BLAST, BLITZ, PROMOS, REVEALS, & TOURS . . . : SPOTLIGHT w/INTERVIEW - HISTORICAL FICTION

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by Michael N. Riley
Date of Publication: June 24th 2022
Publisher: Writers Republic
Genre: Historical Fiction
ISBN: 9798885364409
Number of pages: 190

Tagline: Some men are just to mean to die!

BLURB

The book is set around 1900, when New Mexico was still a territory.

Doc Strafford has bought a small mercantile in Portales, New Mexico Territory, to start a new life. Over the years, Doc has become more involved in the growth of Portales. He eventually sells his interest in a saloon to two seedy characters, Jewels Davis and his albino son, Jefferson.

When Doc invites his old friend from the Civil War to visit Portales and the surrounding territory, it draws suspicions from the Davises to the point that they torture Doc's hired hand, Gustavo, just to find out what Doc is up to.

Amazon BN Writer’s Republic

Author Info

Michael N. Riley was born in Grants, New Mexico, in 1960, the second generation born in New Mexico from either of his parents’ families. Like most, they homesteaded from other states. His father’s side was from Texas and his mother’s family was from Alabama. When he was three, they moved from Grants to Clovis, New Mexico. He went to school and graduated high school and eventually moved to Portales, New Mexico, to attend Eastern New Mexico University. He ended up getting married and working for an electric cooperative reading electric meters. During that time, he had several old timers tell him stories about coming to New Mexico when it was a territory. Most of them were old ranch hands and farmers. Their eyes would light up when they told stories about the real Wild West and some of the shenanigans they would get into. This is how he came up with this story.

The Book Junkie Reads . . .Reckless Dreams Interview with . . . Michael N. Riley . . .

Question 1). Do you feel that writing is an ingrained process or just something that flows naturally for you?

Answer: For me it just came naturally. If I can get past the first paragraph it usually flows onto the page effortlessly. When I was in fifth grade, we had to write a story and the teacher would read it aloud to the class. I wrote a horror story loosely based on the “Night Stalker” TV series. I was so excited for her to read it and she tore it apart and made fun of me in front of the whole class. Took a long time to overcome. When I was in college I started a story about a serial killer in Amarillo, Texas. I pounded it out on a manual typewriter. I felt it was an interesting story and showed it to my lady friend. However, life got in the way. When I returned to the keyboard it was on a computer and it had spell check, big difference. My first book came from a place I didn’t know I had. I guess it was a combination of stories told through relatives and acquaintances and living in the southwest.

Question 2). What mindset or routine do you feel the need to set when preparing to write (in general whether you are working on a project or just free writing)?

Answer: I start with an idea. It could be that day or months or even years ago. When the story starts, I have the general idea what the main character wants or needs, a story line is made. I have the end figured out. The problem is the middle that’s the hard part.

Question 3). Have you found yourself bonding with any particular character(s)? If so which one (s)?

Answer: I like Dalton Crane U.S. Marshal. He’s a washed-out lawman on his last leg of his career and he’s sent out west to expel bad guys from the NM Territory. He doesn’t take no crap from anyone especially a criminal. I think today we like to see more of that especially with the crime we see on the news.

Doc Strafford is my second choice. Seems like he’s the glue that holds everything together. I wanted him to be important, fair, kind, and a visionary. He knew what he wanted and he got people that he trusted to help him achieve that goal. His little community needed the law and security where families could move to and raise their families without living in fear. Isn’t that what we all want today?

Question 4). Have you ever felt that there was something inside of you that you couldn’t control? If so, what? If no what spurs you to reach for the unexperienced?

Answer: I was fascinated with serial killers for a while. I just wanted to know what made them tick. When they would start talking about their childhood, I would say to myself “I had that happen to me, or I felt that way.” I of course never acted on what they called urges or fantasies. It's not the fear of getting caught that stopped me. It's the idea I would have to hurt someone and I can’t do that.

Question 5). Where would you spend one full year, if you could go Anywhere, money is not a concern? What would you do with this time?

Answer: I would like to go back to Eastern Europe or Italy. We went to Romania back in the 90’s because our airport was fogged in. The architecture was amazing and the people were friendly but hard. There is an untold history throughout the Baltic nations that maybe worth looking into.

Italy of course, Rome was nice but I would like to visit the whole country and work at the Lamborghini factory driving the new cars out of the factory.

http://authormichaelnriley.com