April grew up hearing that her many times great-grandfather was Chief Red Eagle/William Weatherford. Turns out, he’s probably not, but she still cherishes the stories of his bravery in the face of Jackson’s overpowering army. It was the story of his extraordinary leap from the bluff that made her wish to read the account in novel-form.

She’d never written more than a high school paper, but she figured that if this particular story was ever going to be written, why not do it herself? Eight years later, she held the book in her hands.