Linda Davison Stafford, also known as Crying Wind, April Knight, and Gwendlelynn LovequistKievit, Joyce Ann. "Crying Wind" in
Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary
', p. 79 (Bataille and Lisa, eds.,

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

, 2001). is the author of several novels including ''Crying Wind'' and ''My Searching Heart'' which describe the experiences of a young Native American girl named "Crying Wind", and tell a story of

Christian conversion Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person that brings about changes in what sociologists refer to as the convert's "root reality" including their social behaviors, thinking and ethics. The sociol ...

."'Crying Wind' is Back, but Not as a Biography This Time". ''

Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...

'', v. 25, p. 44 (January 23, 1981). Under the pseudonym Gwendlelynn Lovequist, she has written many love stories and romances, for publications such as ''

Writer's Digest ''Writer's Digest'' is an American magazine aimed at beginning and established writers. It contains interviews, market listings, calls for manuscripts, and how-to articles. History ''Writer's Digest'' was first published in December 1920 und ...

''.

Education and businesses

Stafford attended the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

(1961), the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

(1966), the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

(1967), and the

University of Alaska The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-, sea-, and space-grant research university in College, Alaska, United States, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was e ...

(1969). She has run art galleries in Santa Fe,

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

, and

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

Publication and exposure

Stafford was described as a

Kickapoo The Kickapoo people (; Kickapoo: Kiikaapoa or Kiikaapoi; ) are an Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe and Indigenous people in Mexico, originating in the region south of the Great Lakes. There are three federally recognized Kickapoo trib ...

author and a convert to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

when her book ''Crying Wind'' was published in 1977.Veach, Tucker
"A Remarkable Life"
'' The Times-News'', p. 1 (April 20, 1978). Soon, she was touring, promoting her book and giving her conversion

testimony Testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. Law In the law, testimon ...

in churches and at conferences across the United States, dressed in Indian garb. Later editions of her books, which were published by

Moody Press Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have identified it as n ...

, included a disclaimer that said names, dates, and places had been changed. In 1979, Moody Press took the books out of print due to concerns that the books were not presented as fiction. Stafford said the problem arose due to "an unfortunate misunderstanding" between herself and Moody Press, connected to changes in staff and policies at Moody. She maintained that ''Crying Wind'' "is still based on my life", and that her mother was indeed raised on a Kickapoo reservation. Her next publisher,

Harvest House Harvest House Publishers is a Christian publishing company founded in 1974 in Irvine, California, United States, and is now located in Eugene, Oregon. It publishes Christian fiction and non-fiction books, coming out with over 160 new books a y ...

, stated that it is honest to call ''Crying Wind'' a "

biographical novel The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the fictio ...

." Her book ''Crying Wind'' sold over 80,000 copies, and has been translated into over a dozen foreign languages. ''Indian Life'' has published two of her other books, ''When the Stars Danced'' and ''Thunder in Our Hearts Lightning in Our Veins'' under their imprint, Sequoyah Editions.Uttley, Jim.
"NATIVE AMERICAN WORLD: Intertribal Christian Communications celebrates 30th anniversary"
, ASSIST News Service (October 26, 2009).

List of her books

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crying Wind Living people Racial impostors People from Teller County, Colorado Literary forgeries Moody Publishers books Year of birth missing (living people)