Texas Author, Jon Bridgewater, Writes Mysteries and Shares What is Going to be Released This Year

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. 

Note from Sylvia: You can visit my other blog at: http://love-faith-and-guts.blogspot.com/that features a preview to my new book, Traveling a Rocky Road with Love, Faith and Guts.