When you're deeply connected and immersed in a book, Parris, have you ever had a dream that you felt was not your dream? Do your characters dream within you?
Now how did you know that, Diane?! I don’t become ‘deeply connected and immersed’ in my story until after the first draft (more a skeletal design)... then the main character nudges me out of my body and takes up occupancy. And, yes, even my character has taken possession of my dreamscape. This can be so annoying at times, as if I am having an out-of-body experience, watching myself from a high corner of the room while my main character takes center stage.
Have you had a dream that was one of your characters?
Not in the sense that you ask, although I have had quite a few dreams that have become the inspiration for books. I’ve learned to pay rapt attention when something is going on in my dreamland.
What do you love most about the Hopi Indians?
The Hopi take their name from a word that means “peaceful people.” They pray each day for every living thing. The Hopi were proclaimed by the Dali Lama to be a People of Peace. I love the Hopi’s belief that it is their duty to keep the world in balance by dancing, and their message that the principal of choice always prevails.
What challenged you the most about researching the Hopi Prophecy?
Being a bahana, a white person, an outsider, was, of course, my biggest challenge. The Hopi, as cordial as they are to outsiders, are a very reserved and mystical people. I could never get entirely in their mindset, and try as hard as I could, I could only present a facet of their lives that was colored by my romantic perspective.
Parris, please share the titles of three books on your nightstand?
1.) Essential Italy – taking five of my grandchildren to Italy in September (yes, call me crazy); 2.) The Lost Painting (about the Italian artist Caravaggio); 3.) Yemen, published by The Lonely Planet (research material for Call Me Crazy).
Who are some of your favorite Native American writers?
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