Interview with Adam Wright



Adam Wright is the author of three Black Horse Westerns, with more on the way. He is also the webmaster of this site. His third book, Bass Reeves was released in Large Print in June 2003.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF
I live in England with my wife Lynne. I work in Local Government and also as a Creative Writing Tutor for adults. I've worked as a tutor for local councils and in private groups. I spent part of my childhood in Canada. My latest book, Bass Reeves, came out in Large Print Paperback in June 2003.

WHEN DID YOU START WRITING?
When I was about twelve years old, and living in Canada, I was a fan of Battlestar Galactica. There were some books out and a friend and I decided we were going to write a Battlestar Galactica novel. It never got off the ground, of course! Then I was going to write a James Bond novel. Having failed to become the next Ian Fleming, I started to make up my own characters and stories but I never got anything finished. I'd write a first chapter then decide I had a better idea and start on that instead. I accumulated a lot of Chapter One's this way.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO WRITE WESTERNS?
When I was in my twenties (and back in England), I saw a programme on TV about the Sioux Indians' Ghost Dance religion and entered a Radio Derby short story competition with a story about a white man who goes through the Ghost Dance. It never got anywhere (although the judge had scribbled “original and compelling” on the story when it got back to me). That was my first Western story.
A friend of mine mentioned that his tutor at college was a Western writer. This inspired me a lot. Until then, writers were people “out there” somewhere, just names on book covers not real people living near my hometown. I checked out a few Black Horse Westerns from the library and loved the fast-paced stories. I wrote to B.J. Holmes, my friend's tutor, and asked him if he had any advice for an aspiring Western writer. He sent me a few letters of encouragement and I decided to expand my story involving the Ghost Dance to book size.
My drawer full of first chapters was at breaking point but somehow, when I started the book, I kept going until the end. Finishing it was a great feeling. I dedicated Ghost Dance to my two best friends and to B.J.

ANY PROBLEMS COMING UP WITH PLOTS IN A SO-CALLED “PLOT-BARREN” GENRE?
According to conventional wisdom, there are only nine Western plots: the cavalry and Indians story; the repentant gunfighter story; the ranch story; the lawman story; the outlaw story; the railroad story; the revenge story; the range-war story, and the rustler story. These terms are very general, of course, and each holds unlimited possibilities for a writer.
All fiction is about people in different situations. The people and situations of the mythical West are a goldmine of ideas to a writer. There are some writers and movie-makers who don't bring anything original to their stories and end up with a rehash of what has gone before; this is what makes people say Westerns are “all the same”. In reality, the number of Western stories is endless. Because stories of human courage (or cowardice), determination, love and survival are endless in their possibilities.

YOUR THIRD NOVEL, BASS REEVES, IS ABOUT A REAL PERSON. WHY DID YOU WANT TO WRITE HIS STORY?
Bass Reeves was a great man. He worked as a US Deputy Marshal out of Fort Smith, arresting over 3,000 men during his career, and only killing 14. He was black, so he had to face racism as well as the pitfalls of his job. He got his reins shot out of his hands, his hat shot off and his belt cut in two by a bullet but he was never wounded. He also had to go out and arrest his own son, bringing him back to Judge Parker, the “Hanging Judge”. That was the part of his life I wanted to write about. How did he feel going after his own son, knowing he was probably bringing him back to die? That is what the story revolves around.

WAS IT DIFFICULT WRITING ABOUT AN ACTUAL PERSON FROM HISTORY?
Very. I got some research help from Art Burton at Columbia College in Chicago. He sent me plenty of information about Bass's life. But creating a fictional story that didn't change history and that included all the salient details was hard work. I tried to capture Bass's character but little is known about the man, only about his heroic deeds. Writing about the man behind those deeds was hard work. I inserted newspaper clippings from the time into the front and back of the book to give readers more idea about Bass.

WHAT PROCESS DO YOU GO THROUGH FROM INITIAL IDEA TO FINISHED MANUSCRIPT?
I usually start by making scribbled notes on pieces of paper that I carry around with me. As I jot down ideas, I think some subconscious process starts and discovers ways to tie everything together. By the time I start writing, I only know the beginning, a few scenes from the middle and a vague idea of the ending. Everything else comes together during the writing. The actual act of writing is a very creative process. Then it's a case of going back over everything and editing it together to form a unified story. Bass Reeves was a little different because I had the facts about the man's life and I had to fit the story around those facts.

DO YOU CARRY CHARACTERS OVER FROM BOOK TO BOOK OR DO YOU CREATE NEW ONES FOR EACH STORY?
So far, I've created new characters for each book. I enjoy creating characters, getting inside their heads. But in my fourth book, Colorado Justice, there is a secondary character who is going to be the main character of my next book. His name is Elliot Fox and he's a half-Indian US Marshal who can't come to terms with his mixed heritage (even his clothes are half-Indian and half-Western). As soon as I introduced him in the story, I got an idea for a story involving him as the main character. So I'll be carrying him over. Then, who knows, I might start him as a series character. Hale do publish series characters in the Black Horse books – the Bar 10 novels and Iron Eyes novels being good examples. B.J. Holmes and David Whitehead have also used series characters in Black Horse Westerns. (Holmes' “Reaper” and Whitehead's “Ash Colter”)

AT A TIME WHEN PUBLISHERS ARE TURNING AWAY AUTHORS, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF HALE'S APPROACH?
I think it's refreshing. Hale have placed very highly in some author's polls and that is because they are helpful and courteous. Hale's writers always know where their books are in the production process because they are kept informed. They may not pay large sums per book (but PLR partly takes care of that problem for UK authors) but their approach to the business is one that other publishing houses could learn from.

WHICH OF YOUR BOOKS IS YOUR FAVOURITE AND WHY?
Ghost Dance will always be a favourite because it was the first. I can still remember tearing open the acceptance letter from Hale then phoning everyone I knew to tell them the news. It is also the first book I finished, and that means a lot too. There are plenty of people who tell me they are going to write a book – like it's something easy – but they'll discover that unless you have a dogged determination, you won't do it. Writing a book is not easy. With Ghost Dance, I had that determination to get to the end. It's also the first book I could hold in my hand and say “I wrote this.” As any writer will tell you, though, the book they are currently working on is their favourite. And that is a good thing if they are going to find that determination again and finish the project. So Colorado Justice is a favourite too. I've done things with that story that I haven't done before, like working on the premise to increase the stakes until the characters end up fighting for ideals as well as personal goals.

WHICH OF YOUR COVERS IS YOUR FAVOURITE AND WHY?
Again, it is probably Ghost Dance. There is a scene in the midpoint of the book where the hero burns down his house in Canada. It is symbolic of him putting the past behind him. The cover shows this scene.
The Hale version of Black River is a nice painting by Prieto Muriana, showing riders coming across a snowy landscape, mountains behind them. I set the book in the snowy winter because I wanted the characters to battle with the elements as well as with their personal goals.
The Bass Reeves cover for the Linford Western Library is great.

WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING PROJECTS?
Once I've finished editing Colorado Justice and have sent it off, I'll be working on the book about Elliot Fox. My working title is Totem (same as David Morrell's horror novel) but that will probably change as I write.

ANY ADVICE TO ASPIRING WRITERS?
Remember that to be a writer you must write. Like anything, writing improves with practise. But you must truly want to write and not just to “have written”. There are too many people who think they can write a book. It involves a lot of time and hard work. If you have the desire to write, you'll do it.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO ADD?
I'd like to thank all the authors who are contributing to this site, and everyone who sends me feedback.
THANKS, ADAM



Back to Interviews List

Home