Many questions arise when people of my past realize what kind of person I have become, a writer, Why, and how, and truly what for?
I really began writing in 1993, during a troubling time in my life, I used my emotion in writing Poetry and Songs, and the feeling had always been there to explore many other things, at that point in my life, I just didn’t know how.
As the years have past I have picked up my journal, and written about good times, bad times, and where I have been and gone, and then I put it back down, to sit another year or so.
This all changed for me in 2009 when I lost my job to the economy this last time, I sat for many nights in front of my computer wondering where do I go from here. I had a journal with my poetry and songs collected over the years, and a half written chapter to a novel, that came to mind at one time or another, and a few short stories about rodeo life, this is about all I had left of the last 12 years, except for my wonderful wife and daughter.
So I began to research, how to publish a book, and I remembered a place that I submitted a poem to once, and received an award, they published books, but how?
For the most part the rest is history, and I am deep into my third book already, however, I still here the questions, what made you want to write?
It is simple for me, it is the story, the action and adventure all written in words to bring my reader to the edge of their seat and keep them lingering there, and grasping onto the page as if they were living the actual story, and I think if I can do that, then I have fulfilled what I sought out to accomplish thirteen months ago just sitting in my office with the sound of a piano echoing Lane’s Theme from the 8 seconds Soundtrack, and sipping on a hot cup of coffee freshly brewed at 2:30 in the AM.
Now I have your attention. I want you to sit back and enjoy, as I begin to tell you the journey I have taken over the last thirteen months.
At first it was only LULU.com, and I was sort of restricted. I wasn’t sure where else to look, however one night as I was in the midst of attempting to publish the first edition of my poetry book, I stumbled upon a writers digest community and some other forums in which people just like me were trying to become authors or already were self-published authors, and they knew the game I was about to play. Working night and day to do the best I could on what I had I needed to cry out for “HELP”, and the answer came back within just a few days, I met several people that were established in the writing world. I used their advice to my fullest extent, and It was just two months later, that the second edition of my book was available at Createspace. I was off and running, with a good book in front of me,which I had published, written and marketed all on my own. Now my sales still are not that great and mostly I gave away more copies than I sold, but I am an Author now, and I was very happy with what I had accomplished.
I just had to keep going, and I started to have fun with my rodeo stories. I realized i didn’t have enough for my own book, so I thought, if I get my friends in on this, and put a small book of what a rodeo cowboy, or cowgirl goes through, or what their emotions are when they compete, then we would have a masterpiece, and we have done just that, at least I think so. We ran into a few minor glitches, but things are beginning to run smoothly and possibly the book will be available just after the holidays. I call it Merry Christmas 2. Laugh Out Loud.
Now underneath all of this was that half chapter of a western novel just sitting around, and at this point I am already doing it, it being an author, why not continue, so I have embarked on a journey back in time in the late 1800’s and well once I get back in the saddle in the next week or so, will probably be living in a ghost town outside of Garret Texas, living and breathing the desert sand, and living the life of Texas Ranger Laramie Taylor. Many times I have been stuck, my writing dwindled for a bit due to a six month treatment I had to have, but it is coming to and end, and i am just beginning to pick up a pen or my keyboard and begin again, the year is 1877.
If you were a Texas lawman, in this era, what would you do when a ruthless bunch of outlaws guns down your father, would you cross the line, or will you stay the coarse hoping that justice is someday done, the question that I have to answer in about 65,000 words, and doing so with an 1860 colt .44-caliber revolver, nickel-plated, with ivory handles, and CAPT John Taylor engraved on the side. Guts or glory Laramie will seek Vengeance I have felt it since the beginning. I hope you all agree. Thanks. Ritchie White
To view a portion of this novel visit my web page
I hope I answered the question why do I write, and if I haven’t in the above statements, well it is simple, I love stories, and the old west, and my child like imagination is still alive inside, and if I put history, the old west, words, wisdom, and imagination together, I can tell you a story, that will have you on the edge of your seat, and gripping the pages from the beginning of chapter 1 to the very end.
Shotgun Bo Rivers 