equally Annoyed Soul Mate,” Jason is defensive and dismissive of a girl who wanders into the costume shop where he works part time, only to realize that he may have misjudged her.*

It’s set in near South Austin, which is the same neighborhood where my gothic fantasy takes place.

I’m tremendously honored to have been invited to submit to the anthology and to have my writing featured in such good company. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Joseph Bruchac on companion YA short stories for an upcoming anthology to be published by Roaring Brook (more on that to come), and on the Okie Indian front, both Joy Harjo and Linda Hogan are among my role models.

In addition, it’s been lovely getting to know, Lori, whose other anthologies include Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Hispanic in the United States (Henry Holt, 1994) and its upcoming companion Hot Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Being Young and Latino in the United States (Henry Holt, 2005). I also enjoyed working on the project with my Harper editor, Rosemary Brosnan.

Note: readers of “A Real-Live Blond Cherokee And His Equally Annoyed Soul Mate” may also want to check out another of my YA short stories, “Riding With Rosa,” which appeared in the March/April 2005 issue of Cicada.

Cynsational Links

A Chat With Joseph Bruchac from Wordsmith.org.

The Creative Instinct: An Interview With Louise Erdrich by Robert Spillman from Salon.com.’

Louise Erdrich from Voices From The Gaps: Women Writers of Color.

Greg Sarris and the Native American Literature from the Information Resource Center.

Joy Harjo from Voices From The Gaps: Women Writers of Color.

Linda Hogan from Voices From The Gaps: Women Writers of Color.

Holding A World In Balance: An Interview With Linda Hogan by Camille Colatosti from The Witness.

A Man Called Raven by Richard Van Camp from Children’s Book Press.

Susan Power from Voices From The Gaps: Women Writers of Color.

What It Means To Be Sherman Alexie: The Toughest Indian Writer In the World Angles for a Bigger Audience by Russ Spencer from Book magazine.

*Small spoiler alert:
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It’s my first published story featuring in part a romantic relationship in which no one dies. I’m oddly proud of that.