Local doctor has written his third novel
A physician and author from Eureka has released his latest indie novel titled “The Hunt for Blackfoot Lion.”
Dr. Ted Hard says the book is the story of an enormous mountain lion that drifts out of the boreal forest in Canada and begins to terrorize the small mountain hamlet of Elkhorn, Montana.
“But this is no ordinary lion, the Blackfoot elders say, this is ‘omahkatayo,’ a ‘spirit cat’ who has played a significant role in the ancestry of the Blackfoot tribe,” he said.
Hard began thinking about writing this story years ago during a family vacation at a Montana ranch.
“Apparently, there was a mountain lion which began killing some of the area’s local dogs,” he said. “Returning to our cabins after dark … I began to feel the caution and terror all humans have of large predatory animals who can see, smell and hear much better than we.
“… With time, a visit to the Blackfoot reservation, and extensive research on both mountain lions and the Blackfoot tribe, the story began to take shape,” said Hard, who worked on the novel for several years while continuing his demanding career in the medical field.
Hard is an emergency room physician who moved to Eureka about two years ago to oversee the ERs at St. Joseph and Redwood Memorial hospitals. (Right now, he’s on medical leave and says he hopes to be back to work, at least part time, by June.)
Before relocating to Humboldt County, Hard directed the emergency room at Sutter Hospital in Santa Rosa, he said, for more than 20 years.
“With our kids grown and my wife, Ellie, recently retired from teaching at Sonoma State, we figured it would be a good time to relocate. Since we have moved, we’ve found the area wonderful — many good friends and great for the outdoors.”
Hard has been writing on and off throughout his professional life.
“I’ve always enjoyed the ability to sit down and create a story,” he said. “Early on, when I was finishing surgical residency at Stanford, I was fortunate enough to have three short stories published in the Saturday Evening Post. This was followed by two novels, ‘SUM VII’ and ‘Oasis.’ In addition, ‘SUM VII’ had foreign editions in Italy and Great Britain, with film rights purchased by Twentieth Century Fox.”
For Hard, blending a busy medical career and his love of writing has presented many joys and challenges.
“I found that often I had to back off a writing project for weeks, sometimes months, because of more pressing hospital problems,” Hard said. “In the early days, I kept a log and tried to get at least an hour writing each day, irrespective of my hospital schedule. For short articles this worked, but not for a 400page novel. Every writer is different, but for me to complete a novel of this nature takes a great deal of continuous, focused time on the characters, plot and story.”
Hard was able to finally finish “The Hunt for Blackfoot Lion” during the coronavirus shutdown.
“The COVID crisis gave me the time to write in a continuous daily fashion, which would not have been possible if we were not in isolation or quarantine,” he said. “The writing took so long, I like to joke, that the characters became old friends. When I finally told them we were approaching the publication of the story, they got together and cheered. The extended time to concentrate on the story this past year gave me an opportunity to complete a ‘Jaws-like’ thriller in the Montana mountains for which I am particularly pleased.”
“The Hunt for Blackfoot Lion” (McCaa Books) is available through Amazon. In addition, Northtown Books in Arcata will also be carrying the book.