Welcome to my world of mystery novels and short stories set among the Arapahos on the Wind River Reservation. The people who move through my stories—Father John O'Malley and Vicky Holden and everyone in their lives—have sprung straight from my imagination. They are, as Henry James said of his characters, my dream people. But the Arapahos and the setting are real, and you can find out about both on this website. Read the full letter... *   *   * The next Wind River Mystery: The Spider's Web Coming September 7th! It is the time of the annual Sun Dance on the Wind River Reservation, the ancient sacred ceremony that unites Arapahos in prayer and peaceful renewal. Yet when a blond, beautiful outsider arrives on the rez, murder, suspicion and recrimination follow in her path. When Vicky Holden agrees to represent the woman against murder charges, she finds herself not only at odds with her own people, but with her long-time friend Father John O'Malley... Read more here! LATEST NEWS Margaret Coel, the author of The Silent Spirit and other mystery novels set among the Arapaho tribe, received the Frank Waters Award in April for "books that celebrate humanity and mirror the spirit and achievement of Frank Waters." A Nobel nominee who died in 1995, Waters wrote about the American West in such well-known novels as The Man Who Killed the Deer and The Woman at Otowi Crossing. The award was presented by the Friends of the Pikes Peak Library District in Colorado Springs. Previous recipients are Barbara Kingsolver, Tony Hillerman, John Nichols, and Joanne Greenberg. Margaret will be one of the featured authors at the Tony Hillerman Writers Weekend this November! More new appearances A Dozen on Denver: a collection of short stories celebrating Denver, first published in The Rocky Mountain News in 2008 to mark the city's 150th anniversary. Twelve of the areas top writers were invited to contribute a short story. Margaret's story features a young mother stranded in goldrush Denver after the death of her husband, faced with the choice of returning to a confined life back East or finding a way to make a life for herself and her child in the new town of Denver. There was a cover feature story on Margaret in the spring edition of FIRSTS magazine. The 15-page article gives a behind-the-scenes account of the research Margaret did for each novel, including the fact that she was shot at while researching KILLING RAVEN! Margaret's books have won the Frank Waters Award, six Colorado Book Awards, and the Willa Cather Award! Her books have also been selected for One-Book, One-Town Programs. Read more here. Margaret was on the cover of the Fall 2006 Mystery Scene Magazine. Click here for more information. Whirlwind Woman (Tenth commandment: Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Goods) coming soon from ASAP Publishing. This is the series of short stories featuring John and Vicky! Read more about it here! READERS GUIDES! For audio books, check Books In Motion. Margaret is featured on BookReporter.com. Tony Hillerman interviews Margaret! Margaret is also featured on David Montgomery's Crime Fiction blog as one of the Overnight Success stories. Publishers Weekly says of Coel: "Of all the writers of Native-American mysteries compared to Tony Hillerman, Coel is the one who most deserves the accolade." Read the full review... Join Margaret's Mailing List! SPECIAL! We have prepared a beautiful map of the Wind River Reservation area to give away free to anyone who buys Margaret's books. We don't have too many left, so get one soon if you haven't already, by sending an email to: webmaven AT xuni DOT com with WIND RIVER MAP in the subject line. Check out these interesting articles about how Tony Hillerman inspired other writers to write about Native Americans (including Margaret, of course!). Site design © & maintenance by xuni.com. All content © 2002-2010, Margaret Coel.