Hello

The story behind how the story was written seems to interest people a lot, so I will write a chronology here. 

The series took 28 years, but I'm glad it took that long because I used a lot of life experiences, and my writing skills improved a lot as I revised it and revised it through the years. It was the released in the best time it could be: invention of A.I. art to visualize it, the first National Native TV station FNX TV to air it, and the era of self-publication to ensure my vision was protected. Chandera arrived at the perfect time and I hope you all enjoy! 

​

1995 - To make up for missed High School work due to me being sick, I decided to write a story based on visions and dreams I had the nights prior. I dreamed one night in the starry night of 95 in my home in the Arctic of a Native boy like me, staring at a giant castle in front of him, as he had been sleeping on an extended terrace of it. He was angry. The love of his life was in the castle being charmed by a handsome prince at the ball. He sat out there and pouted in response. This was the first dream. The second night, God--the Creator--granted me a wish this one and only time I could remember--in that he allowed me to continue the dream the next night. I dreamed the kid was now flying through the air on an airship, looking for a golden rock that the kingdom needed. This is where the dreams stopped, but they continued in nightly visions. 

 

For my homework assignment, my teacher John at the time was a big science fiction book fan. So I wrote a short 1-page story based on the visions of this story I dreamed. It was the dinner scene, where the crew are on David's case about wanting to go home. It was a 1-page scene but I got an A on the paper and saved it. The entire series started from that one scene, plus the mountains of notes.  

​

2001 - For the next 6 years, I let the story lay dormant as I collected notes for scenes and made the mountain higher. In 2001, the Lord of the Rings hit the world like a storm. It was a worldwide hit and cheered everyone up after the 9/11 attacks. I was so moved, so fascinated, and so captured by it like everyone else. It seemed like a cultural shift more than just a movie, so it inspired me to dust off this manuscript and write it. I was a First Year English student at the time. I wrote three chapters and showed it to a friend. He said it was interesting but needed a lot more description. He told me to shelve it and get more experience as a writer, and I thought I would get more life experiences too, so I did. It was shelved for the rest of my 20s. Within that time, I got my Bachelors Degree in English Literature & Rhetoric.  I went to writer workshops and was mentored by award-winning authors too. I also got a lot of experience in Indigenous Causes and Cultural Preservation for my old culture through translations of old stories at my local university with my Native grandpa. I turned down two Ivy League schools to continue my studies in my old Gwich'in culture.

 

A lot of them were incorporated into Chandera, like when Max's Interpreter Box not being able to translate Old Waywong opposed to translating Modern Waywong easily, because old indigenous languages are so hard to decipher that they seem coded.  

​

2010 - Summer of 2010 was a turning point. There were a number of big events that occurred at the same time. Avatar was now the biggest movie in the world that summer and caused another cultural shift, as well as the Twilight series. Twilight: New Moon was released that summer and was a big hit as well. A man and I sat in his parked truck outside Barnes & Nobles, when he pointed to the posters of Avatar and New Moon. "Look, Native American Science Fiction is the biggest thing in the world right now, so now is the time to write your novel." He was right. Yet, I was stubborn and continued to look for work instead but found none due to the Great Recession. I then got my heartbroken by a woman that summer I wanted to marry. I wanted to start a family.

 

To escape the pain, I threw myself into Chandera. 

​

It worked. I wrote the whole series for the next 4 years. 

​​

2015 - By 2015, I wrote the entire 5 book series, but they still needed a lot of work. I put Book 1 out, but it was very rough, and it didn't take me long to take it back down for more edits. I promoted the book at Comicons in Alaska and Albuquerque, but did not have a table. Book 2 & 3 were not done yet but again, I had no motivation to finish them. I wanted Book 1 to be a hit first. 

​

2018 - I lived in Long Island for a winter and did a reading of Chandera at the American Indian House in Manhattan. Only 4 people showed up, because it was a rainy night before Christmas on Dec. 21, but 400 people watched the Reading Live on Facebook. ​

​

I returned home to finish my government research and also try to finish the books. 

​

2020 - The Pandemic hit the world and everyone was forced to stay home. As shocking and weird as this sounds, it was a great year for me because it allowed me to finish the government research, Chandera Book 2 and I did significant work on Book 3. but did not finish book 3. 

​

The books were delayed because I had to finish the government research. 

​​

2022 - In winter 2022, I pulled my back shoveling snow in a freak climate change-related snowstorm in Fairbanks. My non-fiction books published is called: The Gwich'in Climate Report (available on Amazon too). I was paralyzed until the Paramedics showed up. They took me to the ER and I got medication and was literally back on my feet again. This scared me and made me realize we don't have the time we think we do, so I turned down all jobs and opportunities to ONLY focused on Chandera. It was 'do or die' for me now. ​​Again, it worked. I moved back home and finished the trilogy.

​

2023 - I put out great, final versions of all three books in Spring 2023. The books were self-published and finally ready for the world in the way 'I' wanted the world to see them, despite the maybe good writing advice of editors from the publishers I turned down. I have no regrets.

 

The release was just in time for A.I., as A.I. created great art for the series and everyone was impressed. 

​​

Novels Finished, the Major Promotions and Marketing started

​​

2023 - I started a campaign among Native American schools and bookstores across the country first, by phone and email. 

​​​

2024 - The following spring of that year, I finished the last two sequels: Star Tracker and The Last Gron War. I put them out too. I started a second campaign to all tribal libraries, schools, and bookstores via phone and email for them too.

​

The books got national attention among tribal communities, but hardly any sales. 

​​​

2025 - I finish the campaigns to tribal communities.

 

In Spring 2025, I campaigned a little to get the books to the general society and the world but was exhausted by then. I haven't really followed through, as I am getting back to my life now. The books are still available though!

​

Over the course of the three years since they finished, I started social media accounts for the book series, two websites, and promo videos on Youtube, plus interviews all over the country. I hope you enjoy it all!