by Win Blevins
All these inventions are my way of taking a look at my country and my peoples, trying to see into their souls, expressing something of how it feels to me to be a human being, and of engaging in that wondrous form of play known as telling a story.
So. History is the foundation of this book. Its soul is imagination, dream, and love.
Win Blevins
Bozeman, Montana
December 29, 1996
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A writer receives many gifts in writing a book—brainstorming, information, company, solace, encouragement, and other essentials—sometimes even a place to live. I continue to be wonder-struck at people’s generosity, and deeply grateful.
My first thanks on this book are to Michael, Marilee, Sarah, and Tessa Enright. You gave me great hospitality at a critical time, and helped me rediscover my path. Special thanks to Sarah, a teenager who gave up her phone for me.
Brot Coburn and Didi Thunder, my neighbors in Wilson, Wyoming, opened the door to Nepal to me for the first time, loaning me their house in Kathmandu and answering endless questions. Brot, this book owes much to you.
Multitudes in Nepal were helpful. Raghunath Pradhan accompanied me through the Annapurna region. Marguerita Kluench provided spiritual guidance. The Tibetan and other people of the Annapurna region gave me inspiration.
Linda Svendsen and Kent Madin of Boojum Expeditions, old hands in Kham, loaned me books and answered questions about Sun Moon’s home country. Linda and Jennifer Read, another lover of Tibet, read the first draft and made valuable corrections. Adam Blevins and Jenna Caplette read the manuscript and made key suggestions.
These people provided essential information and insight into the mysteries of Tibetan Buddhism—Brot Coburn, Ethan Goldings, Tashi Woser Juchungtsang, Paul LeMay, Wangchuk Meston, and the monks of the Sera Je and Drepung Monasteries.
Kathleen Gear steered me toward Kali, a seminal idea. Dick Wheeler helped me through the complexities of Virginia City. Max McCoy came up with fecund thoughts and pieces of information about Richard Burton. Lenore Carroll came up with marvelous bits of information.
Dr. James Weiss helped with medical verisimilitude. Miriam Biro of the North Lake Tahoe Historical Society went above and beyond the call of duty. Dick James offered expertise on Mormonism. Lyman Wear unknowingly provided one of Asie’s pet phrases, “heckahoy.” The Reverend Dale Salser helped me with the marriage ceremony of the 1860s. Stan West lent me his wisdom about a key scene.
Leeds and Nyla Davis offered hospitality, comradeship, and knowledge of the Tahoe region; Leeds, thanks for a quarter century of friendship. Teresa Jordan and Hal Cannon gave hospitality and thoughts about Mormonism. Rudi and Lynda Unterthiner loaned me their Idaho cabin as a haven for writing.
It was especially good to get collegial help from other professional writers, who took time and energy from their own projects for my sake: Thanks again to Brot Coburn, Kathleen Gear, Teresa Jordan, Max McCoy, Stan West, and Dick Wheeler.
Thanks to Phil Heron, Tyler Medicine Horse, and my other sweat brothers for companionship in the lodge.
As always, Clyde M. Hall, Shoshone-Bannock, acted as my close counsel in matters about Indians. He also discovered the splendid mandala in beadwork that graces the cover of the hardback edition of this book. Aho, my friend.
Jenna Caplette walked through the unexplored country of Asie and Sun Moon’s adventures with me, brainstorming all the way. Jenna, part of your spirit is in this book. Thank you.
About the Author
Win Blevins is the author of thirty-one books. He has received the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature, has twice been named Writer of the Year by Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers, has been selected for the Western Writers Hall of Fame, and has won two Spur Awards for Novel of the West. His novel about Crazy Horse, Stone Song, was a candidate for the Pulitzer Prize.
A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Blevins is of Cherokee and Welsh Irish descent. He received a master’s degree from Columbia University and attended the music conservatory of the University of Southern California. He started his writing career as a music and drama reviewer for the Los Angeles Times and then became the entertainment editor and principal theater and movie critic for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. His first book was published in 1973, and since then he has made a living as a freelance writer, publishing essays, articles, and reviews. From 2010 to 2012, Blevins served as Gaylord Family Visiting Professor of Professional Writing at the University of Oklahoma.
Blevins has five children and a growing number of grandchildren. He lives with his wife, the novelist Meredith Blevins, among the Navajos in San Juan County, Utah. He has been a river runner and has climbed mountains on three continents. His greatest loves are his family, music, and the untamed places of the West.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this book or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2013 by Win Blevins
Cover design by Mimi Bark
978-1-4976-4985-9
This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
www.openroadmedia.com
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