THE SAMARITAN’S PISTOL Blog Tour – Interview with Author Eric Bishop + Win a $15 Amazon Gift Card

I’m very happy to welcome author Eric Bishop to the blog today as part of The Samaritan’s Pistol Blog Tour! I enjoyed his book immensely (you can read my review here) and he’s been kind enough to answer some questions. After you read the interview, don’t forget to check out the giveaway at the end of this post for a $15 Amazon gift card! So without further ado, here’s Eric:

Welcome to Books, Bones & Buffy, Eric! I appreciate you taking time to answer some questions. I know besides being a writer you own a marketing firm. What made you take the leap from business owner to writer?

I think everyone has an artistic talent. Stories percolated inside me until one came out. I’m baffled by people who whittle and sculpt. They came that way—with an ability to remove the excess and leave something beautiful. Friends tell me they could never fathom writing a book. Others get a glimmer, and start telling me about a story idea. That glimmer is a talent they were born with. Talent is like rolling your tongue. You can or you can’t. Some sculpt. I write.

Tell us about your journey to publication. How long did it take you to write The Samaritan’s Pistol and what led you to Jolly Fish Press?

I started about six years ago and wrote the first draft in a little under three months. There are rough drafts, rougher drafts and then cheese grater take the flesh off rough and that’s what I had. I kicked it around for about a year, even sending some awful query letters to agents. Eventually, I found our local chapter of The League of Utah Writers and started the process of cleaning up my mistakes. It’s not perfect, but most of the rough edges have been polished. Through my local chapter I met the good folks at Jolly Fish who offered me a contract.

What was the most enjoyable part of writing The Samaritan’s Pistol? What was the least enjoyable?

I enjoy every aspect of writing, but the initial discovery, finding the story as it flowed from my fingertips, was intoxicating. I didn’t know the final line until I read the screen.  The hardest part for me to write, or read in the book, was when the protagonist, Jim, ends the suffering of his horse.

The protagonist of your book also runs a ranch. How much of The Samaritan’s Pistol is autobiographical?

I’ve heard authors try to talk around similar questions. Jim is very much who I might have been if I’d been born under different circumstances.

You live on a ranch in Utah. How in the world do you balance family time, ranch life, writing and running a business? Do you ever sleep?

Another good question I’ll tackle directly. I’d love to say I’ve found the perfect balance. Truth is I struggle. Much of life is choosing what to do with the limited time we have. Most days, are like trying to skate on the edge of a globe, but somehow I stay on and even manage to enjoy the moments. Having a supportive family makes it possible to do things together. They humor my stories, make suggestions when I read, and then we go clean up the barn or haul hay.

What’s next for you in your writing career? Will there be another Jim Cooper novel?

Your audience gets to read it here first! Jolly Fish has asked me to do a Jim Cooper series, and I’m excited to do it. My contract gives them right of first refusal on my next book, which will be unrelated to The Samaritan’s Pistol. After the next book, I plan to finish the Jim Cooper trilogy. Then I want to write a prequel about Jim’s elderly ranch hand, Brody, and how he ended up in Wyoming.

Tell us three things about you that can’t be found on your website.

My favorite things to watch on television are Dancing With the Stars, The Biggest Loser, and cage fighting.

I’m freaked out by snakes, sharks and anything cold-blooded.

The website alludes to it, but I’ll just come out and write it. My wife, Janilee, and our four daughters make me the most blessed and happy man on the planet!

Thank you so much, Eric! This was so much fun:)

Even among his small town neighbors, Jim is a content man. Despite the emotional baggage from his time serving in Desert Storm, he successfully runs a ranch, owns several beautiful horses, and makes extra cash as a wilderness guide for wealthy tourists. He’s a modern-day cowboy.

That is, until he runs into an ongoing mob-hit while riding in the mountains. Now, his most beloved horse is bleeding to death, three mobsters are dead from his smoking gun, and a wounded criminal is begging for his help. Jim has to make a decision. He can either high-tail it out of there, or accept a tempting offer made by the criminal—a promise of millions in stolen mafia cash for any help he gives.

Of course, only an idiot would turn down such an appealing offer when they’re marked for death anyway. Besides, Jim’s good nature cannot allow him to leave someone for dead, even a criminal.

Soon, Jim finds himself on a trip to retrieve a truckload of stolen money near the Las Vegas strip, right under the Mafia’s nose. But even if they escape with the cash, will Jim’s conservative neighbors provide sanctuary for their local Samaritan, and how far will the mafia go for revenge?

Find Eric Bishop: *Facebook * Twitter * Website *

Find The Samaritan’s Pistol: * Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Goodreads * Jolly Fish Press

About the author:

ERIC BISHOP is known to his friends and family as an “author version of Clint Eastwood.” As the owner of a successful marketing firm, Bishop spends most of his time on his Utah ranch writing with the music of his adolescence bouncing off the walls. When he’s not writing, Bishop enjoys spending time with his wife and four lovely daughters at his home in Nibley, Utah. Unlike Jim, Bishop hasn’t had any run-ins with the Mafia. Yet.

And now for the giveaway! To enter to win a $15 Amazon gift card, simply click the Rafflecopter button below: