Crying Wind

Stafford attended the University of Colorado (1961), the University of Texas (1966), the University of New Mexico (1967), and the University of Alaska (1969).[1] She has run art galleries in Santa Fe, Anchorage, and Oklahoma City.[1]

Stafford was described as a Kickapoo author and a convert to Christianity when her book Crying Wind was published in 1977.[3] Soon, she was touring, promoting her book and giving her conversion testimony in churches and at conferences across the United States, dressed in Indian garb.[3]

Later editions of her books, which were published by Moody Press, included a disclaimer that said names, dates, and places had been changed.[2] In 1979, Moody Press took the books out of print due to concerns that the books were not presented as fiction.[2] Stafford said the problem arose due to "an unfortunate misunderstanding" between herself and Moody Press, connected to changes in staff and policies at Moody.[2] She maintained that Crying Wind "is still based on my life", and that her mother was indeed raised on a Kickapoo reservation.[2] Her next publisher, Harvest House, stated that it is honest to call Crying Wind a "biographical novel."[2]

Her book Crying Wind sold over 80,000 copies, and has been translated into over a dozen foreign languages.[2][1] 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.[4][5]

• Wind, Crying (1977), Crying Wind, Moody Press, ISBN 978-0-8024-1676-6
• Wind, Crying (1980), My Searching Heart: A Biographical Novel, Harvest House, ISBN 978-0-89081-262-4
• Wind, Crying (2001), When the Stars Danced, Sequoyah Editions, ISBN 978-0-920379-19-6, OCLC 49222023
• Stafford, Linda (2007), Thunder in Our Hearts; Lightning in Our Veins, Intertribal, ISBN 978-0-920379-33-2