Canada and America are very, very different. It's true that we share a language and many customs. But Americans have a very different view of the world.

We aren't the masters of the earth. We're the servants.

There's a few scholars that object to how the italicized sections suggest that Native people are to take some part in the blame for how colonization occurred. But I say, "Yes they are." Not nearly as much blame as the colonizers, of course. But we are not just victims. I hate this idea that we are all just victimized and oppressed and etcetera etcetera. It's dehumanizing in its own way.

From a craft standpoint, telling a story in the first-person present tense over the course of 500 pages is a daunting challenge.

The beliefs of Native people are no less powerful or important just because they focus on a different "form of magic."

People will say that Canada, unlike America, was not birthed from violence. But I want to say, "What are you talking about?" It's just not true.

I'm fascinated by the magic realism used by many writers. I think it goes hand-in-hand with the Indian experience. It's a very different way of viewing the world.