J.A. JANCE – Pays Homage to a Lakota Hero
Over the course of the last forty years, I’ve written and published one book after another, all but one of them murder mysteries. Blessing of the Lost Girls, due out September 29, 2023, is number 66. In order to produce that many books, the writing process generally takes six months from beginning to end.
That tradition came to a grinding halt in 2021 when I started work on the most recent Ali Reynolds book, Collateral Damage.
That one took a whole year. As I struggled to bring that book to order (I’m definitely a pantser as opposed to an outliner!) I kept thinking that maybe I had lost my mojo, and that would be the last book I ever wrote. Eventually, I finished it, and the handwork paid off because my readers loved it.
But in the meantime, when I was only a couple of months into the Collateral Damage ordeal, a friend called and told me the following story:
In the nineties, a serial killer roamed the West—a guy who happened to hate Indians. His version of hate crimes before “hate crimes” became a thing. His deal was to ride boxcars and push Indians under moving trains. He became known as the Boxcar Killer and is still, at this time, serving life without parole in prison.
Around that time, a Lakota named James was working in the rail yard of a small city in Oregon. That’s when he had his encounter with the Boxcar Killer. James was pushed under a moving train and dragged for a mile and a half before the train was able to stop. Cops were called to the scene. They declared him dead, zipped him into a body bag, and had him transported to the local morgue, which was located in the basement of the community hospital. A nurse who worked there and who was also Lakota happened to know James. That night, when she got off shift, she went down to wash his hair—a time honored Lakota custom.
When she unzipped the body bag, his arm came out because he wasn’t dead. He was immediately transported from the morgue to the OR for the first of the countless surgeries it took to duct tape him back together. He was in the hospital for months on end. He ended up being a paraplegic. He lost the use of his dominant hand. He had to learn how to speak again as well as how to read and write.
One of my friends and fans, a woman named Loretta, has children who are half Lakota. She was also a volunteer at the hospital where James was treated. During his many hospital stays and before he learned to read again, she went to his hospital room and read books to him. And because she’s a fan of my books, she read my books to him, including her favorites—the Walker Family books set on Arizona’s Tohono O’odham Reservation. James loved them.
Once he recovered enough, he spent the next twenty years of his life working with disaffected urban Indian youth in the Portland area, helping them “find the right path.” The last time my friend spoke to James was shortly before his death in the spring of 2021. On the phone, he told her, “Tell your friend she needs to write another Walker book. There aren’t enough Indian heroes in books”.
After James passed away in the spring of 2021, although his case will never come to court, his autopsy report says that he died as a result of homicidal violence, and he is counted as one of the Box Car Killer’s victims. After his death, he was transported back to the reservation, not in a casket but wrapped in a buffalo robe.
I grew up as one of seven children. Our mother had plenty of rules. At dinner, you had to eat a little of everything on your plate or no dessert. I’ve taken that rule into my writing career in that I’m not allowed to think about the next book until I finish the one I’m currently working on. So, the remainder of the time I was working
on Collateral Damage, I didn’t allow myself to think about writing the book James wanted me to write. Still, once I cleaned my literary plate, it was time to write Blessing of the Lost Girls, and I did so, beginning to end, in two months flat!
The story flew together, in part, I believe, because writing it was a sacred charge given to me by a powerful Lakota warrior. And if you read Blessing and meet a character named John Wheeler, you’ll know at once that although James said there weren’t enough Indian heroes, now he is one.
J.A. Jance’s Website is www.jajance.com
Autographed books will be available from Mostly Books in Tucson, Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, and Brick and Mortar Books in Redmond, Washington.
I’ve been a JA Jance fan for years but haven’t read anything of hers lately. This post will change that.
Those of us who write fiction are storytellers, and what an interesting tale Ms. Jance tells us in her account of the bad stuff that happened in real life to the Lakota man named James. Fiction is made up, but then again it isn’t. It comes to life from the stories we hear and from our life experiences. So, fiction isn’t just entertainment. It’s a way to pass on knowledge and how we think about ourselves in this chapter of history.
Great story! I’m adding your novel to my TBR list. Thank you, JA Jance and George!
I also bring up MMIW in my two murder mystery series. It is a topic that has been kept quiet for too long. Just like other injustices against the first people.
What a powerful story of survival! I can’t wait to read Blessing of the Lost Girls!
Congratulations to J. Al. Jance. I met her at a Sisters in Crime meeting in Fresno years ago. I bought a copy of each book she’d brought with her. Have been a fan ever since.
What an amazing story of someone who survived to help others. I’ve loved your books for years, and now I know I need to get this new one.
Amazing story. I grew up near the Navajo reservation. This story touches my soul. And I absolutely respect your philosophy of cleaning your literary plate.
How sad that it was counted as homicidal violence, and he is counted as one of the Box Car Killer’s victims. But I love that he was transported back to the reservation, not in a casket but wrapped in a buffalo robe. Will check out your novels. Best wishes on a fantastic sell through.
Ms. Jance, as you know I’ve been a huge fan of your work for decades. Thank you for writing this book on such an important topic. I’m excited to read it and must have a signed copy, which I’ll order from the Poisoned Pen. I hope to see you again sometime soon. Here’s wishing you all the best!
What a great way to honor a fan and an amazing man.
Wow, that’s quite a story about James. I’m glad you were able to write the book about him. My good friend, David Walks As Bear, was a great guy also who has passed. He was one of the smartest guys I ever knew and always helped me with information about American Indians and their culture. I’ve been able to pay homage to him by using characters based on him in several of my books. My yet to be released latest book as A.W. Hart (Concho: Border Blood) deals with missing Indian or Native American girls and women.
Very interesting post. The issue of missing and murdered indigenous women is no longer a hidden problem, thanks to authors like Ms Vance and Tony Hillerman (Leaphorn and Chee, mysteries, Dark Winds tv series).
One of the many fine films about crimes against Native Americans is Wind River.
Amen to that. Thanks for sharing the title of this outstanding movie.
In Blessing of the Lost Girls, J.A.. Jance brings light to the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. As Ms. Jance reminded me: It’s an important topic, and tackling something like that requires different points of view.” We need more authors like Ms. Jance to tackle and share what we should know about the violence experienced by Indigenous women.
For more information, visit these websites as a start:
National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center – https://www.niwrc.org/policy-center/mmiw
Bureau of Indian Affairs – Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Crisis https://www.bia.gov/service/mmu/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-people-crisis