We listened to the author Anne Hillerman talk today. She and her father, now deceased Tony Hillerman, both studied journalism and both have worked as journalists but both are known worldwide as authors of novels about the Navajo Tribal Police. I did hear a talk by Tony years ago but I don't remember anything about it. Today's talk was a lively, multi-topic one about being the daughter in a family that told stories, about having a father whose novels have appealed to many people all over the world.
Both today's author and the nearby author of "A Reader Response Analysis of Hypermedia" seemed to sink their teeth into the topic of rescue. In some fictional situations, as in some actual situations, a person can be in danger. Very often, classical, longtime, oft-repeated stories feature a feminine character in some sort of danger but in the nick of time, a masculine character arrives in time to slay the dragon, arrest the bad guys, free the princess. The two authors, both women, took some satisfaction when Anne Hillerman discussed books where she had Officer Bernadette Manuelito rescue Officer Jim Chee for once.
Later, I asked the author of "A Reader Response…", "Who We Came From" and other works what sort of deep feelings she had about Female Rescuers. I pointed out that male heroes get strength, increased longevity and better digestion from successfully saving heroines, but that wily woman (ever notice how many women are quite wily?) turned the tables on me, and asked how often I had thought of the benefits women rescuers reap from successful rescues. I hadn't but I am on the job now.
Anne Hillerman has carried on with the characters her father had in his novels and has a new book "Stargazer". Hillerman shows so much energy that I would not be surprised to find her creating different characters in a different setting, maybe like Darko Dawson, detective in Ghana.
