INTERVIEW: Southwestern Mystery Author Rich Curtin

 

Welcome, Rich Curtin. You are one of my favorite authors. I love Manny Rivera and his mystery series. I am thrilled to have you with us this morning. Welcome to Vision and Verse, the site for Art and Artists and those who love them. Can you tell us a little about what you've written?

Manny Rivera Mystery Series, books 1-9.

 

What is your favorite genre to write?

Mysteries

Favorite food.

Mexican.

Tea or coffee?

Manny and I have the same problem. 

We drink too much coffee.

 

Pizza or ice cream?

Blue Bell Butter Pecan ice cream.

 

Wine or beer?

Both

 

Where would you like to visit?

I always look forward to returning the Manny’s country – 

the Four Corners area.

I love that part of our country.There’s no place more beautiful than New Mexico. I would move there in an instant if I could. 

Favorite musical artist.

There are so many (hard to pick just one): Willie Nelson, Eagles, America, Neil Young, George Harrison, David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, and Merle Haggard. If I had to pick just one—Willie.   

 

Do you listen to music when you write?  What?

No. It keeps me from immersing myself in the story.

 

What makes you laugh?

Slapstick

 

This is an art and author blog, so I am obligated to ask: Favorite work of art or sculpture.

The Thinker by Auguste Rodin

 

How old were you when you started writing?

I started writing mysteries after I retired from a science and engineering career. I was 64. 

 

Do you plan out your novels in detail or do you just sit down and write?

I admire authors who can just sit down and write, but that’s not me. I definitely plan out each story in detail. I need to be able to see every scene, know every character, feel the conflicts. I do my storyline editing when the story is still in outline form. I’ll make probably 25 passes through the story this way before I attempt to write a single word. This saves a lot of editing, throwing out chapters, etc. It also helps to ensure that I have a story worth telling. If the story outline doesn’t excite me, I don’t want to waste my time writing it or the reader’s time reading it.

  

Describe your perfect evening. 

Too varied to list.

 

Where do you get your inspiration?

My inspiration to write fiction came from reading Tony Hillerman’s novels. My inspiration for stories comes from within. I start with what I think is an unusual motive for murder and build out from there. I do a lot of just sitting and thinking.

 

What do you do when you get a writer's block?

Stop writing. Analyze why. It’s often because I’m trying to write something that’s not really interesting to me. Best to toss the part of the story that I was working on when I got the block.

 

Who is your favorite author?

Tony Hillerman. Cormac McCarthy would be a distant second.

 

Best book you ever read.

So many good ones. I can’t really single out a “best.”

Last book you read.

Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols (The movie is even better.)

 

 

What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer?

I’d write anyway.

Over one hundred reviews, and that's the best answer to that question yet!

Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?

Too many to list.

What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?

Find an author you would like to emulate and read everything he or she has written. Then read others in the same genre.

 

Do you have some links for us to follow you?

My website: richcurtinnovels.com

Facebook: Rich Curtin

Note to my gentle readers:

Look for my reviews of Coyote’s Revenge on May 4, 2021

and Death Saint  on April 13, 2021 

right here on Vision and Verse.

VISIONANDVERSEDISCLAIMER:

Note:

Vision and Verse does not store any personal information like email addresses, home addresses, etc. We do not give any information to third parties. And cookies? We eat cookies.