Daughter of the Sky

Deer Dancers #1

by Amanda Cockrell

Deer Shadow, a young tribal member who is believed to possess mystical powers, pursues a forbidden love with a handsome, exiled warrior who bears maize seeds but whom the Yellow Grass People fear is a threat to their ancient ways. Original.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Prehistoric, Prehistory, Native American, Native Americans, Fantasy

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

I grew up in Ojai, California, a wonderful place where you could ride your horse down Main Street and there was a hitching post outside the library. It was a bedroom town for Hollywood, full of writers and actors and directors, so there was always something going on, and famous people’s discarded trousers tended to end up in the local thrift shop. Ojai also had a branch office for every philosophical and religious movement to arrive in California since the 20s. I loved it and it became the template for Ayala, the setting for several of my books.

My father, Francis M. Cockrell, was a screenwriter, and my mother, Marian Cockrell, was a screenwriter and a novelist. I first began to write, badly, in high school, where I created characters that my high school English teacher, J. B. Close, of blessed memory, told me were shallow. He was, alas, right, and the rightness of his assessment was knocked into my head in creative writing workshops at Hollins College (now Hollins University) a school which had, and has, a wonderful writing program with the goal of teaching students to write like themselves, and not like the creative writing professor. (This is rarer than you would think.)

Since the only thing I actually do well is write, I have managed to make a living doing so in one form or another for most of my life. Besides my novels, I have written a lot of other things. I have written radio commercials for Custer’s Last Sandwich Stand, featuring the Singing Pickles. (“Oh, you must be a lover of your landlady’s daughter, or you don’t get a second piece of pie!”) I have written ads for panty girdles. I have written the text for a book of very bad paintings of California missions. I have written local history, book reviews, obituaries, wedding stories, and a paperback plantation saga under a name that will forevermore be secret. Also, I have received fiction fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.

I have a master’s degree in English and creative writing from Hollins and am currently the managing editor of that university’s literary journal, The Hollins Critic, and director of its graduate program in children’s literature. I teach writing and children’s literature.

I live with my husband, Tony Neuron, and a substantial assortment of dogs and cats, in Roanoke, Virginia.

Amanda Cockrell also publishes under Damion Hunter.

Reviews

[Chantal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wish I could Read this book good. The firstnames of all the people makes the sentences weird in my language. I dont know if it is general for this book or the translation of it. Sad because I wanted to read the whole series.

[SAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book so long ago, back in the 90's and I remember loving it. Gave it to my close friend and she loved it. Thought I lost it. Almost 20 years later, I found it while cleaning out an old closet. I was so happy that I looked online and bought the next two books in the series. I can't wait to re-read this and the next two! This is a magical (without actual magic) story of a Native American girl hundreds of years ago breaking away from her tribe though a series of events and people. Will she survive on her own?

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is truly an enchanting book!
Amanda Cockrell weaves the tale of Deer Shadow, a woman of magic among the Yellow Grass People, together with that of Wind Caller, a man of magic who has been exiled from his land. Together, they must help lead her people, battling resistance among the tribe at every corner.
The story is written with amazing ingenuity and once you pick it up, do not plan on putting it down for a long time.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book I read when I first came out here, and then I stopped reading for a good while. So I don't remember all of what I rear. Its about a girl who is special to her tribe of ancient people. A near by tribe threatens there lives and people begin to loose faith in her ability to have a speiclal power. It's kind of based on a love story the more you get into it, and thats all I really remember.

[Tambra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am surprised I'm enjoying this book. It's been on my shelf a long time. I went through a "human prehistory fiction" phase a long time ago and got really burnt out. This is an easy read. Pure fiction storytelling. Nothing based in fact to muck things up.

[Khim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eerste boek van de een geweldig drieluik. Je leest over het indianen bestaan, over de clan en hun leefgewoontes en hoe te overleven in een goed gereconstrueerde roman.

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all time favorite book. I first read this book at 12 years and have read, and re-read all three books over and over. In fact my copies have started falling apart.