When and why did you begin writing?

BB: I wrote my very first story at the age of 8. My parents, poor as they were, gave me a Paper Mate pen (all that they could afford) for my birthday and I went up to my room and wrote a one page story THE CIRCUS in my Big Chief notebooks – the one with the yellow paper and blue lines. I've written on and off all my life, never seriously thought I could become a published author. But when I burned out of a 16 year medical career I was 46 years old and finally decided to do what I'd always wanted to do – write a novel. Ended up selling my first novel to the second publisher I sent it to – Walker & Co. N.Y.

Do you have a specific writing style?

BB: I don't think I have a specific writing style no. I've had editors tell me that if Dashiell Hammett wrote westerns they'd probably be like mine. My agent says that I have a touch of Hemingway in my dialogue, though I think he might be on some sort of animal tranquilizers making such statements.

What if any challenges do you find writing?

BB: The biggest challenge to writing for me is simply writing or trying to write better with each new book, to improve my ability to string together sentences in a way that is both clarifying and crackling good.

What books have influenced your life most?

BB: Not sure about any particular books influencing me. My reading tastes run the gamut from Shakespeare to Daniel Woodrell. I will read anything that's well written and hardly ever read bestsellers because they're generally terribly written, albeit with often intriguing plots that translate well for those who watch a lot of television. I find most of the fiction that garners the bestseller lists are sort of like reading the same book over and over again, just as like watching various versions of CSI. I mean I don't understand why readers don't tire of who murdered whom over and over again.

Author influences?

BB: Hemingway and Cormack McCarthy.

What are your current projects?

BB: Current project, well, if I told you, I'd have to kidnap you and hold you in a secret hiding place until they were finished.

Who has been your biggest supporter?

BB: I guess my biggest supporter at any given time would be the person who bought the manuscript and sent me an advance check.