Bruce Borgos
The Bitter Past
DOSSIER: A Russian assassin in the Nevada desert? How do those two things come together for THE BITTER PAST? Are you the Russian they’re seeking?
BORGOS: A Russian assassin and the Nevada desert might seem like two things that don’t belong together, but consider that for at least ten years (the 1950s) and probably beyond that, the Soviets were working to find out everything they could about the U.S. nuclear program. It wasn’t just the Manhattan Project and Los Alamos. I simply imagined a scenario in which a single spy managed to compromise the Nevada Test Site and stayed behind after his mission expired. Upon learning he may still be alive sixty years later, the current Russian government dispatches assassins to find him.
DOSSIER: We all want to know exactly what kind of bribery and/or favors were involved in getting the Craig Johnson quote (of Longmire fame) on the cover of your book.
BORGOS: You’d have to ask my wonderful literary agent, Janet Reid, who emailed me one day to say Craig Johnson really liked my book. She’s a notorious prankster, so I was absolutely sure she was joking. I mean, there was no way Craig Johnson would have the time or the inclination to read my novel, right??? But it was true. As to what she had to give him, who knows? She is the Query Shark https://queryshark.blogspot.com/ so it’s possible she threatened to bite him!
DOSSIER: When and where do you write, and what kind of environment do you prefer? (Music/silence/closet?)
BORGOS: I do most of my writing from home or our cabin in the mountains of southern Utah, but I can do it in a school. I can do it a pool. I can do it here or there. I can do it…:) Sometimes I turn on a good movie soundtrack or have my playlist going full blast to give me the necessary emotional boost I need for a particular part of the story, but silence works just as well.
DOSSIER: Sheriff Porter Beck in THE BITTER PAST has an amazing inner dialogue, especially with his potential for romance. Is your inner dialogue as clever or effective?
BORGOS: Where do you think he got it??? It’s a great question, though. Some of the reviews I’ve received from women (a small percentage) have been slightly negative toward our friend, Porter Beck. But as you mention, his thoughts about the main female character in the book are just that. Thoughts. Inner dialogue. And he’s a man, unmarried and looking for a relationship. Everything romantic in the book is entirely consensual. And fun!
DOSSIER: You have two earlier self-published books, and THE BITTER PAST is your first traditional. You’re really on to something. What’s next for Porter Beck?
BORGOS: Shades of Mercy, the second Porter Beck mystery, should be out sometime in 2024. Porter stumbles into a deadly conflict that involves an old friend, a Mexican drug cartel, and a sixteen year old girl named Mercy Vaughn, who is not at all what she appears to be. I can’t wait to see the cover for this one!
Website: bruceborgos.com
Jeff Circle 