Raven's Key: A Novel

I am a cultural anthropologist who currently lives on Vancouver Island in the beautiful pacific Northwest of Canada. I teach university courses and supervise graduate students in the fields of interdisciplinary studies, applied research, indigenous issues, and education technology. Currently I’m working on academic projects around Metis issues in Canada, education technology, and corporate-Aboriginal relations.

Non-Fiction

I write a significant amount of non-fiction; in fact I make a living writing non-fiction. Over the last 10 years I’ve published over 35 peer reviewed articles and professional reports. These cover a broad range of topics from historical anthropology and Aboriginal treaty rights, to the social impacts of major projects in Canada’s North. Almost all of these publications are based on original research. Unfortunately many of these original research publications on the history of Canada and Aboriginal-settler relations will never see the other-side of a court-room; or the outside of a lawyer’s briefcase.

Fiction

In my creative fiction I combine my rigorous academic training and research skills with a vivid and active imagination. I’m inspired by Commercial writers like Neil Gaiman and Charles De Lint, Isabella Allende, Paulo Coleho, and Leslie Marmon Silko. And I like to bur the line between fact and fiction, weaving the real together with the unreal; drawing deeply on my anthropological expertise and knowledge of cultural tropes, symbols, and mythologies. I’m also deeply inspired by true events and themes around the spirit and mysteries of love, friendships and the greater powers and forces of the seen and unseen worlds.

Poetry

Almost all of my poetry is written in a “stream of consciousness” style. For years the last thing I would do before going to sleep was to write poetry – no rules, no thought, no expectations. It became a form of meditation for me. A lot of my poetry also ends up as lyrics in songs that I write. I’m working on my first poetry collection; and all the poems shared on this site will be included in this collection of poetry to be e-published in the summer of 2014.