Magpie Speaks

About R. Allen Chappell

R. Allen Chappell, the author of thirteen novels and a collection of short stories, grew up with the Navajo, went to school with and later worked alongside-forging enduring friendships along the way. "Those friendships," the author recalls, "became the inspiration for this series." As in life, the people age and change as they grow older, and reservation culture itself evolves.
Chappell notes, "My writing focuses on the people of the Four Corners region past and present. I tend not to romanticize my characters, preferring instead to paint them as I find them. They have much the same qualities, good and bad, as the rest of us."

At home in Western Colorado, Chappell continues to pursue a lifelong interest in the prehistory of the Four Corners region and its people. Though his books are works of fiction, a concerted effort is made to maintain the accuracy of the culture and people as he has come to know them.