Patrick Chalfant

Patrick Chalfant is a fifth-generation Oklahoman with roots so deep that they predate statehood. Both his maternal and paternal ancestors participated in the Oklahoma Land Run and were allotted land, some of which is still owned by the Chalfant family. Throughout his upbringing in the Midwest, Chalfant found inspiration in both the generous people of rural America and the raw beauty of the untamed land. Bury My Heart at Redtree eloquently combines Chalfant’s pride in his Osage Indian heritage with his passion for penning stories that capture the essence of life in America’s heartland. Patrick’s first novel, When the Levee Breaks received widespread critical acclaim. He currently resides in Tulsa with his wife, son, and two dogs.

Visit Patrick Chalfant at www.patrickchalfant.com.

"Bury My Heart at Redtree" is a highly unusual psychological thriller set in Oklahoma. Although it happens in modern times, there is much connectivity to old Native American ways. We rated this excellent and surprising thriller a very high four hearts. - Heartland Reviews

"Bury My Heart at Redtree" is a fast-paced, thrilling,thought-provoking, entertaining work that is sure to please. - The Oklahoman

"Bury My Heart at Redtree" is one of the best books I have had the pleasure of reading in a long time. It has very well developed characters, love interests, conflicting feelings and rapid development.- Sid Weaver, Mainly Mysteries

I found "Bury My Heart at Redtree" to be a very engrossing delve into the complexities of the human mind, and a very interesting dissertation of personality development. - Roxanne Sailors Taplett- Editor, SimpleThings

"Bury My Heart At Redtree" is a psychological thriller that's fast-paced and keeps you guessing until the conclusion. - Jory Reedy,Reviewer, Fresh Fiction

Chalfant's descriptive language and page-turning suspense make this a must read mystery. Readers will also want to read Chalfant's WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS. ~Lori Soard.

PageOneLit.com: Where did you grow up, and have reading and writing always been a part of your life?

Patrick Chalfant:I grew up on a large ranch near a very small town in Western Oklahoma, which was a fantastic place to spend my childhood. Growing up around animals really gave me a different perspective in life. When you spend time with animals you soon realize that their only concerns are their fundamental needs. They don’t care about toys or their social status or any of the other intrusions from the outside world. As long as they have enough food to eat and a little companionship, they’re happy. It was a great lesson to learn. Growing up on a ranch enable me to separate myself from the rest of the world and gain a fresh perspective on what truly is important in life.

I knew early on that I wanted to be a writer. I first started writing in junior high. My stories were mainly spoofs about teachers and the culture of our school. My friends loved reading my stores. They would laugh and encourage me to write more, but I feared that they were just being nice. It was difficult for me to gauge the entertainment value of what I was writing. My confidence was bolstered when I was a junior in high school. An area McDonalds held a writing competition for a promotion they were doing. All the area students from surrounding schools were asked to write creative stories that involved McDonalds. I made up some crazy tale about the Hamburglar. I don’t even remember what I wrote, but it won third place. I was awarded a hat that looked like a Big Mac. Even though it was pretty insignificant, it marked the first time that I felt that my words had made a connection with others. I really liked that feeling, so I earned a degree in English in college and have been writing ever since.

 

PageOneLit.com: Who and/or what have been your biggest influences with regard to your writing and why?

Patrick Chalfant:My family is a big influence overall in my life and that certainly trickles down into my writing. The biggest influence pertaining to my writing, though, is art. When I look at a painting or hear a song and feel that I connect with what the artist envisioned, it moves me to try to move others with the written word. It happens so often with music. The majority of my writings have been influenced by songs. One line of a certain song provokes a thought that leads to a concept and ultimately a story.

 

PageOneLit.com: Please tell us a little about you newest novel, "Bury My Heart at Redtree."

Patrick Chalfant:The novel is a psychological thriller that centers around Taylor, a young graduate student working on his master's degree in psychology. Taylor was abandoned at birth, spent time in an orphanage, and was later adopted by a Native American couple on an Indian reservation. The radical shift in culture between the orphanage and the reservation makes a strong impact on Taylor and is a very telling sign of the controlled chaos that dwells within him.

After Taylor leaves home for college, his parents are murdered by a group of wealthy businessmen who dispensed deadly chemicals on tribal lands in an effort to acquire the property for financial gain. To avenge the death of his parents, Taylor calls on two of his childhood friends and together, they track down the investors one by one and expose them to a psychological experiment that is based on Taylor’s graduate thesis.

My goal for the novel was for it to be thought provoking, but also fast-paced and entertaining. Native American mysticism is meshed into the story, so it has a dark flair of the supernatural, which I think gives the story depth and uniqueness.

 

PageOneLit.com: Talk about your main character, Taylor. Was he inspired by anyone you know or created entirely from imagination? And are the struggles he goes through based on any real life experiences?

Patrick Chalfant:I’ve always been a big fan of psychology. During my senior year in college, I took a basic psychology class as an elective. Even though I’d previously been intrigued by Freud’s theories, I was exposed to them again during this class. I was fascinated by his separation theory of our personalities: The id, ego, and superego. I did a lot of research on my own. At this point in my life, I’d never written any creative story over 10 pages, but the separation of our personalities concept moved me so much that I decided to go for it and so I wrote a screenplay, which subsequently turned into "Bury My Heart at Redtree".

I can really identify with Taylor and I suppose I patterned him after myself in some ways. I don’t know how everyone’s mind operates, but I have always had the little angel (the superego) on one shoulder telling me to do one thing while the little devil (the id) tells me to do just the opposite. When Taylor’s parents are murdered and the police won’t do anything to apprehend the killers, he decides to track down the murderers and deal with them himself. He is thrust into a universe of chaos, and it forces him to rely solely on his instincts to survive. I’ve certainly never been in any situation like that myself, but I found it thrilling to place myself in that imaginary role.

