Author Interview – Randal Nerhus & Marjorie Carter

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Randal Nerhus & Marjorie Carter co-wrote Novellas highlighting Native American stories based on their extensive experience and studies. We had the pleasure of having this Author interview – Randal Nerhus & Marjorie Carter for our blog. Check out these fantastic authors and follow them for more amazing stories.

Randal Nerhus received a BS in Agricultural Studies from Iowa State University in 1982, and an MA in Oriental Philosophy and Religion from Banaras Hindu University, India, in 1988. Shortly after obtaining his agriculture degree, he volunteered with the Peace Corps in the Philippines. While traveling in the mountains on the island of Palawan, he visited a remote tribal village and encountered a very different way of life—one of community, contentment, happiness, and love.

Fifteen years later, his interest in tribal traditions deepened while taking part in a ManKind Project initiation that used native approaches to bring men into a life of integrity. In 2002, Marjorie Carter took him under her shamanic guidance which complemented and expanded upon his early Christian foundations. From 2013 to 2016, he lived in Colombia’s Amazon jungle studying under Cocama shaman don Rogelio Cariguasari, and relevant parts of that experience were incorporated into the novel.

Marjorie Carter was born in Salem, Missouri, on July 17, 1937. Of Cherokee descent, she learned the traditional ways of her relatives from early childhood. During the eighth grade, she was forced to leave school to work and provide for her younger brothers.

At nineteen, she moved to Texas and began her careers in the restaurant and real estate businesses. During her life, she was diagnosed with seven different cancers and fought against melanoma for 25 years. A Native American seer and shaman, she had a passion for art, poetry, and stories. She wrote at her ranch near San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, hoping that Red With Native Blood would help reservation students embrace their heritage. Marjorie died of pneumonia on July 12, 2004.

When did you start writing?

I never desired to be an author until I was forty when I began writing my memoir about living in India from 1985 to 1991.

What was it like growing up?

I grew up on a farm in Iowa with three brothers and one sister. Something always needed to be done when raising crops and livestock. I find it hard to imagine my life any other way.

How was your early life?

Strange how what I started doing as a kid never became work. Fixing machines and building and home repair have come second nature ever since. Those skills have really helped me while living on a shoestring. Getting a $400 quote for a car repair, then doing it myself with $40 of parts, has kept me writing.

What has been the biggest influence in your career?

Meeting Marjorie Carter in 2002, learning from her, and bringing her novellas to publication has changed my life trajectory and brought me where I am today.

Tell us about your newest release?

Talks Like Thunder—An inspiring YA story of resilience, grit, and perseverance of a young female Apache warrior—will be released via Amazon in paperback, with a free eBook for all readers, on April 11. As Thunder comes of age, she becomes a rare female warrior, falls in love, and learns the ways of Apache ancient beliefs and traditions. After her tribespeople and their land are overtaken by whites, a horrifying event spurs her future to one of avenging honor and reuniting her people.

Which book of yours would you call your favorite child?

The last novella, Singing Wind. Marjorie created a beautiful storyline and unforgettable characters. Completing the story was my chance to use some of her leftover writing and tie the story elements into a pretty bow.

What inspired you to write this book?

Marjorie was a wonderful mentor and a dear friend. When she died of pneumonia in 2004, I had the only copy of her manuscript. I completed the story and brought the series to publication for her.

What are you usually found doing when you’re not writing?

The Philippines has plenty of lovely beaches and mountain towns to visit. I just take a bus, stay for a few days, and come back refreshed and ready to work.

What does your writing space look like?

The Philippines has a shortage of modems, so I’m sharing my neighbor’s Wi-Fi. I’ve moved a small table and chair near my front door to catch the signal. Not ideal by any means, but good enough.

If you wrote your autobiography, what would you name it?

From the Inside Out

How long did it take to write your novel, and what was your process?

My writing process took forever. Having 60+ beta readers offer critiques and suggestions did convolute things. That, along with an unforgiving editor, turned it into a decades long project. In fact, I’m still making some micro-tweaks while proofreading. Regardless, I’m quite happy with the way it’s turning out.

Favorite reads?

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M Pirsig Shogun, by James Clavell Secrets of the Talking Jaguar, by Martin Prechtel

Do you have any book recommendations?

For aspiring authors, first read Jerry Cleaver’s Immediate Fiction. Creating a living, breathing novel is a tremendous undertaking. Best to start early with the right tools in Cleaver’s book. Consult Dwight Swain’s Techniques of the Selling Author, when stumped. While redacting the beginning and end of Marjorie’s series, I pulled out a list of things from Swain’s book. Once I checked them all off, the story was complete.

What’s your next big project?

I’ve always liked short stories better then novels. A slice of life that forever changes the character and reader. I may be publishing some short stories in the months ahead.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

I’ve heard that we never fully heal until we’ve told our story. I was writing my memoir when I met Marjorie. For two years, I delved deeply into what happened in India and reoriented my life for the years to come. When I finished the first draft, I printed and bound it into a physical copy—never to touch it again. Marjorie died at that time, and I fully devoted my life to complete her series. Often our writing turns into a purely personal endeavor. But who knows, any day I could dust off that first draft and bring it to publication.