In recent months, I have been doing a number of talks and signings in support of the release of the newest installment of the Will Rogers Medallion award-winning Sheriff Ty Dawson crime thriller series, KNIFE RIVER. And the question I encounter most frequently regards the origins of Ty Dawson, and the fictional locale Meriwether County, in which Dawson plies his trade as both a rancher and a sheriff.

In fact, I often characterize the series as Longmire meets Yellowstone in the 1970s.

But I think it is the time-period itself that sets the tone, and frankly, I love that these books are so evocative for many readers—the fact that the action takes place during the 1970s conjures such a vast mélange of memories, images and feelings, and that the musical soundtrack of those times informed more than mere backdrop, it was the very atmosphere in which we lived and breathed.

I spent a number of years as a full-time working guitar player and vocalist, then as a record

producer, and finally as an artist manager—advising, listening, traveling, laughing, negotiating and sometimes arguing with some of the most fascinating people in the world; the exposure to the music of my youth informing every mile and every moment. Perhaps one of my most cherished chapters from that period came from my association with legendary music- and film- producer, James William Guercio, founder of the famed Caribou Ranch Studios. Situated in the rural front range of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Caribou Ranch became an iconic recording resort home-away-from-home for artists as varied as Paul McCartney, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Chicago and John Lennon (among dozens of others). Years later, this professional and musical relationship has formed the backbone of a fictionalized narrative thread in KNIFE RIVER, which to say much more about would spoil the fun…

Suffice to say, though, that the thing that most effectively fuels creativity and inspiration for me as a writer of crime fiction is music.

As an author, however, my basic premise is this: Every story is about people. Whether it is science fiction, horror, whodunnit mystery, cozy or literary narrative, the way the characters respond to a situation is what creates the trajectory of the story; the locale, setting, and historical timeframe forms the cultural backdrop within which the author’s people process their reality and how the fictional community perceives the action as it unfolds. So, if the jumping-off spot as an author is to create an entertaining and compelling narrative, the location and lens we employ in the telling of that story indelibly affects the story itself.

As many of us would likely agree, the place that dwells inside the root system of one’s childhood never departs—the landscape might look different, having been revised from that which resides inside our memories, but the heart still skips a beat when first returning ‘home’ after an absence.

Now, with the publication of KNIFE RIVER, I invite you to join me on the thrilling ride with Sheriff Ty Dawson, and to (re)visit those heady, turbulent, beautiful and terrifying times of the 1970s; and to join me on Facebook and Instagram at:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BaronRBirtcher 

Instagram: www.instagram/BaronBirtcher_author 

Books in the Ty Dawson series (Available in eBook, Trade Paperback and Audio):

South California Purples Fistful Of Rain Reckoning

Knife River

>>> They can be purchased by using this link:  https://linktr.ee/baronrbirtcher 

Baron Birtcher is the winner of the prestigious Will Rogers Medallion (Knife River); the Silver Falchion Award (Hard Latitudes); the Killer Nashville Readers Choice Award (South California Purples); and Best Book of the Year Award for Fistful Of Rain.

He has also been nominated for the Nero Award, the Lefty, the Foreword Indie, the Claymore, and the Pacific Northwest's Spotted Owl Awards.

Baron's writing has been hailed as "The real deal" by Publishers Weekly; "Fast Paced and Engaging" by Booklist; and "Solid, Fluent and Thrilling" by Kirkus.

Bestselling author, Don Winslow, has said, “You want to read Baron’s books, then you want to live in them.

The post KNIFE RIVER: CRIME FICTION & MUSIC – WHEN ARTFORMS INTERSECT by Baron Birtcher appeared first on Debra H. Goldstein.