Pistol Jake follows a legendary bounty hunter with a questionable past who faces off against hardened criminals and corrupt deacons. Where did the idea for this novel come from?

There’s never a simple answer to this type of question, but I’ll give it a try. I became fixated on a single line that popped into my head. “I’m in love with you, and I don’t know what to do about it.” Just that line was stuck in my brain. Then I saw a cowboy standing in a doorway with his back turned to the viewer/reader. I had to craft a reason for him to say those words, and to be standing in a doorway with his back turned to someone he felt this way about.

From there, it essentially became a Lego set of putting pieces together for me to bring this scene to life. There’s always more to the story, but there’s the crux of its beginnings.

What draws you to the western genre?

My grandfather was my hero. He was a hero for all of my siblings and cousins. He watched John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and many classic Westerns with great fervor. He read the works of Louis L’Amour, Zane Grey, and other Western novelists. I grew up surrounded by Westerns, and nostalgia plays a significant role in my affection for the genre.

Also, there’s something mythological about humanity versus the untamed world, or the world as it transitions into being tamed. A world without instant information, where hyper-masculinity and hyper-femininity collide at the edges of law and order, is such a fertile playground for storytelling.

On top of that, they no longer make those John Ford-style Westerns, and I wanted to see a new one enter the conversation. So, I humbly entered Pistol Jake into the chat.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

I’ve always been interested in the consequences of revenge. Sometimes, revenge is justified. Other times, grace and forgiveness are what’s needed, and we must forego the quest for vengeance. I wanted to see a world where the primal need for vengeance clashed with the Christian concept of grace, and what kind of messy things would happen when they collided.

Christianity versus Primal was at the center of it all, and not just in the question of revenge. There’s also the primal drive of lust versus Christian sexual reserve, and what does one do when the primal is too hungry to ignore?

In short, I wanted to see those two concepts clashing on multiple fronts and see what responses these characters would have to them. Not to justify or judge, but rather to observe.

I find a problem in well-written stories, in that I always want there to be another book to keep the story going. Is there a second book planned?

Maybe. And I don’t use “maybe” to be evasive or coy. It’s a real “maybe.” I intentionally set it up to allow for more stories to be told, but I can’t promise you I have one fully formulated today. If I get obsessed with another line that I need to build a story around, Pistol Jake 2 will be on the way.

Having said that, I have the beginnings of the story in mind. Without giving away the ending of this book, there are certain alliances made that could prove to be quite entertaining in the future.

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