Several persons have sent emails to Ralph through the "Contact" email address listed on this website. This page is to answer some of the questions those persons have raised.
Q: Do you really pay attention to these emails?
Q: Why do your books contain so much dialogue?
Q: How do you get the ideas for your books?
Q: Why are none of your books set in today's time period?
Q: Are your books historically accurate?
Q: Why do you write books that are so short?
A: Yes. When I received requests in these emails that I write more books in the "Crazy Runner" series, I wrote Crazy Runner - Trailblazer 1753 and Crazy Runner - Trailblazer 1754. That is the same reasoning behind continuing the Revenge series after Revenge III.
A: I have a theatrical background, so using a lot of dialogue is how I am comfortable writing. A friend suggested that by using dialogue the western books might be more easily adapted into movies, because there are not that many western movies anymore.
A: For my series, like "Johnny Ringo" or "Crazy Runner" or "Jack Slade" or "Fortune", it was easy. As I would be writing, ideas for other storylines/subplots would come to mind and I would keep those ideas in a file in the same folder as my books on that character.
For other books, I would first get an idea about the time frame (1750s, 1860s or 1880s) that I wanted to write about and then something I would see on television or read in a magazine or newspaper or hear in a conversation would give me an idea of how I wanted to proceed with that book.
Once I have that information and figure out how I want the first chapter to begin, the rest just seems to flow as I begin writing.
A: My two favorite times in American History are the Colonial Period (1750-1780) and the Frontier Period (1840-1890). Therefore, each of my fiction books is set in one of those time periods.
A: Up to a point, yes. I always research the weapons described and make sure that they are accurate to the time period of the book. I always research towns named in a book and make sure they existed at that time, whenever possible. In Rebel Love, the three generals names used are real persons who commanded the units mentioned and the real battles occured on the dates listed; however, what is listed as happening in those battles is fiction.
A: I found in my teaching career that many of my male students, when required to read a book, would pick the shortest book available in the library on a subject they liked.
Studies have found that persons who love to read are generally more successful in life than those who do not like to read.
A novel is book that is longer than 400 pages. A novella is a book that is from 100 to 399 pages. With the advent of the electronic books a new form of novella was begun called "Quick-Read Fiction" (i.e. short chapters and 50,000 to 60,000 words).
The answer is that I decided to use that format so that hopefully more teenage males would become interested in reading.