What inspired you to set the book on the Penobscot Reservation? What came first, one of the short stories, the characters or the setting?
Inspiration came from my own life. I grew up there, and I felt so connected to it that I had to write about that place. As for what came first, a short story: Night of the Living Rez, actually! The title story. I then wrote all the others after that one.
Is Overtown based on Old Town, Maine?
Is it! Growing up, we used to ask, "Are you going over town?" since we had a bridge. In writing, I thought, why not just name the town Overtown?
Do you have any personal connections or experiences with some other places that you mentioned in Night of the Living Rez?
All of the places mentioned in the book are real places, with the exception of the tribal lumberyard--that's fictional. But the locations where David and his friends "battled" with sticks is the same place my friends and I did things like that!
Is there one place you’d want a reader to visit in Maine?
The Penobscot River. It's lovely.
Do you have any favorite books that take place in Maine?
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.