Bestselling author Walter Stephen Geeding chatted about his novel “The Path of Kokopelli.”
Book description
Two contemporary midwestern men stumble on a portal to the 19th century in this fast-paced, character-driven fantasy series starter.
Jack and Jim, two footloose, lifetime friends and beer drinking buddies, are out back-roading when they spot the cabin. Aha, it’s a treasure, treasure indeed, and much more. As Jack runs out with some little gold figures, deputies start shooting.
They have discovered a way to travel the time road disguised as a dilapidated shack. The only problem is those deputies. A “start no violence” command is broken; now, travelers must dodge lawmen. Jack throws the gold back in; time returns to normal. Some old letters reveal the secret: twenty-four figurines, twenty-four destinations; just dodge the law.
After learning to be traders as directed, a year later, they grab Kokopelli and jump into 1822 New Mexico, landing in the middle of some Jicarilla Apache. Kokopelli, the Indian god of fertility and good fortune, keeps them alive. William Becknell, the first American trader allowed in New Mexico, thinks they’re crazy; the hidalgos love their trade goods, and Indians respect them. Violent Spanish culture, savage Apache, and untamed 1822 New Mexico forge many changes
Deputies shoot as they race for the cabin’s sanctuary. The animals die, Jim is shot in the back, and Jack’s hit twice while desperately dragging him in. Wounds disappear with time. Shaken, they walk out to four weather-beaten saddlebags lying on piles of bones.
Jim finds out he’s a dad in this time-bending adventure; they race for Wyoming. Jim marries into the family; Jack is a godfather. Already brothers-in-arms, they change forever into true adult brothers. Two treasures return, money, and much more. The old foreman retires, and both become co-foremen; that winter, the ranch owners are killed after making Jim’s son a beneficiary.
The heirs force a sale and the most valuable fortune surfaces; Jack and Jim spend everything saving the ranch. Two grown men with boys looking out are gone forever, but they’re broke again.
They find out the heirs managed to empty ranch accounts and steal the yearling herd, a crop the ranch depends on until the next harvest. Jack decides on another trip alone, Jim’s a family man.
A call changes things. Jim’s brother-in-law killed a man. It’s self-defense; the charge is murder. They mortgage the ranch, fifty thousand bond, fifty thousand attorney fees, plus one hundred fifty thousand for ranch expenses. With family land on the line, they jump together. Book two: Murphys Diggins.
Background on Walter Stephen Geeding
Walter Stephen Geeding’s newest novel, “The Path of Kokopelli” (2021), is the first in his Endless Times series. The second book in that series, Murphys Diggins (2022), is being edited, volume three, Making Tracks, and volume four, West Coast Turnaround, await editing, and book five, Gringos is being written. In addition, he has authored and published the Colony trilogy, Colony Book One: The End (2015), Colony Book Two: Narrations of Nui (2017), and Colony Book Three: The Beginning (2018). Steve has also published a small book of Christmas poems, Even the Mice Get Fat (2019), and a full volume of poetry, Pictures of Life (2020).
In his younger life, Steve was nomadic, crisscrossing the United States in all four directions, in the process racking up hundreds of often unbelievable real-life experiences that he incorporates into his novels through one character’s memories. Steve lives in a cabin on Elk River, a place he calls Solitaire, which often adds its own history to the mix. This self-labeled riverman will tell you Solitaire is his diamond in the rough and has kept him relatively sane through the years.
Steve was born in Washington D.C. but raised in southwest Missouri, where his roots are. After being married three times, he went to school, became an attorney, and married his wife Linda of twenty-nine years. They reside in the country with their cats, Kitty and Major Tom.
Q & A interview
Your book ‘The Path of Kokopelli’ is a fantastic read and has been very popular with readers. Can you tell me what inspired you to write this epic read?
I’ve always been interested in the paranormal and time travel. My mother and father had a run-in with time after finding an old farmhouse near my great grandpa’s. They found an old churn on the porch and asked him who owned the place; he said they were crazy; there was no house. I’ve been there, he’s right, there’s not, but I’ve used that churn to make butter with; it’s real. The spot where the churn came from and his old place are both within walking distance of my home; there are no other old farmhouses.
Then there’s the Spook Light one county over. Generations have chased that glowing ball up and down the road, me included, and generations of scientists and scholars can’t figure out what it is, but it’s there. Look it up.
Add in my lifetime dream of stepping back in time to meet historical figures. The next logical step for me was to do just that, enter the Endless Times series, The Path of Kokopelli is the first in that series, and book two, Murphys Diggins, is being proofed.
