Marjorie answers:

Dear Pauline,
I decided I would put together a book for my first grandchild’s 4th birthday. I wrote a poem for him and illustrated it with wonderful owls created by a famous Eskimo artist and it became ”Adam’s Owl Book.” I worked on this project for about thirty hours in a kind of trance-like, totally focused state, then took the pages to Kinko’s who turned it into book. The entire experience fascinated me to the point that I took some classes at UCLA in writing for children and began working on “Dar and the Spear-Thrower” in my first class. I had a lot to learn, and five years later it was published. From that time on I have never stopped writing. So this is my answer to your good question and my thanks for submitting it.

Marjorie Cowley

Marjorie answers:

Dear TJ,

I did think of writing a sequel to “Dar” when I was in the middle of it. Many students have asked me why I did not or have encouraged me to do it. My problem was that it took me so long to write my first novel (5 years, I’m embarrassed to confess) that those who had liked the book and wanted to go on with the story were now in high school or beyond and out of touch with books written for a middle school audience. Looking back today, I’m not sure this was a good enough reason, particularly because when I was your age I loved a long string of books from a favorite author. I know I had some ideas for a sequel when I was writing “Dar” that are tucked away in my brain. Thanks for your question, TJ…maybe someday.
Marjorie Cowley

Marjorie answers:

Dear Laura,

My inspiration for “Dar” was my fascination with prehistoric archaeology. I taught the subject for many years and thought it would make a good background for a story for middle grade readers and would keep me focused as I struggled for five years to write my first book. I decided to make my son the model for Dar because when younger he shared many problems with my fictional character. These difficulties contributed to making both boys unsure of themselves and trying to solve these problems led both Dar and my son to a fuller and more satisfactory life. Thanks for your question, Laura. Marjorie Cowley

Marjorie answers:

Dear Maya,

I think most writers use bits and pieces of their lives in their books and I know I did. The character of Dar is based on my son who had very little self-confidence at Dar’s age. I spent most of my childhood, like Dar, without parents, and I had a short-tempered and unhappy uncle very much like Kenok, Dar’s uncle. One of my favorite people in the novel is Mora, the strong and compassionate grandmother I wish I had. And like Dar, I took some lessons in throwing a spear with a spear-thrower attached, but stopped before I got very good at it. But it made me appreciate how using this compound weapon with strength and accuracy takes time and practice. Incidentally my teacher was an eighty-year old woman who had won and still was winning many contests and awards, demonstrating that you don’t have to be strong or tall to be good at it—you just have to know what you’re doing. Your question is a good one, Maya.

Sincerely, Marjorie Cowley

Marjorie answers:

Dear Michael,

How did I feel? Pleased, relieved, and amazed that I could do it! It was my first book, so the entire process was new to me (plot, characters, authentic background, and pacing). It took me a long time to come up with an ending that emotionally made sense to me which was Dar and Kenok finally reconciling with each other in the Pine Forest after many problems and disappointments with each other. This is the heart of the book for me. Thanks for your interesting question, Michael.

Marjorie Cowley

Marjorie answers:

Dear Sunny,

This is a hard one! The writing of “Dar” was one long (five years) learning process because it was my first book and I had a lot to learn. I was okay with the first two-thirds of the novel, but struggled with the ending. After a great deal of starting and stopping, I suddenly began writing about Dar and his uncle meeting and reconciling in the pine forest. I stopped typing, sat back, and said to myself: “This is what I’ve wanted to say for a very long time.” The point of my answer is that the book did not please me for a long time—and then it did. So I have no regrets about the book that was finally published—only thankfulness.

Sincerely, Marjorie Cowley

Marjorie answers:

Dear Sarah,

Mora plays a vital role in the life and well-being of her clan and for her grandson, Dar. It is Mora who insists on caring for Dar after his mother’s death in childbirth, and she remains his guardian as he matures. Because of her age and experience, she knows which plants can be eaten, which can cause illness or death, or which hard-to-find plant can heal wounds. She sends Dar up the mountain to get them for his injured uncle, Kenok (his father’s brother, killed by a saber-tooth cat). Although she is well aware of Dar’s fear of heights, she feels it is important that he act in the face of fear, as he must do in his coming initiation ceremony. Mora is a woman of strong character and wisdom, and the clan members listen to what she says. Dar, orphaned early in his life, is dependent upon her guiding presence, her good sense, and her loving concern for him.

My thanks for your question, Sarah.

Marjorie answers:

Dear TJ,

Things were so different when I was 12 . Young girls were rarely asked to think about what they wanted to be as an adult, and we soon accepted the silent message that we’d go to college if we were lucky, meet our future husbands there, and then become a housewife and mother. I did all this and only much later started doing things that I loved—such as becoming a graphic designer, teaching prehistoric archaeology, and finally writing. My two daughters and two granddaughters live such different lives than the one I did, and I am delighted for the good things they are doing in the world.

Thanks, TJ, for your question. Marjorie Cowley

Marjorie answers:

Dear Karin,

Wow, this is a big question! I become fascinated with the process of writing. when I put together a little book, my first, for a young grandson. I took some classes at UCLA in writing books for children and started “Dar” in my first class. I chose a prehistoric background because I had been trained at UCLA to teach prehistory to middle school students and my interest in prehistory was—and remains—high. The “purpose” was to get readers interested in the subject, but underneath that reason was to do something that deeply interested me. I loved inventing a story and characters that were embedded in a background based on factual information (see my Author’s Note at the end of the book). Since writing “Dar” I’ve completed three other books and am working on two more. I hope this is a satisfactory answer to your question, Karin.

Marjorie answers:

Dear Katina,
Interesting question. I would not have thought of the word “tempt” but you’re right. When Seelan first  brings up the subject of Dar staying with Toreg’s clan, he’s responding to Dar’s deep interest in carving and wants to teach him how to start learning to carve. He suggests that he stay longer than a few days, Dar’s original plan to complete the trade of sunstone for the spear-thrower. Seelan accepts that Dar will return to his own clan and talks to him about how to begin making spear-throwers because it will be a long time before he learns what he must know. “I have a lot to learn from you…I’ll stay a little while longer,” Dar says.  He knows he is being taught to carve by an expert, and when Seelan tells him he and Toreg would welcome him into their clan, Dar is conflicted. At night he dreams of a snowy white owl and on awakening realizes it’s  the shaman at their initiation who has told both Bowan and him that they “come into their manhood to serve the clan.” Dar tells his great-uncle that he will return home. Seelan says it was selfish of him to ask him to stay; “your answer was better than my question.” Dar starts to return, reconciles with Kenok in the Pine Forest, and comes back to his clan a more mature person. Thanks for your probing question, Katina.
Sincerely, Marjorie Cowley