It Ain’t Me, Babe
JoRo Momo,
I noticed while reading the books and seeing your photos on Facebook that you bear an uncanny resemblance to Walt. Was that a conscious decision, and if so, have you faced or battled any of the demons Walt has? In the first book I felt Walt was so depressed he was a hair away from death but also a closet alcoholic and the arrival of Dog seems to have been the catalyst to force him back into life. I guess 2 questions there. Thank you, I love these books!!!
Hi JoRo,
The curse of social media is that you constantly see photos of yourself, and I rarely see one that I don’t think—thank goodness I don’t make a living with my looks. I’m not exactly an industrial accident, but all I have to do is be in the same room with Robert Taylor and the difference becomes pretty obvious.
You’re right in that the first book in the series, The Cold Dish, and perhaps the series in its entirety is a story of resurrection. I’ve been lucky in life and haven’t had the tragedies that Walt’s had to face with the loss of Martha and the life and death decisions he has to make on a regular basis in his chosen profession. That having been said, I had my share of adventures with rodeo, motorcycle racing, skydiving, scuba-diving, mountaineering, and the odd scrape or two. I’m a big believer that a writer has to have a life before they can write about one, and I was able to garner a few experiences to draw from before I began seriously writing in my forties.
Psychologically speaking, I think those demons you speak of are there for all of us. I like to think I’m an upbeat guy, but like everyone else the abyss gets ahold of me every now and then and it can be pretty grim. The way I combat that is with the writing. I guess I’ve got too many worlds going on in my head to be encapsulated by one or, as the old saying goes, the world is not enough.
We just finished up irrigation season, or irritation season as I like to call it here at the ranch, and I’m firmly of the belief that it’s the devil’s handiwork in that it has three basic components, hydraulic, electric, and mechanical, and if you get two working, I guarantee the third will fail. Well, when I come stumbling onto the porch, covered in mud, blood, and cowshit, Judy will look at me and say, “Get undressed out there, go take a shower, and then go write.”
It always works; writing about Absaroka County has the same effect on me as I hope it has on the folks who read the books, and it takes me to a better place.
In answer to your second question, I’ve always seen Walt as the wounded animal at the center of the books, a big, rogue male buffalo who’s fought perhaps one too many battles. The amazing thing about buffalo is that when threatened, the herd will bring in the females, the calves, and the infirm, and the bulls will face out to take on all comers. I think Walt’s fortunate in that he has a lot of friends who will look after and tend to him—Cady, Dorothy, Ruby, Vic, Henry, Lucian and finally Dog. In the final analysis, they’re what keeps him afloat and woe be it to anybody who wants to take on that herd.
See you on the trail,
Craig
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