An Intensely Interesting Man, Randy Attwood

Randy Attwood author of Tortured Truths, and many more, is the focus of today's blog. He is an author who uses his knowledge and experience to write extremely compelling novels.






Tortured Truths by Randy Attwood is a suspense thriller starring Phillip McGuire a journalist who has recently escaped the claws of his middle eastern torturers. In bad shape both physically and mentally he pursues a simpler life and leaves his journalism background behind although not completely. He returns to his hometown in an effort to heal and live a simpler life, getting back in touch with old friends and opening a bar. He soon finds a mystery that needs resolving as people begin turning up dead.

The plot thickens and excitement ascends to a shreaking climax with every word in this thriller. Gruesome and colorful text flows into a string of scenes that coalesce inside the reader's mind with each turn of the page.Character's are vividly displayed through dialogue and narrative giving the reader a sense of being in the thick of the action.
A well written and most definitely stinging suspense thriller that is a must read!
Tortured Truths

Review Heart Chants

Heart Chants by Randy Attwood is an enticing novel rich in Native American lore and steeped in mystery. Packed with intrigue from the start Phil McGuire is back, and with cracked ribs as he threw himself into the hands of three Chinese men to save a beautiful Chinese damsel in distress, Hsu Chi. As he lays recovering in bed two Native American girls go missing and as a favor to a friend and assistance with his recovery another Native American girl Zoonie comes to stay with him. Hsu Chi finds him as well and a love affair sparks between them. While Phil is recovering with the aid of two beautiful women a young half white half Navajo man, self proclaimed Ko-yo-teh, is following the vision of his grandfather to rid the land of the white people. Increasing suspense builds as the reader is plunged into Ko-yo-teh’s world and Phil assists in solving the mystery of the missing girls. The elements within the novel merge together as the developing plot becomes progressively more compelling for a riveting, unforgettable, and unsuspected ending.

The amount of research and knowledge of the Navajo poured into this story is incredible. Randy Attwood spared no expense so to speak as he lavishly and with great respect brings forth the mystical Navajo legends and thought. There is also an acceptance as in the first segment of the Phil McGuire series of peoples of varying cultures. In this novel Randy Attwood brilliantly entwines mystery and suspense with a twist of Native American history which is truly the humble beginnings of American history unknown to most.

The written words in Heart Chants flow with ease keeping the reader always turning one more page seeking the treasures and secrets each offers.  Randy Attwood has an unflawed ability to create characters that capture the reader’s attention; one may find themselves both loving and hating even the most despicable misguided personalities. From beginning to end Heart Chants is an exciting novel that is in my opinion arguably one of the best releases of the New Year.

Heart Chants is an impeccably written novel with a truly unique plot that is truly a must read.

Interview with Randy Attwood

Elle: Tell a little about yourself.

Randy: The first half of my adult career was working in newspaper journalism as reporter

and then managing editor for papers in Kansas. The second half was in health care public relations.

Elle: What is your latest writing accomplishment?

Randy: I'm making nice progress on a noir mystery with a female protagonist who is the manager/bartender of a strip club called The Fat Cat, which is the title of the work. I love its first sentence: "I hadn't seen that good-lookin' motherfucker for almost a year when he walked in with his partner to ask me about the dead dancer found that morning in our dumpster."

Elle: Tell us a little about any other works you have published or will be publishing.

Randy: My Goodreads stats are 21 works (novels, novellas, short stories), 4.38 average on 99 ratings with works added by 440 unique users.

Elle: How long have you been writing and how did you fall into it?

Randy: I've been writing since college, but didn't really create decent work until I was in my 40s. I'm now retired and love having the time to promote my work and create new ones.

Elle: Please tell us a little about your writing process.

Randy: I'm a pantser. Idea or opening comes to me and I pursue it. That that opening line to The Fat Cat. Now I'm getting to know my protagonist better. Ellie McCrary is quite a woman with quite a past.

Elle:  If a fiction writer, are any of your novels based on events in your life?

Randy: My father was a dentist at a mental hospital in Kansas and the state provided housing on the grounds. So I grew up on the grounds of an insane asylum. My first job was

in its cafeteria. They say write about what you know. My first novel, "Crazy About You" is a coming of age novel set in a mental hospital. It's my most downloaded and best reviewed work. So the setting is based on reality. When I was managing editor of The Olathe (KS) Daily News a horrific murder of two girls occurred and that inspired the very dark suspense work now published by Curiosity Quills, "Blow Up the Roses."

 

Elle:  What was the greatest challenge you faced with publishing your work?

Randy: I had always been against self-publishing and was having just about zero luck at getting published at all. I finally got an agent for "SPILL," a political comedy and editors at two different traditional houses told my agent to encourage me to self-publish. Kindles were just beginning to catch on. So I did and then decided to publish the other works sitting in my digital filing cabinet. My work connects deeply with many readers and that is a marvelous reward. "SPILL" I have unpublished because Curiosity Quills will publish that novel this summer.

 

Curiosity Quills has also published a work I had not released myself, "Tortured Truths," which is the first in my Phillip McGuire mystery/suspense series. The second, "Heart Chants," which features a half-Navajo, half-white character who believes he is a witch, should be out by the time this interview appears.

Elle:  Do you have a favorite author or book?

Randy: Too many to list.

Elle: Do you have any advice for other indie authors?

If you can stop yourself from writing, then stop. I tried a couple of times out of despair of not getting published, but I always found out I was more miserable not writing then I was and not getting published. I have many sides of myself I show to the world, to my wife, my family, my coworkers, my friends. I only feel integrated when I'm at work on a project.

Elle: What genre or genres do you write and why?

Randy: I'm all over the genre map from that political comedy to literary, to dystopia, science fiction, mystery, horror and dark suspense.

All Randy's works can be found here