Readers, I met the talented Constance Gillam years ago when we worked together on the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense contest committee. What I didn’t know then is, not only is Connie a hard-working volunteer, she is an outstanding author in her own right. Her Lakota suspense series is outstanding, and John Iron Hawk is one of my favorite characters–period. Please welcome Constance Gillam to Help from my Friends Friday!
Thanks so much for having me, Donnell. It’s a pleasure to share with your readers a
little about myself and my books. I’m Constance Gillam, known to my friends as Connie. I grew up in the Midwest but currently live in Atlanta, Georgia. Having lived in Cleveland, Ohio off Lake Erie, I appreciate that we have so little snow in Atlanta. But the flipside is when we do have snow, the subject leads the local news for ten days preceding the snowfall and paralyzes the city for at least a week.
Like most writers, I’m an avid reader. I love every genre except horror. Recently, I’ve started reading cyberpunk, which is a complete surprise to me. But my true love is mystery and suspense.
About ten years ago, I watched an independent film set around the 1880s. The story revolved around Native American male prisoners temporarily housed at a black college. A love affair developed between one of the female students and one of the prisoners. The ending left a question in my mind—what was their future like? After a number of ‘what if’ questions, I came up with the storyline that became my first Native American novel, Lakota Dreaming.
My main characters are tribal police officer, John Iron Hawk and his lover, Zora Hughes.
These Lakota suspense novels were not planned as a series. A fact that has caused me many gray hairs over the years. The first book in the contemporary series, Lakota Dreaming, is definitely Zora’s story. It combines mystery, mysticism and a little bit of paranormal elements.
Zora Hughes is a corporate businesswoman, a type A personality who has had visions all her life of a slave ancestor who escaped from a Louisiana plantation only to be captured by the Comanche. Zora goes to South Dakota to find out about the murder of her ancestor and hopefully end the visions that have cost her a high-powered job. On the Rez, she clashes with the Chief of police, John Iron Hawk, who is very protective of his people.
John has his own problems. He’s recently gotten custody of his teenage daughter, who is less than thrilled to be living in the backwaters of South Dakota with a father she knows little about. John is also trying to expose a corrupt casino manager who is using casino funds meant for the reservation for his own personal use. John has little time to deal with the trouble Zora stirs up on the reservation because of her questions.
I loved writing the book so much I didn’t want to say goodbye to the characters, so I decided to write a sequel. I’m currently at work on book #3 in this series.
I’ve also written one historical novel, Lakota Moon Rising, which is a prequel to the contemporary Lakota series.
All books are available in digital and print format. Lakota Dreaming is also available in audio.
Lakota Dreaming: http://tinyurl.com/mnv5ang
Lakota Blood Moon: http://tinyurl.com/mj5p6zw
Lakota Moon Rising: http://tinyurl.com/yah86zvp
You can find me at these locations:
@conniegillam
www.facebook.com/authorconstancegillam
So nice to get to know you better, Connie!
Hey, Vicki!
I remember meeting you at one of Kiss of Death Tours. Thanks for commenting. Keep healthy.
Connie, thank you for being my guest today. I have never read cyber punk. Can you give us examples? What is it? And what authors do you admire?
Thank you for having me, Donnell.
Cyberpunk is a sub-genre of science fiction. The Matrix, which I love, is cyber punk.
I don’t know much about the sub-genre and I haven’t read extensively in it. I’m more drawn to the televised as opposed to the print.
A couple of authors who write in the sub-genre are Phillip K.Dick, William Gibson and Richard K. Morgan.
I’ve been watching Altered Carbon (Richard Morgan) on Netflix and loving it. Violent but I love the world building. In my books the story world is very important.
I hope I’ve explained that well enough.
Connie, thanks for the great explanation. I’ll check out Altered Carbon. Just finished The Five by Harlan Coben on Netflix 🙂
I love reading about the lives and history of people who don’t necessarily live next door to me. Thank you for writing these books!
Peg,
Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. Learning about new cultures and people has always interested me. I’ve been tracing my family through Ancestry. The stories I’ve learned about my family has given me new insights into the history of this country and the people who’ve shaped it.
Connie, between you and my cousin Suzette, I’m faltering. I’ve always been nervous about the genealogy sites. I would love to know if you and I have any connection through the Barnes clan. I’ve noticed that my side of the family have huge foreheads, hence my constant need to wear bangs. So appreciative of you being my guest, my friend.