Author Name: Reg Quist
Book Name: Dreary Day in Texas (The Settlers 4)
- What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write this book?
- REG: Dreary Day in Texas is book four of a series. Throughout the series the protagonist and his comrades are led through a succession of adventures, but somehow it always comes back to a tarnished gold coin Sheriff Rory Jamison found in book one. With the assistance of a friendly banker the coin is identified as one that was part of a theft of federal funds during the Civil War. Rory had worked enough of it out to satisfy his needs, which were to keep the law in his own town and county. But an involvement with the federal marshals dragged him back in. The trail led to a mysterious ranch in Texas, founded on rustled cattle. At the marshal’s insistence, and to help a deputy marshal he had befriended, Rory rides to Texas to sort the matter out.
- If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of your book, what would they be?
- REG: You’re stumping me with this one. With a bit of a grin, I would like to suggest the song that was included in one of the penny dreadful magazine stories written about sheriff Rory. But since that song only exists in my imagination, I’ll have to leave supporting music to others more adept at the subject.
- What books are on your to-be-read pile right now?
- REG: I read a wide variety of non-fiction, from Christian studies to government and environmental policy, and history. And, of course, my Bible lies beside my computer, where it is available for regular reading.
The fiction I’m currently reading is:
- David Baldacci – Long Shadows
- Joan Donaldson Yarmey – Sleuthing the Klondike
- Various authors – American West box set
- Wayne Winkle – A Dangerous Beginning.
- M. Parker – The Searcher.
- W. Hart – Concho.
- REG: I read a wide variety of non-fiction, from Christian studies to government and environmental policy, and history. And, of course, my Bible lies beside my computer, where it is available for regular reading.
- What scene in Dreary Day in Texas was your favorite to write?
- REG: The completion of courtship and the wedding of sheriff Rory. A close second would be the discovery of the reclusive rancher who called himself Tex.
- Do you have any quirky writing habits?
- REG: I like silence. I like to be alone and undisturbed. I don’t enjoy interruptions to my routine.
- Can you describe your writing process?
- REG: Some writers plan their entire project out before they start. I am too random and too trusting of the muse to do that, noting that there are many thoughts on muse. For me, the muse is me being alive to the leading of the Lord and what the characters in the story are telling me and where they’re leading me. I often find a character leading me in directions I had not planned.
- To put that into a daily routine, I know, generally, what I want to tell my readers. I know the approximate location of my tale. I know the approximate time in history. And I know what genre I’m holding to. For new work, I open a clean page on Word and start to write. For continuing work, I always re-read what I wrote the day before, making small changes as I go through it. I need to bring my mind back into that story flow.
- I write in scenes, almost as a playwright might do, although I’ve never written a play. I put full energy into the scene in front of me and then take a break, perhaps for a few minutes, perhaps for a day, while I think through the next scene.
- What’s next for you?
- REG: At my advanced age, that’s a good question. I wish I had a clear answer. Book five of The Settlers is nearing completion. When I’m done, I will take a few weeks to travel and visit my far-flung family, thinking of writing the entire time. I believe there are still adventures to take sheriff Rory on. I expect that’s where we’re headed.
- Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
- Not really anything that can be put into a few words. I respect the reader. To bore or insult a reader would be the last thing I would want to do. As a Christian I know that Jesus Christ is Lord, and I am His thankful servant. I want my work to show my, and my character’s faith, without having that faith message taking over the story.
- If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
- REG: I’ve said from the beginning, I strive for realism. Although I have gun fights, I don’t do fast-draw stories or rely on Hollywood images that do injustice to history. If someone can complete one of my stories and say to himself, ‘that could have really happened’, I will feel that I’ve done my job.
- Are there specific types of scenes you struggle with?
- REG: One of my reviewers said, “good story but I didn’t like the killing of horses. I didn’t like it either. I don’t like killing in any form. I think long and hard about scenes showing killing. But I’m telling a story about a sheriff and his interactions with criminals. Things happen. That’s true in life or in fiction. Criminals don’t often simply turn themselves in to the law. Those are my biggest struggles.
- Where did you get your inspiration for your amazing characters?
- REG: Stories rattle through my mind constantly. From my earliest memories, there were stories. That, plus I have read hundreds of books, in several genres, enjoying some characters, not liking others. I see the idiosyncrasies, the wisdom, the foolishness, the individualities, in real life people I meet. Although I never bring real people I know into the tales, some of what I see in them probably sneaks in.
- What drew you to this genre in the first place?
- REG: It’s really all I know. Although I am city raised, that city was in the midst of farms and ranches, many of them owned by family. My happiest vacations as a child were spent on farms, preferably on the back of a horse. I can’t imagine writing fiction in any other genre. The Church at Third and Main was my single venture into a different genre and a more serious type of tale.
- An author or authors who inspire you and you look up to?
- REG: I have a complete collection of Louis L’Amour stories which I have read multiple times and still read on occasion. My favorite western author has always been Elmer Kelton. I believe Kelton’s stories stand above most others.
- Author Website: https://regquist.com/