Down River (26 page)

This novel was inspired by a two-week trip my husband and I took to Alaska during the month of August several years ago. I was impressed by the land and its very independent people. More than once, someone I spoke with or interviewed explained why they love Alaska and would live nowhere else. I was surprised how many odd jobs Alaskans were willing to work to support themselves in the more rural areas.

We stayed in a rustic lodge near Denali Park that was partly the inspiration for Mitch’s lodge. Bear Bones does not exist, but I based it on several small rural towns I saw. My husband and I have done whitewater rafting in Colorado rather than Alaska. Still, although I have not kayaked on river rapids, it gave me a feel for the Wild River of the story.

For background information, I also used the cable-TV series
Tougher in Alaska
hosted by Geo Beach, and read numerous books on the state. Special thanks to Jonathan Krakauer for his amazing book,
Into the Wild,
especially for information on the gauging station by which Mitch and Lisa crossed the river. Another source for me was
Through Yup’ik Eyes
by Colin Chisholm, which I found so fascinating I had to tell part of the story through my fictional character Christine Tanaka’s Yup’ik eyes.

I want to thank Dr. Julianne Moledor and Dr. Roy Manning for background information about the “too
much sauna” scenes. And special thanks to sister author Carolyn Melvin, an attorney, for the vetting of my lawyer information in the book.

Talkeetna is a great town to visit, but if you want to do so virtually, information about it, the Mountain Mother Contest and Moose Dropping Festival are available at www.talkeetnachamber.org. The dates for these events may vary but are usually in July, not August, as I have set them in the novel.

And if you have any interest in seeing brown bears feasting on salmon, an excellent Web site, which includes photos and video, is Bob Arnebeck’s www.geocities.com/bobarnebeck/dams.

The image of a drowned woman peering through water appears several places in the novel and was partly inspired by the painting which Ellie Bonner describes. If you would like to see John Everett Millais’s beautiful and haunting painting,
Ophelia,
it can be viewed at www.tate.org.uk/ophelia.

April 6, 2009

1. Have you ever participated in a team bonding experience? Was it effective? What did you learn about yourself and others?
   
2. Lisa and Mitch face the problem of two vastly different careers, locations and lifestyles. Can such problems be worked out for love? Is it the woman who is often pressured to make the big changes, and is that fair?
   
3. Lisa learns to love Alaska. Have you ever bonded with a unique place? Why?
   
4. This novel’s two main female characters have traumas that haunt them. Have you known someone with such a burden? How can we overcome such devastating emotional shocks and losses?
   
5. Did Mitch handle his big change in life well, or did he make mistakes?
   
6. How early in the story did you believe Lisa had definitely been pushed into the river? When were you sure by whom, and how did you know?
   
7. The indigenous Inuit cultures of Alaska have some unique beliefs. What differences or simi
   larities do you see between the white culture and the First Nations people there?
   
8. The author was tempted to use a fourth quote to emphasize themes in this story: “Nature was here something savage and awful, though beautiful…What is this Titan that has possession of me? Talk of mysteries!…Who are we?” (Henry David Thoreau from
   Ktaadn
   ) Going green and nature preservation are big topics today. How does nature impact your life and what is this mystery Thoreau alludes to?