Besides asking about the cover art, a few people have also asked how I ended up with the name of Limery as the book’s leading character. Here’s my answer: One of my favorite research resources for this novel was a series of books titled Memorial to the Pioneer Women of the Western Reserve, published in 1896. The series tells a history of each township in Ohio’s Western Reserve, but instead of focusing on the deeds of the menfolk, it focuses on the womenfolk and the fascinating, often heartbreaking, details of their daily lives. The books are rare and no longer…

The Dance of the White Deer was loosely inspired by the 1832 murder of Frances Maria Buell, a 16-year-old “brunette beauty” from Gustavus, Ohio. Those who are familiar with her story know that Maria (pronounced Mariah) was murdered by her stepfather, Ira West Gardner, after resisting his sexual advances. What isn’t as well-known is that Maria had a beau at the time of her death, most likely a young man named Tunis Spears. In testimony from the murder trial, a witness said: “Sunday before the day of the murder, [I] held a conversation with [Ira Gardner] respecting one Tunis Spears…

Several people have asked me about the cover of the book. Who is the girl on the cover? The answer is “I don’t know.” Many years ago when I started to write the novel, I found an unidentified tintype on eBay of a young, dark-haired woman who, in my mind’s eye, resembled the character of Limery Clark. Limery, of course, was loosely based on Frances Maria Buell, the 16-year-old who was murdered in 1832 in Gustavus, Ohio by her stepfather, Ira Gardner. There are no photographs of Maria (pronounced Mariah) because photography only came into existence around the time of…

The Dance of the White Deer is a work of fiction, but it was inspired by true events. Below is a photo of the grave of Frances Maria Buel (middle name pronounced Mariah, and she went by her middle name, not her first). Maria lived in nearby Gustavus, Ohio (Trumbull County). She was murdered in 1832 by her stepfather, Ira Gardner, after rejecting his sexual advances. She was 16 years old. She had escaped his lustful pursuits by running to a neighbor’s home for shelter. He promised not to bother her if she returned to procure her clothing, but when…