Meet Asa Nacona Big Mountain,
aka Wandering Star. . .

       I am frequently asked where the inspiration for my characters comes from. Sometimes, my readers send it to me--as in the case of this young man, Asa Nocona Big Mountain. While I was writing Book #2 of my Mystic Indian Series, I kept his picture near my computer as inspiration for describing Stalking Wolf's son. His photographs are still part of my office decor.

       When Asa was 4-1/2 years old, his mother, who is one of my fans, graciously gave me permission to put his picture and story into my website so that I can share them with all of you. Over the years, we have all watched him grow up through his photographs. (On this page, you can see Asa at ages 9, 11, and 15.)

       In the Comanche language, "Asa" means "Star" and "Nocona" means "Wanderer." His father, a Native American Dancer, chose Wandering Star as Asa's Indian name.

        Asa's ancestors include Chief Big Mountain, a full-blooded Comanche who was born in 1877 and died in 1954. Chief Big Mountain performed as one of the original riders in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, starting a tradition in which all of his descendants have followed. Late in his life, Chief Big Mountain married Princess White Dove, a young Apache maiden. Asa's grandfather, also called Big Mountain, was the eldest of their six children. Big Mountain, in turn, married a member of the Mohawk tribe, and their son was Little Deer, Asa Nocona's father. So, Wandering Star carries Comanche, Apache, and Mohawk blood on his father's side--while his mother is from England! This boy reflects the best of both worlds.

       Even at four-and-a-half, Asa Nocona was already following in the Big Mountain family tradition. He learned a simple version of the Eagle Dance, which he performed for his classmates at school, and later mastered the Hoop Dance.

       Asa is now 15-1/2 years old. His mother tells us that he is working hard at school, and has just taken and recieved the first of his GCSE exam results in Biology, Chemistry and Physics with an excellent result. Next year he will be taking Advanced Science with a view towards his future goals. He plans to stay at his school for Sixth Form and take the International Baccalaureate, and his goal from there is to go on to University on the South Coast of England to study Zoology. His eventual aim is to work with the killer whales at Seaworld, in their study and training program. He is and always has been a great lover of animals and seems to share a special gift with them.

       Asa is now almost 6 feet tall and towers over his Mother! He loves fishing, music, computer games and good books when he finds them. I hope that he considers my books among those!

       Please don't ask me to give you more information on Asa; I promised his mother that I would protect the family's privacy. However, feel free to go to my email form and say hello to them! I will forward your comments to Asa and his mother.

       When informed that he would be on my website and might hear from some of my readers, Asa replied, "Cool!"