She discusses it with the Daily Beast, here.
From the post...
What draws you to setting several of your works in the Dakotas, among Native Americans?
I
grew up in North Dakota around Dakota and Ojibwe people, and also small
town people in Wahpeton. Writers make few choices, really, about their
material. We have to write about what comes naturally and what interests
us—so I do. I also write about Germans in Minnesota and have set The Antelope Wife
in Minneapolis. Nothing I force myself to write about ever turns out
well and so I’ve learned to wait for the voice, the incident, the image
that reverberates.
You
are one of the rare authors who own independent bookstores (Birchbark
Books). What prompted you to do so and what have you learned from
running it?
Here
are the lessons: get a business plan. Get a book person as a partner.
Have a philosophy. Specialize to some degree. Make sure the rent won’t
kill your enterprise. Stay meticulously true to your own design
principles—since mine are all about visual promiscuity it was easy. The
place is composed of salvage wood and some distressed easy chairs. There
is a confessional in the bookstore and the main table was made out of a
sailboat by a friend. A handmade wooden canoe is suspended above it.
The front door is the perfect shade of blue. Our online presence is
strong. Our dogs recommend our books. We have a wonderful buyer who
manages and created our web site. Check out Nathan Pederson’s work.
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