Shadow of an Indian Star Shines Brightly
This long neglected and artfully crafted tale goes beyond the story of a 19th century white man and Chickasaw Indian woman torn between romance and honor to tell of the incredible impact their love and decisions had on generations to come.

Smith Paul, a pioneer boy from North Carolina, was adopted by the Chickasaw tribe after risking his own life to rescue a young brave from the jaws of death.

While with the tribe, he meets the lovely and compelling, but out of reach, Chickasaw woman Ala Teecha.

Paul comes to love and respect the Chickasaw people, staying with the tribe and longing for the day he might make Ala Teecha his bride.

This account chronicles the life of the Paul family and the Chickasaw Nation for three generations, including removal from their homeland to Indian Territory through the later battles surrounding Oklahoma statehood.

Opening with images of a young Smith Paul looking wistfully back on a home and family he will never see again, we get glimpses into his soul as those images are artistically interwoven with memories of the events leading up to his heart-rending decision to leave.

A blend of righteousness, sage wisdom and self-possessed bravery, with a streak of stubborn independence seething beneath the surface, Smith is the first in a long list of carefully drawn characters introduced by authors Bill and Cindy Paul.

Smith's decision to avoid a battle he would rather fight, were it not for the suffering it would certainly bring to his family, foreshadows a decision faced later by Chickasaws confronting removal from their homeland.

Seen through the eyes of warriors zealously anticipating the opportunity to risk their own lives for the honor of their people, but unwilling to sacrifice the lives of family members, even that familiar page of history comes alive in a whole new way.

Sam Paul, Smith's half-Chickasaw son, inherits his father's stubborn independence, which is manifested in a kind of foolish bravery for much of his life. A neglectful father and renegade lawman, his father's righteousness and wisdom begin to surface in Sam after a stint in prison.

Treated as just another savage by the system he once openly flouted, Sam emerges from his cell fully intent on making things right for the Chickasaw people and his family.

Ironically, he is never fully accepted by either and the tale turns tragic.

This artful use of authentic characters working their way through excruciatingly frustrating and personal decisions brings historical events from the trail of tears to the battles over allotment and impending statehood into sharp, emotional focus.

Combine those elements with images that move through your mind like a classic film and readers may very well find themselves actually speaking to the book's characters as if they were long time friends or hated enemies.

This work of historical fiction based on real events combines elements which appeal to virtually any reader.

Romance, revenge, adventure, humor, politics and personal tragedy are woven together in a compelling saga which moves the reader like the grasslands swept along by the wind in the valley first discovered by Smith Paul in the mid 1800s.

Shadow of an Indian Star is a stimulating, fast-paced novel which also provides profound insight into history and the souls of the men and women who made it.

Shadow recounts adventures of early Chickasaw Nation

Shadow of an Indian Star author photoAs a young boy and teenager, Bill Paul was fascinated by the family legends of gunfights, bravery, family infighting and betrayal he heard from his grandfather William Ikard "Pike" Paul.

As the years went on, however, he began to believe the stories may have been tall tales grown to new heights in the fertile imagination of his colorful ancestor.

"Over a period of years he told me all these stories," said Bill Paul. "And I thought after a while 'well, he's just making all this up.' because he told some wild stuff."

Years later, as he began to retell the stories to his wife, Cindy, they stirred her interest. A photo of Sam Paul almost seemed to be speaking to her, telling her that if she would do the research, she would find an incredible story.

Almost 10 years later, that incredible story is being published as Shadow of an Indian Star, which chronicles a fascinating period of Chickasaw history from the late 1820s to Oklahoma statehood.

"Every time I would sit down that picture was compelling me to do this," said Cindy.

For two years, she spent most Saturdays and two Fridays a month doing research in Ada, Tishomingo, Pauls Valley, Oklahoma City or Fort Worth.

She spent countless hours reading records of court cases, Chickasaw Senate records, newspaper articles, talking to local historians and gathering other historical information.

"I would go read four or five hours. I felt like my eyes were going to bulge," said Cindy, who began her research gathering what seemed like isolated bits of information. "It was almost like a piece of puzzle, a jigsaw puzzle, and it was blue, but I didn't know if it was water, sky, a bluebird. I didn't know."

Bill said, "It turned out to be quite a project. I tell everybody, 'in the movies you see this guy with the 60 watt light bulb and he's typing away and all at once he writes THE END and rips it off. It's not that way."

"It's amazing the research she did," Bill added. "There's no telling how many hours she spent. She just kept bringing this stuff in. She would call me from different places -- coming back from Fort Worth or something, and she'd go 'you know that story your grandpa told you -- well, he didn't lie. "

Throughout the process, Bill found his own unique method of making sense of all that information.

'Bill took a piece of butcher paper and each date and event -- he would write it out so he could look at it chronologically," said Cindy

"It was eight feet tall and I just divided it up into years from 1824. I wrote everything that happened in that year, I mean everything - who got killed, when they were in the Senate, when they got elected, when they ran for governor of the Chickasaw Nation, who was born when, when they were tried," said Bill. "It's eight feet long and it's covered -- that's the only way I could keep up with it."

After selling an agent on the story idea, the pair took the time and effort to craft all that information into an exciting, fast paced novel.

That process involved writing, rewriting and submitting manuscripts to editors who suggested changes and deletions. After that came more writing, rewriting and editing, until they finally had a manuscript to begin submitting to publishers.

Synergy Books is publishing an initial run of 10,000 copies of the book, which is scheduled to be in bookstores across the U.S. Sept. 1.

A limited number of copies are currently available through the Chickasaw Outpost. To order, call (580) 332-1458.