The artist, Irene Harsha Young.

The Sudden Quiet trilogy is hyper-regional, with much of the action taking place in northwest lower Michigan.

This hand-drawn and painted map of the Little Traverse Region was created in 1934 by Charlevoix artist Irene Harsha Young. 

Irene’s childhood home is now the Museum at Harsha House. She was married to famed builder Earl A. Young for nearly 60 years. The couple drove for miles throughout northern Michigan to sketch and record lore and landmarks for the historic map.

Irene was proud of the map as a tribute to the area’s unique history and natural beauty.  It includes Charlevoix, Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Bay View, Walloon Lake and Lake Charlevoix. Irene later created maps of the Grand Traverse Region and Mackinac Island.

William Butler Yeats wrote this poem in 1919 during the Spanish Influenza pandemic that eventually killed up to 100 million people.

I use lines from this poem to introduce readers to one of my characters, Dr. Schark, a pharmaceutical executive partially responsible for the societal collapse in my trilogy.

The graphic designer Mike Ramsey created the art and can be found at this web address.

In this trilogy, the collapse of modern society has led to a rise in mysticism and spirituality. The visionary artist, Susan Seddon Boulet, explores these themes, and her painting, Vision Quest, is connected to the character, Samantha, an Ojibwe elder and mystic of Beaver Island.