Originally from the Midwest I have lived in Houston the past thirty
some years. Started my career in sales
and worked my way to Vice President of Sales and Marketing for a domestic
manufacturer of electrical protection equipment. I have always had a love for entertaining and
the telling of a good story and when a friend suggested I write a book I
considered his idea ludicrous. The more
I thought about it I decided to give it a try and after many a rewrite I
finally felt I had a story people would enjoy reading and I hope you do.
Tell
us about the genre of your work.
I found if I
wrote what I read I was in my comfort zone.
I love books, movies and television shows that keep you guessing who
done it until the very end. I hate when
I can discover the killer and their plot half way through anything. I also
write westerns, I love the adventure of the old west. Man pitted against man, (red and white) good
versus evil, man against nature. I write
so the characters come to life, they have depth and even similar shortcoming to
us all.
Why
did you choose this genre?
Mysteries
hopefully to keep the reader interested and guessing until the end, then they
can look back and see the clues I left behind for them to find. Westerns just out of a love for the west and
western lore. All of my stories are based
on truths or the truth about what could happen.
Mysteries and westerns alike deal with men and women any of my readers
may know in a setting that either exist today or did exist in the past.
What
are some of your books, stories that have been published?
“Charity
Kills” is my first published book.
It is available on Amazon.com and local independent book retailers. ISBN:
9780984914203. For more info, go to www.jonbridgewater.com
“Charity”
as it has become known, is about a burned out homicide detective who was hand-picked
to make the murder of a young woman simply slip off into the waste land of
unsolved crimes. Plagued by the memory
of the unsolved murder of his wife some years earlier Detective Storm pursues this
new girl’s killer as a hungry dog might go after a bone. With the help of unlikely group of allies
his determination spurs him on.
“After The
Storm” due out in the fall of 2012 is a story about the effects of the
underworld element that migrated to Houston
after Katrina. Crime skyrocketed as
citizens desperately sought help from their local police to curb the onslaught
of home invasions, murder and drug distribution. When the Medical Examiner’s little brother is
killed Detective David Storm and his band of investigators find themselves in a
corrupt world much bigger than anything they had experienced before.
The third and final installment of the David Storm
Mysteries has yet to receive a name. It
is culmination of the series that lead Detective Storm to answers he has been
looking for in the previous books. Who
had his wife killed and why. To do this
he becomes involved in the largest operation in the south to stop Cartel
smuggling of illegal drugs into the United States .
“Demons of
Revenge” is so my only attempt at writing a western. It is due out sometime in 2012. The book set in pre-civil way Texas follows the adventures of a young man of privilege
who comes to Texas to live the adventure he
had so far only read about in dime story novels. It is set against real places and a time
where your intuitions had to keep you alive.
Jammed packed with a variety of characters the story leads you through a
turbulent time in Texas History.
How do you come up with the names of
places and characters in your books?
The
places are real and if you read the book you could find any of them. The names of many have been altered as not to
offend the real people who live and work there.
Years ago I read a series of book written by David Lindsey and loved how
he wrote about Houston . When I began to write I felt many readers
would like to experience the same thing I did.
Fittingly make Houston a Character in
the book and know exactly where the action was fictionally taking place. The characters are a Heinz 57 of people I
know, none of the names are real and although those who have read “Charity”
have tried to guess who I fashioned my characters after and in each case have
always been wrong. But as a writer is
fun the hear their suspicions.
How did you develop the character of your
protagonist in this book?
If
my ego allowed I would love to claim he is me, but that would so wrong. I had to have a hero with flaws. He general back story is one created
completely out of my imagination, but the character possesses many of the traits
I find admirable. The story is as much
about his personal redemption as it is about solving the murder of a young
woman.
What about an antagonist…is there a unique “bad guy”
or a recurring nemesis of any kind?
There is a antagonist,
a very cunning smart killer who takes advantage of all situations. In following books there will be other bad
guys but never the same one. It appears
I like to kill them off. The small group
of friends who have read “Charity” and my other stories have mentioned that I
have picked out a similar type of person as my “Bad Guy” and I had not really
noticed. When I reexamined my work I
found they may be right but the “bad guys” fit the stories.
What’s
your favorite thing about your book?
The
redemption of my protagonist, how by solving a case no one wants solved he
saves himself.
How
is writing in the genre you write, different than other genre?
Mysteries
require to you to think far ahead. To
work on the twist and turns of the story to keep your reader involved with
characters. Mysteries need to keep the
reader guessing until the end but also needs to contain clues throughout the
story so when the reader does discover the “bad guy” they say to themselves
“Damn” I should have seen that coming, the writer gave me the clues to solve
this,
Why
and when did you begin writing?
A few years ago after being pushed by friends who
thought I would be good at it. I found
it hard, very hard at first but no love it and the stories play in my head like
I am watching a movie of it.
What
is your writing schedule?
I write almost everyday. Some days everything works and it all falls
in place. Other days nothing works and
when that happens I need to walk away get some distance and come back looking
at things with fresh eyes. It usually
this off time my brain finds the twist or place I want to go and bam I am back
on track.
What
projects are you working on now, or plan for the future?
I have just finished
writing the first draft of the third of the David Storm trilogy so now I go
back to work polishing it. I have a
second western running around in my head and the true story of my Grandfather’s
life pushing to be told next, but I think the western will prevail.
What
kind of advice or tips to you have for someone who wants to write and get published?
When you have an idea for a good story write it
down, save it. When you have a flash of
a great twist in your work, record it or again write it down. I have even called from my car back home to
my answering machine and left myself a message of an idea I don’t want to
lose. The brilliant flash you have just
before you go to sleep may not be there in the morning so jet up write it down
or record it. The next morning you may
read it or listen to it and it may be crap but you saved it, it may be the
lynch pin you were looking for.
Publishing is another matter all together and would take more time and
space then I have to give it right now, but suffice it to say seek help when
get ready for that. There are some very
wise people who have already gone through it and can save you a lot of time.
Are
there any other comments, advice or tips that you would give to beginning
writers?
Don’t give up if you really want to write,
write. Have your friends read what you
write all criticism is helpful, you may not agree but listen. Biggest thing I can tell a beginning writer
is to develop your character. Give them
death for God’s sake make them more than two dimensional.
What
do you do when you are not writing?
I volunteer with one of the largest charities in the
country and work with special needs children and adults. I love to fish and ride my Harley.
What
“Made It” moments have you experienced in life?
Not sure I
would call it a “Made It” moment but more of an “Aha” moment. A few years ago I was helping with horse show
where the riders were specials needs people and use riding as therapy. I met a young girl who has become very
important to me. One day while standing
in the arena with her while she won another magnificent belt buckle for her
effort, I asked if since she now had so many, she had five over three years, I
asked her to let me wear one. Her reply
was direct and very clear as she told me “You got to earn it”. When I finally grasp what she had just told
me I had to do something to earn things, they were not just going to come to me
because I wanted them. After that I
worked harder and now my work is beginning to garner some attention.
1 comment:
I have nominated you for the Inspirational Blogger Award – Congratulations!
Please go to the link for the rules .
http://littleboxofbooks.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/915/
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