RIO BONITO

The Three Rivers Trilogy, Book 2

By PRESTON LEWIS

Categories: Western / Historical Fiction

Publisher: Five Star Publishing

Pub Date: August 18, 2021

Pages: 336 pages

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With Lincoln County teetering on the edge of lawless turmoil, small rancher Wes Bracken avoids taking sides, but his goal is complicated by his devotion to what he sees as justice and by his friendship with William H. Bonney, who’s developing a reputation as Billy the Kid.

As Lincoln County devolves into explosive violence, Bracken must skirt the edge of the law to guarantee the survival of his family, his spread, and his dream. But dangers abound from both factions for a man refusing to take sides. Before the Lincoln County War culminates on the banks of the Rio Bonito during a five-day shootout in Lincoln, Bracken is accused of being both a vigilante and a rustler. As the law stands idly by, Bracken’s ranch is torched, and his wife is assaulted by the notorious outlaw Jesse Evans. Survival trumps vengeance, though, as Bracken tries to outlast the dueling factions aimed at destroying him.

At every turn Bracken must counter the devious ploys of both factions and fight against lawmen and a court system skewed to protect the powerful and politically connected. Against overwhelming odds, Bracken challenges the wicked forces arrayed against him in hopes of a better life for himself, for his family, and for New Mexico Territory. And throughout it all, Bracken stands in the growing shadow of his sometime pal, Billy the Kid.

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Interview with Preston Lewis Discussing Writing

Every writer has a unique writing approach to a novel.  What’s yours?

I go through three drafts.  The first is the worst because you’re staring at a blank screen.  You don’t have anything to work with until you finish the first draft, so I try to get through it as quickly as I can.  Then with the second draft I work on resolving plot issues, improving transitions, polishing the dialog, ensuring story coherence and sharpening the prose.  In the third and final draft, I focus primarily on polishing the prose and finalizing it for the editor.

Do you use an outline or plot your chapters in advance?

It depends.  If I’ve got between 100,000 and 120,000 words to work with, I generally just start writing and let the plot take me where it goes.  I generally in these cases know where the story will start and how it will end, but not necessarily what happens in between.  This is the most fun because the story twists and turns often surprise me.  Now when I’ve got a word target I’m shooting for, say 75,000 to 85,000 words, I generally do a chapter by chapter synopsis so I hit the word target.  That takes more time on the front end, but generally saves time in the writing process, though it is less spontaneous.

How do you deal with deadlines?

My background is in journalism so I started out working for four daily newspapers in Texas.  I dealt with daily deadlines every workday and on longer pieces weekly deadlines.  So, deadlines are not intimidating.  I also know my limits.  There was year when I had contract for five books.  Four I managed okay around my day job, but the fifth was closing in on me so I took ten vacation days and completed the first draft of 300-plus pages in that span.  The first draft is always a chore, but the subsequent drafts are a breeze.

What is the best advice you ever got about writing? 

Perseverance trumps talent.  That came from Jeanne Williams, an award-winning and best-selling author of historical novel.  I consider Jeanne my writing mentor and her encouragement helped me in my early years of writing.  She said she had seen many talented writers give up, but lesser writers succeed because keep at it.  Jeanne told me if I kept at it, I would eventually earn some writing awards.  Her encouragement and faith in my abilities kept me going.  The second best piece of advice came from western novelist Elmer Kelton, who told me as he did all other young writers, “Don’t quit your day job.”

Were you ever tempted to quit your job and try writing full-time?

No, I had a family to support and my first obligation was to them.  Writers face two limitations:  time and money.  Some writers can deal with money issues and others can manage time constraints.  I’m disciplined enough to make efficient use of my time, but I could never have kept my writing sanity and temperament if I was worried about making the next mortgage payment or putting food on the table for my wife, son and daughter.  It’s a moot issue now that I am retired.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

Perseverance trumps talent and don’t quit your day job are still solid starting points, but writing has changed so much in the 40 years since I began developing novels.  There are more opportunities and options than ever before for your writing through the Web.  So the key is determining what it is you want out of writing, whether it’s a living or riches, whether it’s the personal satisfaction or public acclaim, and then mapping out a strategy that you think will get you to your goal.  There may be bumps along the way, but I’ve found the journey was as much fun as the destination.

Preston Lewis is the Spur Award-winning author of 40 westerns, historical novels, juvenile books, and memoirs.  He has received national awards for his novels, articles, short stories, and humor.

In 2021 he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters for his literary accomplishments.  Lewis is past president of Western Writers of America and the West Texas Historical Association.

His historical novel Blood of Texas on the Texas Revolution earned a Spur Award as did his True West article on the Battle of Yellow House Canyon.  He developed the Memoirs of H.H. Lomax series, which includes two Spur finalists and a Will Rogers Gold Medallion Award for western humor for his novel Bluster’s Last Stand on the battle of Little Big Horn.  His comic western The Fleecing of Fort Griffin and two of his YA novels have won Elmer Kelton Awards for best creative work on West Texas from the West Texas Historical Association.

He began his writing career working for Texas daily newspapers in Abilene, Waco, Orange, and Lubbock before going into university administration.  During his 35-year career in higher education, he directed communications and marketing offices at Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, and Angelo State University.

Lewis holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Baylor University and master’s degrees from Ohio State in journalism and Angelo State in history.  He lives in San Angelo with his wife, Harriet.

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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

TWO WINNERS:

1^st: Signed copies of Rio Ruidoso & Rio Bonito;

2^nd: Signed copy of Rio Bonito.

(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 9/17/21)

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