The Tale of Ol' Split Toe
Science & Nature/Environment Science Fiction/Time Travel Literature & Fiction/Action & Adventure
Date Published: 03-31-2026
Publisher: Mission Point Press
Split Toe witnesses two hundred years of conflict building between modern humans -- who fight to control the natural world -- and Mother Nature, who repeatedly reaches for balance. He wonders whether human ways will ultimately overpower Mother Nature, until he meets a boy who changes everything.
Interview with Dan Ellens, author of FOREST LEGEND: THE TALE OF OL’ SPLIT TOE
Could you tell us about any research trips you took for this story? Which places did you visit, and what made them essential to your writing?
The story takes place in a mid-Michigan forest and wild tag alder swamp. Spending 3000+ nights isolated in the wilds of mid-Michigan, in a treehouse without electricity, with woodstove heat and with handpump water should qualify as the kind of research needed to establish the character of the book, FOREST LEGEND: THE TALE OF OL’ SPLIT TOE. I also made trips to Hartwick Pines State Park, and Estevan Pines Nature Sanctuary to observe two iconic stands of Michigan’s old growth white pines. I visited logging museums in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and at Hartwick Pines State Park. I visited Indigenous earthworks hidden in the forest of mid-Michigan. I also interviewed octogenarian mid-Michigan farmers for first-hand accounts of life on the family farm, and to understand Michigan’s PBB disaster. I suppose you could consider several canoe trips down Michigan’s Clam and Muskegon Rivers research also..
What's the strangest thing you've ever had to research online for your book?
I did plenty of research regarding the Ice Age in the Great Lakes region - written material and online. I was captivated by the Ice Age food chain. Plants and animals. Small animals (like a shrew) that existed during the Ice Age and were eaten by larger animals (like dire wolves). I also researched online information about when solar eclipses were visible in Michigan’s history in order to add authenticity to the time-travel mechanism invented for FOREST LEGEND. I researched the environmental effects of nuclear disaster. How did nature react at Chernobyl and Hiroshima? I did online research to find out how far wild animals in Michigan travel during their lifetimes, which I found to be particularly interesting topic.
What research (history, mythology, science) goes into your world-building?
FOREST LEGEND is in its own way a teaching novel. It provides plenty of accurate historical and natural science tidbits for readers to discover, and authentic settings for each time period that Split Toe travels in. But more than that I hope readers finish the book with a better understanding of how a forest and individual trees work. How it is born, lives to maturity, dies, and is reborn. I hope readers feel the lifespan of a tree, the lifespan of a forest. To add authenticity to the science and settings, I read more than fifteen books that support my writing. Many of them are listed in the reference section at the end of FOREST LEGEND. The book that inspired the rest was FINDING THE MOTHER TREE by Suzanne Simard.
Have any of the people you've known, past or present, left a lasting impression on your writing journey? If so, we'd love to hear about a memorable experience that stands out to you.
When I decided to write this story, FOREST LEGEND, I sat down for six weeks and wrote for 14 hours a day. The only input at that time was Cathy Kwantes, my spouse, who read each chapter as I went. Taking the story (which is essentially the same story today) from its first manuscript to what its published form involved the input of many people. I was receptive to everyone’s input. I took it all into consideration. Each person helped me in their own unique way. I learned plenty about writing from the people who gave me feedback on FOREST LEGEND.
I consider Bill Gleason my pivotal mentor. Bill is the former publisher of Skin Diver Magazine. Now he operates a publishing company called The Science Bookshelf, that produces books about sea level rise and climate change. His honest advice helped me to focus on writing mechanics that impact the reading experience. We had long discussions. He suggested that I do things to speed up the pace of the story, such as reducing paragraph and chapter length, eliminating repetition, run-on sentences, and passive voice. Under his guidance I changed the manuscript from seven long, time-based chapters to thirty three short event-based chapters. Bill’s help led to every other improvement. Bill was like a teacher for me. I kept everything we talked about in my mind for every enhancement that followed. Bill seemed inspired by the message. He liked seeing a person with my forest lifestyle writing about the topic communicated in FOREST LEGEND. Bill read the manuscript more times than any other person. Bill is a busy man, but he made time for me, and for FOREST LEGEND. Thank you Bill.
Do you write in the same genre all the time?
I write books to connect people with nature and to promote people doing outward bound things that add a touch of adventure to their lives. I also write a kind of email blog called Michigan Forest Life. The blog is meant to be inspirational, to bring a small dose of forest Zen to its readers. There are more than 850 editions of Michigan Forest Life since it began in 2018.
If so, have you ever consider writing in another one?
FOREST LEGEND is my first fiction piece and my first book introduced in the YA genre. It incorporates the thinking of my four nonfiction books. FOREST LEGEND is a new genre for me – both fiction and YA.
Which character, supernatural or human, do you enjoy writing the most and why?
Split Toe has been my favorite character to develop. I found creating the character of Split Toe to be liberating. Split Toe is a real deer placed into real settings, but existing with a thread of magical realism - he time-travels, exhibits a spiritual understanding, communicates with the seen and unseen world around him, and develops love and relationships with humans who he meets along the way.
Dan Ellens is an outdoor enthusiast who is passionate about connecting people with nature. He spends nearly half of each year in an isolated, electricity-free treehouse on Winterfield Pines Nature Sanctuary with woodstove heat, handpump water, and oil lamp lighting.
Dan has written four nonfiction books intended to inspire adventure, promote self-sufficient lifestyles, and connect people with nature.
While not in the wilds, Dan and his wife live in the small community of Salem, Michigan.
LinkedIn: Daniel S. Ellens
