Amici:
This week Greg Shepard and I signed for another original Stark House Press publication ... Rough Riders will be a 12-year gap sequel to my very first two novels (Eddie’s World & Jimmy Bench-Press) featuring my boxer turned Police Detective, the quick-fisted, Alex Pavlik. There are a few other characters from those novels making appearances in Rough Riders, including Alex’s former partner, Dexter Greene, but this go, Alex has been retired from the NYPD (forced out after Jimmy Bench-Press) and is now a private investigator. When Eddie Senta and his on-again, off-again former wife (also characters from Eddie’s World) are nearly murdered in their Port Washington home, Alex is asked to investigate.
Because one of the assailants in the attempted homicides remains in a coma and had left his identification in his wallet, the job takes Alex to the outrageously cold (and wonderful) state of North Dakota, where the city of Minot is having its own issues with drugs being smuggled through the Air Force base (coming from Afghanistan) and a sudden rash of murders. There’s an ex-Gulf War sharpshooter on the Minot Police force, his ex-girlfriend (an ex Miss North Dakota), an unscrupulous doctor with violent plans of his own, a few other lowlifes and miscreants and a familiar government protected witness with a new name who is once again playing outside the rules of his deal with the feds.
I’ve always referred to Rough Riders as my North Dakota novel. It’s where I originally attended college on a football scholarship and was introduced to writing and education in general by my mentor, Dave Gresham. I thought up the title from Teddy Roosevelt’s crew (the one that took that famoso trek up San Juan Hill). Teddy’s national park is in North Dakota) but then I found this via research. Considering the Bismark prison is used in the novel, how cool is that?Hey, you’ll even get recipes for Kumla in this one ...
Speaking of Minot ... I lifted in a few meets way back in the day and even wrote an article for our school paper (the Red & Green) loaded with spelling mistakes, etc., but ... some of the guys I lifted with (were introduced to through native North Dakota players on the football team) were the real thing (world class weightlifters). You can find them here at Magic City Muscle. Gary Clock & Brad Weber were (and remain) pretty amazing lifters ...
We’re excited at casa Stella ... excited to be working with Stark House once again and ... as of today, my beloved New York State Buffalo Bills have yet to blow the number 3 draft pick.
— Charlie
North Dakota rocks!
