A Score to Settle Archives

Nov 5th A Score to Settle by Mike Torreano

Happy Holidays Everyone! Welcome Mike Torreano author of A Score to Settle among others! Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cauldron. Take your choice of a bat wing Chocolate Chip or Pumpkin, or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Mike and A Score to Settle.

What inspired this particular story? A Score to Settle is set on the Goodnight-Loving cattle trail in 1870 New Mexico Territory. I was drawn to this locale after devouring the iconic western series, Lonesome Dove. Author Larry McMurtry used an incident in his story that paralleled something that actually happened on Goodnight-Loving. Oliver Loving was shot near Fort Sumner, NMT in 1866. After he died, his partner, Charles Goodnight, carried out his last wish by wagoning him back home to Texas. To me, this is one of the West’s most famous legends and I wanted to weave a story around it.
What inspired you to write? In fifth grade, back in Ohio, my teacher made us read a book a week, and write a report. You never knew who she was going to call on, so you had to be ready. That first week, she took us to a wall shelf stacked with books. I scanned the titles and stopped at a spine that said, ‘Zane Grey’, and I thought ‘what’s a Zane Grey’? Well, I spent the rest of that year devouring his novels and this kid from Ohio got hooked on the Old West. I could see the Cowboys and Indians racing along red sandstone buttes in the Painted Desert. Good teachers could make all the difference then-and today.
How long have you been writing? Since I retired in 2013. Before my first novel, I used to jokingly say I was writing a book. I had all the pages numbered, all I had to do was fill them in. Little did I know then how much work it is to complete and polish a story. I’m not a disciplined writer, either. I find snatches of time to flesh out my current scene, but often spend days percolating on where to go from here.
Why do you write what you write? Contemporary, paranormal, suspense, etc. Interesting question. I’ve thought about that at length, as I write in what is more or less a niche genre, traditional westerns with a dash of mystery and romance. I’ve always been drawn to black and white things, more so than shades of gray. In the Old West, there were things you were supposed to do, and things you weren’t. If you did wrong, consequences were often immediate, and sometimes severe. Even the bad guys knew where the line was, something that’s been blurred over the years. Many places had no law except The Code of the West, which reflected timeless values we could use more of today.
What’s your approach to writing? Are you a plotter or follow your characters flow (Pantser)? Lord help me, Tena, but I’m a pantser. I’m thinking of writing a non-fiction work titled, The Perils of Pantsing. Not really, but while it’s easier to start a story by pantsing, I’ve found it often gets tougher the deeper into the story I go. I always have a 50,000 foot idea of what happens overall, but a lot of times I find myself wondering what happens in the meantime. We all write at the 5,000 foot level. ‘What happens now’ is my often unwelcome visitor. That’s when I wish I was a plotter. But, with only the most general outline, that allow my characters to do lots of unexpected things. Twists and turns are part and parcel of being a pantser, although I know plotters often encounter surprising happenings along the way, too. And I don’t even want to talk about how hard it is to polish a pantser story. Having said that, though, that’s what seems to work for me

Oh Mike, being a pantser myself, I know exactly how you feel. I’m writing along and all of a sudden a character takes a 180 degree turn and is off and running away with the story. Only choice you have is to follow him/her see where it leads. LOL

SPEED ROUND FOR A LITTLE ADDED FUN:

Speed Round (one word only answer): Yep, I know torture for a writer!<evil laugh>

Favorite movie: The Natural
Favorite book: My next one
Last book read: Battle Cry of Freedom
Favorite color: Hmmm
Stilettos or flipflops: Hiking boots
Coffee or tea: Beer
Ebook or audiobook or paperback: Paperback
Pencil or pen: Pen

Favorite song: Anything by Karen Carpenter

Streak or not: Um, no

Favorite dessert: Banana split

Favorite junk food: Ginger Snaps

Favorite thing to do to relax: Read anything by Tena!

Champagne or gin: Bourbon

Paranormal or Historical: Historical

Wonder Woman or Top Model: Wonder Woman

Favorite TV show: Yellowstone

Hot or cold: Hot

POV: Third close

I’d die if I don’t have: Ice cream

Review or Not: Review

A little about A Score to Settle:

Broken after his family is murdered, rancher Del Lawson signs on to a cattle drive along the Goodnight Loving trail in 1870, unaware he’s still in danger. When he falls for a pretty Army nurse, the killers target her.

If he’s to recover from his grief and build a new life, Del must set out on a gritty hunt for the men who are hunting him.

Meanwhile, Del’s mother, Maybelle, doesn’t know her son survived that murderous night. When she discovers the gold the killers are after, she uses the treasure in an elaborate masquerade to take the murderers down.

Will mother and son’s plans reap justice-or destroy what’s left of the Lawson clan?

A peek between the page of A Score To Settle:

“Tell me your story, Del. We got time.”

Del tried to piece the last few days together. He told Sonny about leaving Rose and—

She interrupted. “That your woman?”

“If she’ll have me. If I ever see her again.” He told her about the search to find Tyson. Riding through Santa Rosa, the trickery about Lost Creek, Potter’s ambush south of town amid the sandstorm. Riding for Wilkins’ ranch and Shade being played out. The desperate walk to find Sinola in the dark.

“You’ve had quite the adventure, Del Lawson.”

Buy Links: Amazon Goodreads Bookbub Books2read

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Torreano has a military background and is a student of American history and the Old West.

His debut western mystery, The Reckoning, set in South Park, Colorado, in 1868, was released in 2016 by The Wild Rose Press. The sequel, The Renewal, also in South Park, 1872,was released in 2018. His latest western, A Score To Settle, will be released October 21, 2020, also from The Wild Rose Press. He has a coming-of-age novel, Fireflies At Dusk, set during the Civil War, and his short story, The Trade, a tale of the Yukon Gold Rush, was his first published work in 2014.

Mike’s written for magazines and newspapers for many years. An experienced editor, he’s taught University-level English and Journalism. He’s a member of the Historical Novel Society, Pikes Peak Writers, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Western Writers of America and several other western writing groups. He brings his readers back in time with him as he recreates life in mid-to-late 19^th century America. He lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, Anne.

Website: www.miketorreano.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/miketorreano

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mike-Torreano-Author-107581914412283

It’s been great having you with us today. Good luck with A Score to Settle!