WHO IS JOHN?

 

My readers often ask me about this dedication in my books:

DEDICATED TO JOHN

My inspiration for Shadow Runner

 

They usually want to know if John is an actual living person and if he really is like Shadow – a handsome Native American, the son of a sachem, kind-hearted, chivalrous, brave and a great lover.

The truth is, I have no clue.

Back in the 1990s when I knew I wanted to write a romance novel, I was searching for an image that would inspire me to create the male hero. I wanted him to be fit, but not overly muscular. I wanted him to have a dazzling smile that when he flashed it at a woman, she basically would melt into a puddle. And although I envisioned him as being drop-dead gorgeous, I still wanted him to have an approachable look about him.

At the time, I was receiving a lot of mail-order catalogs every day. Many of them were pretty crazy and I wondered how my name ever had ended up on their mailing lists. I mean, I even received catalogs featuring cremation urns and nurses’ uniforms.

Believe me, I’m the least likely person on earth to ever become a nurse. When my dog vomits, it takes me three hours just to gather the courage to clean it up.

However, two catalogs in particular, “Under Gear” and “International Male,” intrigued me, mainly because they featured well-built, scantily clad men modeling everything from fishnet shirts to bikini briefs, thongs and swimwear. Although most of the models in the catalogs were “hunks,” one in particular caught my eye. His physique, his smile, his eyes – everything about him looked perfect to me. So it dawned on me one day that if he had long black hair, he could be my book’s main character, Shadow Runner.

I wrote the book while looking at these photos of the mystery model. Seeing that Shadow wears “leather breeches” through most of my book, the body shot was perfect inspiration. And the smile in the other photo also was perfect. I was pretty sure it could melt even the coldest of hearts.

It wasn’t until years later, when I got my first computer and discovered the wonders of Google, that I learned the identity of the catalogs’ model…John Coulter. His bio was very impressive – a degree in fine arts, an artist for Disney, a costume designer and a handcrafts instructor, among other things. I was very impressed. I mean, this guy had been blessed with not only great looks, but also brains and talent.

When it came time to create the cover for my book, I had to make do with a budget of about $25, so my choices were very limited. As much as I’d have loved to, I certainly couldn’t afford to hire John to pose for it. So I had to settle for a stock-photo image. The Native American who ended up on my cover is a nice-looking guy, but (heavy sigh) he’s not John.

And for the cover of my second book, I looked at a photo of John in a catalog and painted the picture for the cover based on it. Trouble is, I can’t paint faces – they usually end up looking as if the person had suffered some horrible, disfiguring accident – so I painted only his body and the back of his head.

Ironically, I did get to see a photo of John in a long dark wig when he played a live version of Tarzan for Disney. My first thought was, “They should have splurged on a better-looking wig for him.”  My second thought was John finally had that “Shadow” vibe.

Just the other day when I was in Walgreen’s, I was surprised to see a photo of John on a package of Depends adult diapers.

Times definitely have changed.

Even though he has short gray hair in the photo, I’d recognize that smile of his anywhere.

So let me officially say here that I sincerely want to thank John Coulter for being my inspiration for Shadow Runner. I don’t think Shadow would have turned out quite as swoon-worthy without him.

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SO...WHO AM I?

Hi!

I’m Arianna Eastland, a native New Englander who, at a young age, developed a fascination for the Native-American culture and history in the Northeast. This not only led me to read everything I could find on the subject, it also inspired me, years later, to begin penning historical romance novels featuring Native-American heroes.

I must confess that my writing habits are somewhat unconventional. When I sit down to write, I never have a particular plot in mind and never write a preliminary outline. I just let the story and emotions unfold and flow as I go along. Also, I never know how the book is going to end until I actually write the final page.

And I have trouble writing if the room is too quiet. There either has to be music playing or the TV has to be on, or I can’t seem to concentrate.

Believe me, writing books that are set back in the 1600s has its challenges – first and foremost, deciphering the language that was used back then. Not only did many of the words we use today mean something entirely different in those days, there also were far fewer of them in existence.

I don't use the “thees” and “thous” of that period in my books because I think they would detract from the flow of the dialogue. I mean, I still can remember reading Shakespeare in high-school English classes and struggling to figure out what the heck the characters were talking about! 

But I do try to make certain my characters aren't speaking words that weren’t even created yet. I wouldn’t, for example, have a Pilgrim in the 1650s saying things like “egotistical” or “rambunctious” because the first time those words were used wasn’t until well over a hundred years later. 

Or can you just picture two Pilgrim guys greeting each other with something like, "Hey, Josiah! How's it hangin'? Gimme five!"

It does bother me, however, that I have to refer to the heroes in my books as either Indians or savages, but that was what the colonists called them in the 17th century...and I can’t undo history.

The Native-American words and phrases I've used in my novels thus far also were a challenge to research. I found only one Algonquin dictionary in existence and it was a rare antique, an expensive collector's item. Luckily, because it was published back in the 1800s, it became public domain, and some kind soul actually printed the entire dictionary online for everyone to use. The only problem was the man who originally wrote the dictionary didn't list the words in alphabetical order...he grouped them by random categories....also not in alphabetical order. So the aforementioned "kind soul" later created a search engine to use with the dictionary (thank goodness).

I know I never could offer a reading of my books to the public because, to be honest, I wouldn’t be able to pronounce some of the words. For example, the Algonquin word for snoring is chigualakwsowogan. And kbahodwigamigw means "jail."

My first novel, Too Far to Whisper, which has been in the top 20 on Amazon in the Native-American literature category for over six months now, took me years to write. I kept putting it away and going back to it until I finally just gave up on it for about 10 years. Then, in 2012, I talked myself into finishing it. After that, the sequels were much less of a struggle to write and took only months, not years, to complete. 

Oh, by the way, the e-book version of my first novel, Too Far to Whisper, is permanently free on Amazon, Apple Books, Smashwords and Barnes & Noble, so if you'd like to read it, you have nothing to lose by downloading it.

Not long ago, I took a DNA test to find out more about my ancestry and was surprised to learn that my great-great grandmother, who was from the Province of Quebec, was a full-blooded Abenaki. No one in my family ever had mentioned it to me before…but I do think it explains a lot!

When I take a break from writing, I enjoy walking on the many wooded trails in my area, going to local plays and concerts, playing board games and spending quality time with my friends.

I will post updates on this blog from time to time, whether they are just random thoughts or news about upcoming projects or book releases. Basically, I'll just let anyone who might be interested know what I’m doing!

I can be contacted at: ariannaeastland2@aol.com.