Your story "The Deer" is a poignant piece that discusses death, regret, and boyhood. What inspired you to navigate these themes? What do you wish readers would learn from this?

Death, regret and childhood are the oracles in all our lives, and often the demons. Creating situations that pit characters against these forces begets moments of truth, like sparks borne of contact between two unyielding surfaces. Creating a past and a way of dealing with it, then upending it, gets at the heart of things. For me, it always leads to an expansion of the soul, a better place to be. That redemption is always worth exploring.

I appreciate how "The Deer" also briefly acknowledges the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and the lack of care from authorities. Can you explain why you chose to bring attention to this issue as well as its effect on the story's setting? 

Indigenous people disappear at higher rates than the general population. I use this as a metaphor for the unspeakable acts and our reactions to them we also keep hidden. It is high time we brought both out into the open – the physical injustice toward a forgotten people, and the acknowledgement of abuse of children by people in power.

There's a line in this piece that especially intrigued me, which reads, "Some dead move on like ghost clouds over the ridges and are forgotten. Others stay put and we kill them over and over." The act of killing is a recurrent behavior that the narrator's father partakes in, but he doesn't let his son follow in his footsteps. Would you mind expanding on this idea? 

In this story, killing is used as an emotional metaphor for letting go or killing off the feelings of shame, self-blame, and self-destructive behavior like being emotionally closed to your own child. Death is a part of life, killing is intentional, and sometimes needed. The inner change toward redemption can be a violent process. Like a wildfire burning off deadfall so that new growth can occur, the purge of former feelings. A father relives the death of his innocence over and over until he finally confronts the source of his shame and kills it for good.

I see that you have a background in children's literature, and your book "The Blue Between the Clouds" also explores a coming-of-age story for a Navajo boy. What do you specifically find compelling about children's literature?  

Children’s lit can express the drama of growing up in a very real way. First time emotions can be painted in bright colors that maybe we grow tired of as adults. I also believe that the innocence of children and their journey to adulthood should be fiercely protected. Give them the moments of realization and imagination come to fruition and they are better prepared to be adults. And as adults, we love to go back to those moments.

You're also a freelance writer for The Foundation for a Better Life, a non-profit organization that aims to pass on positive values and uplifting messages. How might this experience affect your relationship with writing creatively, if at all?

Everything I write is an exploration and expression of that better part of us that we can become. If a piece doesn’t make the person better for having read it, then I have wasted their time.

What is your favorite piece of writing advice that you'd like to share with aspiring writers? 

I read a letter once that Charles Dickens’ mother wrote to her son as his writing was beginning to get noticed. She said something like: don’t put anything into your mind that will debase what comes out on paper. I think that’s good advice. Read literature that gives you greater understanding, reminds you of, as Abraham Lincoln coined, “the better angels of ourselves”.

Read Stephen’s short story, “the deer” in dulcet Literary magazine, vol. 1, coming soon.