Shannon Baker is the author of the Nora Abbott Mystery Series. In this interview, Baker talks about the series, which is set in Flagstaff, AZ and raises environmental issues that could affect the Hopi Indians and the world.
“One of the reasons I love writing fiction is that I don’t have to vote on the issues,” said Baker. “I get to present both sides of everything through my characters. Like people, most issues have good and bad. Sometimes I have an opinion and the most fun for me is giving a character the opposite opinion and letting them convince me to change my mind.“
Baker’s protagonist is Nora Abbott, a strong environmentalist. While Baker worked for an environmental nonprofit, she says she’s not sure she fits the definition, perhaps because she’s too open-minded. “In my books,” said Baker, “I don’t have to defend anything. The characters get to have their say.”
The Nora Abbott Mystery series, according to Baker, is a fast-paced mix of murder, environmental issues and Hopi Indians. That interest began in 2006 when she moved to Flagstaff. She said, “There was a huge controversy raging about man-made snow on the San Francisco Peaks. Those peaks are sacred to 12 tribes and featured in their creation stories. I started researching Hopi and was fascinated by this tiny, ancient, mystical culture. They believe they hold responsibility for the balance of the whole world.”
After learning more about the tribe and its history, Baker says she’s not going to dispute that claim. She said, “How could I not write about it?” The second book in the series, “Broken Trust,” goes deeper into this issue when Nora Abbott takes a job at Loving Earth Trust in Boulder, CO. When she encounters several murders, Nora enlists the aid of her mother and a Hopi kachina to stop an attempt to decimate one of our greatest natural resources.
One of the things Baker learned when she started writing about the Hopi, was how difficult it would be for a white person to get information. “Hopi are extremely secretive and protective about their rituals and beliefs. I’ve been really fortunate to know a couple of Hopi who’ve read my books and given me advice. Theirs is a complicated and rich history and so thick I couldn’t possibly cover it all in one book. Nora gets to learn along with me as each book explores a different aspect of the Hopi.”
During the past few years, Baker has been living a somewhat nomadic lifestyle. She said, “I didn’t set out to be gypsy and poor Nora has been dragged along with me everywhere. I escaped from Nebraska in 2004 and landed in Boulder, then off to Flagstaff, back to Boulder in 2012. In the meantime, we bought a house in Tucson where we plan to be in 515 days, when real retirement commences so I’ve spent bits of time there. Sadly, and thankfully temporarily, I’m back in Nebraska.”
One of those people who loves the outdoors, Baker considers herself lucky that she will soon have the Grand Canyon and the Rockies in her backyard. Baker quipped, “Now all I have is windswept prairie.”
The future will bring more Nora Abbott mysteries, according to Baker. So far, Nora has been in the iconic landscapes of Northern Arizona, the wilds of the Rockies and Boulder, CO. She added, “In book three, Nora gets to hang in the red rocks of Moab. I don’t see her coming to Nebraska, though I am working on a new mystery series set in Nebraska cattle country.”
More information
“Tainted Mountain” and “Broken Trust” are published by Midnight Ink (www.midnightinkbooks.com). “Tainted Mountain,” the first in the series, is a New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards finalist.
Learn more about Shannon Baker on her website at www.Shannon-Baker.com.