While writing ‘The Path of Kokopelli’ did you learn anything new about yourself?
As I wrote about Jack, the main protagonist in this character-driven book, the realization of the journey he took was that it’s all true, not the fantasy fiction part, the saga of self-discovery.
All of Jack’s memories are from actual escapades remembered from a life on the road after running away from home. Canada to Mexico, and all points between, incredible stories, often unbelievable but authentic to a fault, with a single common thread, money’s the driver. Somewhere along the road, Jack, aka Steve, felt that man with a little boy looking out fading away forever. In its place stands a man full-grown; life and integrity worth far more than silver and gold.
Your word and your honor, never leave if you stand firm against the storms of life. As the author mined his old memories for The Path of Kokopelli, I realized just how far on the continuum I have come; all from traveling time.
You create characters that are both intriguing and compelling. What is one of your keys for developing such phenomenal characters?
The creation of compelling characters came fairly easily. Any man or woman brave enough to crawl on a horse and head west, to leave it all, had to have felt a powerful pull, a vision. Anyone hardy enough to leave the known world behind had to be interesting; dig deep enough, and sure enough, they were.
Take William Becknell, one of the characters in The Path of Kokopelli, and the blazer of the Santa Fe Trail. He kept from dying of thirst by killing a buffalo and then drinking water from its stomach, remarking, “I don’t believe water ever tasted so good as from that buffalo belly.” The cast of phenomenal players is endless; the key is exhaustive research to bring the giants back to life.
Even Jack’s memories, as thin as his veneer of civilization is, finds it hard to keep up; however, the two complement each other. Everyone wants to feel so close to the abyss that their senses twang; most never will, for there are risks inherent with every journey but not without that first step. Jack’s real-life memories, recalled by the author, play an active part in balancing out the story.
All humans have a love affair with unbridled adventure, provided there’s a safety net. I’ve been there, cheated death all too often, with no net, someday death will catch up; that’s life, right? Filtered through Jack, you get the unvarnished truth of the author’s early life; welcome to my world.
A good story is all about the setting, the descriptiveness, and the raw energy that captivates, all coming together to have the reader turning the pages effortlessly. Your book includes all of them. What is one of the keys that you find critical when getting into the writing zone?
Preparation is the primary key in unlocking the door to a good read; background homework will uncover more than one setting, like the tone, a designated time, or locale. In The Path of Kokopelli, research provided the answer; 1822, the year New Mexico started trading with the United States.
Bingo, that information gave me an opportunity; two tones, life as a cowboy on a ranch in modern Wyoming, plus life among boisterous, fearless traders led by the founder of the Santa Fe Trail, William Becknell; the times evolved into now, and 1822; the locales, Sublette County, outside Pinedale, Wyoming, and the second, Mexican controlled Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Two sets of mountains, the Sangre de Cristo and the Rockies, beckoned, and a hundred colorful characters clamored to be unleashed. The resulting force hammered my head, and threw me in the zone; The Path of Kokopelli, volume one in the Endless Times series, was born.
‘The Path of Kokopelli’ has been such a success. Do you have another book in the works you can tell us about?
The Path of Kokopelli is the first in my Endless Times series; currently, volume two, Murphys Diggins, is due for publication within the month, and volumes three and four, Making Tracks and West Coast Turnaround, await editing. Murphys Diggins finds the protagonists heading for 1848 gold-rush California;
San Francisco is a thriving metropolis of nine hundred souls. Mormon renegade Sam Brannon vies for control of the Mormon church, people haven’t yet trampled Sutter’s Mill into the ground, the dead still cry from Donner’s Pass, all while a lucky few remove gold from Murphys Diggins to the tune of eight to twelve ounces per pan.
Join Jack and Jim as they race against time to save their future Wyoming ranch and keep Jim’s brother-in-law from the hangman.
When you finish a new book, what drink do you usually celebrate with?
Grey Goose vodka is my poison, and my poultice is chased with a liberal dose of soda water. I see myself standing in clear river water by my cabin. I let the hot days flow by with the canoers as fish tickle my toes and scantily dressed girls shake for the boys. Winters finds me sitting above a wet, crystal blue world, surrounded by enchanting quiet, watching eagles soar.
Solitaire, as I named my home, provides me with a celebration on a constant basis. It is my drug, sufficiently intoxicating under any circumstances. Celebrate life; I do. On the other hand, Grey Goose is mighty tasty! As Oliver Twist would say, “Please, sir, I want some more,” of a cold one, that is.
His bestselling book “Endless Times: Volume One: The Path of Kokopelli” is available on Amazon by clicking here.
