Brian Hayden, a Cortes Island local and archaeologist, has published his first novel.

The Eyes Of The Leopard takes place 20,000 years ago in southwestern France during the ice age. The central character is a young teen who tries to adapt to a new community after his family is forced to move from its familiar territory to a new area in search of food.

This is Brian Hayden's first novel, but he's published a plethora of books and papers in his academic fields of anthropology and archaeology.

Though The Eyes Of The Leopard is aimed at young readers, Hayden says people of all ages are enjoying the book. He says ancient societies were sophisticated, and that challenges in today's societies—such as competition, hierarchy, lies, and power—are nothing knew: those issues existed thousands of years ago.

Hayden hopes that readers will take away a keen interest in archaeology and the prehistoric past.

CKTZ News speaks with Brian Hayden in the interview below: