This week on BOOKCHAT we welcome Bruce Wilson. Bruce is a graduate of California State University-Fullerton and Western New Mexico University, where he currently teaches American History. His recent novel No Place That Far is the follow-up to his 2016 debut Death in the Black Patch.
When were you happiest?
Now. I’m healthy, teaching, writing, and in love with a beautiful woman.
What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
Bourbon and reading…sometimes all at once.
What’s the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Inattention.
What’s the trait you most deplore in others?
Stupidity.
What’s the most important lesson life has taught you?
To take the blame and share the credit.
What book(s) are you reading now?
Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard (third time).
What books might people be surprised to find on your shelves?
A lot of Shakespeare tragedies.
Which writers working today do you admire most? Why?
My younger brothers, Chas and Howard. They’ve taken up writing short stories in their sixties and show keen talent.
Which genres do you read? Which do you avoid? Why?
Read: suspense, mystery, and history (for their “escape” value). Avoid: Bodice-ripper romance (just not interested).
What book(s) “should” you have read but haven’t, or what “classic” couldn’t you finish?
I never read Paradise Lost.
You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?
That’s easy: John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, and Stephen King.
Tell us about your latest book in no more than 50 words.
No Place That Far is historical fiction that takes place in Memphis, El Paso, and Bisbee in 1908 and tells the tale of a man on the run…from his evil deeds and from himself.
Where can we find this book?
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Silver City Book Store, O’Keefe’s, Jumping Cactus Coffee Shop, The Market Place and every Saturday morning at the Maker’s Market. [Editor’s note: the Maker’s Market has closed temporarily due to virus case numbers, as stated in their Facebook post here.]