 

PageOneLit.com: Generally what process do you go through in coming up with your characters? (i.e., what they look like, their background, mannerisms, etc.)

Patrick Chalfant:I don’t know where they come from, but I can always see them: The way they dress, the color of their hair, the nuances of their speech. After I really feel like I know the characters, I like to put them in tough situations and see what they’ll do. Many times, I don’t even know myself while I’m setting up the scene, then it comes. That’s the best part of being a writer.

 

PageOneLit.com: "Bury My Heart at Redtree" is said to capture the "essence of life in the American heartland." Being from the "heartland" yourself (Oklahoma), did this contribute to your accuracy in capturing the essence of living in the heartland? Was there any additional research you had to do for the book?

Patrick Chalfant:The essence of the American Heartland is many different things, but probably the important besides the value system is its innocence. Each small town in the Heartland is like one big family, a family that collectively shares both triumphs and tragedies within the community. One specific example in "Bury My Heart At Redtree" is the scene in the small town of Ducotey when Detective Jennings is investigating the liquor store homicide the morning after the crime occurred. He notices the horrified townspeople. A gruesome murder has just occurred in their town and there’s a dense fog of despair which blankets the air. The people are absolutely riveted and shocked that such a horrible thing happened and even worse, it happened right under their noses. A few years ago, a brutal murder occurred in my hometown. I remember looking at the faces of the townspeople and feeling the same way: Everyone looked and acted like ghosts. They were scared and horrified beyond belief that something so evil had occurred. It was as if the town had become tainted. I’m sure the same sense of family is evident throughout the states, but it seems that it’s a high priority in the Heartland.

 

PageOneLit.com: How did you choose the title "Bury My Heart at Redtree," and what does it mean to you?

The screenplay that I wrote years earlier had a different title, which I liked, but after I’d finished writing the novel and doing the preliminary editing, the line "Bury My Heart at Redtree" really stood out. Not only does it give Jennings an epiphany of what is really happening with the crimes, but Redtree is a sacred place to Taylor. I didn’t even think about renaming the story until I read it a few times. The line just grabbed me. I think it’s the most important line in the book.

 

PageOneLit.com: What do you hope readers walk away with after reading "Bury My Heart at Redtree?"

Patrick Chalfant:I hope readers are intrigued by Freud’s components of the personality theory. I think that this theory identifies one of the big problems in the modern world, that some people are dominated by their immediate wants and needs, i.e. the id. Remember, this is the first stage of our development. Infants are dominated by the id. Some people seem to live in that stage. More than anything, I hope readers walk away feeling entertained and exposed to something very unique.

 

PageOneLit.com: Of the two novels that you have written, is there one that is more special to you?

Patrick Chalfant:It’s hard to pick a favorite, as they’re both very close to me. I probably identify more with "When The Levee Breaks" because I lived in that environment. Even though the story is set on a ranch, it’s primarily about growing up. The novel spans over several years, so the reader experiences, through the eyes of a child, how the innocence is slowly melted away as the kids grow older and are exposed to the corruption of the adult world.

"Bury My Heart at Redtree" is very special as well because it is the first "big" story that I ever wrote. Of course that first story has undergone many changes, but the essence of the story is the same. I’m very happy to have seen it through from its conception.

 

PageOneLit.com: Are you a daily disciplined writer? Do you have certain tricks you use so that you don't stray from your writing?

Patrick Chalfant:Yes and no. I break it down into projects. When the decision was made to turn "Bury My Heart at Redtree" into a novel, yes, I wrote on it practically everyday until I was finished. The same with "When The Levee Breaks". A film company is interested in filming "Bury My Heart at Redtree", so my current project is to create a screenplay based on the novel.

When a project’s over, I try to distance myself from that world for a little while, but I can’t stay away from writing for too long. If I do, the urge to write will nag at me until I give in.

 

PageOneLit.com: What is your advice to an aspiring novelist?

Patrick Chalfant:A professor at school once told me that writing is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration. After I got out on my own and really delved into writing, I discovered the truth in his statement. So many people say to me, "I wish I had your creativity and could write a novel." I always tell them that creativity is a part of being a writer, but it’s not the most essential component. Discipline is the key. If you go at it everyday, it will come.

It’s also important to believe in yourself. I know, everyone’s heard that a million times, but I am a strong advocate of believing in yourself. Here’s a quote from Joseph Campbell that every writer should hang on his or her wall: ""When you follow your bliss...doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors, and where there wouldn't be a door for anyone else."

Probably the most important thing for new writers is to be original. Art is art. There is no set standard for writing a novel or for doing any other form of art. If you believe and stay true to your vision, your passion will succeed.

 

PageOneLit.com: Who are your favorite authors, and why do they inspire you?

Patrick Chalfant: I really enjoy short stories. Art offers perspectives to help us better understand ourselves. Some of the best illustrations of art through the written word are found in short stories. Probably my favorite short story of all time is "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin. I’ve always been blown away by that story. The moment when the brother finally understands Sonny is so powerful. For years the brother can’t understand Sonny’s direction in life, yet at that moment, he recognizes Sonny’s struggle. To me, capturing moments like that are the essence of writing.

 

PageOneLit.com: When you're not working, what are your favorite ways to relax?

Patrick Chalfant: I really enjoy golf, which, at times, can be the antithesis of relaxation. I don’t have much time for it anymore, either, but it is a nice way to spend an afternoon. I’ve found that the older I become, the shorter the days seem to last. Sometimes I try to forget about time and the goals for the day and just enjoy the moment.