Dispel the Mist and why I Loved Writing This One.

Everyone has heard of Bigfoot, but not so many know about the Hairy Man. On the Tule River Indian Reservation (Bear Creek Indian Reservation in my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mysteries) there is legend about the Hairy Man who lives in the mountains surrounding the reservation.

At the end of the reservation road there is a rock shelter named Painted Rock. This rock shelter was created by one boulder landing ontop of another during  a time when the Tule River flooded creating a large sheltered cave. Inside this cave, between 500 and 1000 years ago, Indians painted the walls and ceilings with colorful pictographs of Native symbols, animals, and a map of the Tule River. On the largest wall is a drawing of the Hairy Man (as you see it on the cover) except he is 8 foot tall, beside him is the 5 foot tall depiction of a female and a 3 foot tall child. It is the only Native drawing of a Big Foot creature in California or Oregon.

I was fortunate to visit this site with an anthropology class. Our Indian guide pointed out many things but seemed to be reluctant to talk about the Hairy Man. Of course I asked him to tell us about him. He explained the legend and reluctantly admitted that his father had once seen the Hairy Man. When he finished he looked at me sternly and said, "Don't you come here at night."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because there are too many spirits here at night."

Right then I knew though I'd never come at night, Deputy Tempe Crabtree would most certainly visit the rock shelter at night and she'd also experience the spirits who inhabit the place. And that is how Dispel the Mist began.

Though Dispel the Mist is not on Kindle as yet, it is available as a trade paperback from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Dispel-Mist-Marilyn-Meredith/dp/1594264023/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_9

Marilyn