I always have one or two sometimes more Navajo or other tribes' cultural elements in mind when I start a plot. In Thief of Time I wanted to make readers aware of Navajo attitude toward the dead respect for burial sites.
Never say never but the thought of electively cutting oneself is beyond my grasp and I also object to it politically. Denying the lines on our faces makes a comment about age and wisdom I don't care to make.
