Margaret Coel

Fast Facts:

• A native Coloradan, Margaret Coel comes from a pioneer family.
  
  
• Margaret's love of Western history sparked her interest in the Arapahos.
  
  
• Margaret Coel's first Wind River mystery, THE EAGLE CATCHER, was published in 1995.
  
  
• The crimes in Margaret Coel's Wind River mystery series are based on "actual crimes and injustices" --- either in recent times or in the past, according to Coel.
  
  
• The Wind River Reservation, the setting for Coel's mystery series, is an actual reservation. According to Coel, "the Arapahos were placed on the Wind River Reservation in 1878, seven years after the Shoshones had been sent there."
  
  
• When conducting research, Coel refers to written historical accounts by anthropologists
  as well as input from the Arapahos to ensure accuracy.
  
  
• In addition to appearing in Coel's full-length novels, the characters Father John O'Malley and Vicky Holden and the Arapahos appear in a set of short stories by Coel, each based on one of the ten Arapaho commandments. The stories are illustrated by Phil Parks.
  
  
• In addition to her popular Wind River mystery series, Coel has written five nonfiction books. Her 1981 nonfiction book CHIEF LEFT HAND was named the Best Nonfiction Book by the National Association of Press Women. Coel has also written nonfiction articles.
  
  

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