Radio Interview of Rich Ritter: The New Voice of the American West

I was recently interviewed by Jeff Brown on A Juneau Afternoon about my new book, The Perilous Journey Begins. You can listen to the radio broadcast through the following link. The interview begins at 37:00.

A Juneau Afternoon: Interview with Rich Ritter

Upcoming Events in Juneau

I have two upcoming events to announce:

Radio interview with Jeff Brown on "A Juneau Afternoon," Tuesday, March 1st at 3:30 pm (Alaska time). Jeff and I will discuss my recently published novel, A Perilous Journey Begins. This is the first book of Nor Things to Come: A Trilogy of the American West.

Book signing at the Senate Mall on First Friday in March. Look for me in the atrium between 4:00 and 7:00 pm. In addition to The Perilous Journey Begins, copies of Heart of Abigail and Toil Under the Sun will also be available for purchase and signing.

Please tune in to the radio broadcast or drop by the Senate Mall to discuss writing.

More Not Yet Famous Quotes (Not About Writing)

I decided to write some quotations not about writing. I hope that you can apply the lessons to every facet of your personal life. Actually, now that I think about it, you could apply these quotations to writing too—if you think about it enough.

“Always do your best. If someone doesn’t like it, the hell with them.”  —Rich Ritter

“If a parent tells you that you can do or be anything you want, understand that they are only experiencing a natural episode of rapturous delusion. If you are lucky, the episode will not last beyond puberty.”  —Rich Ritter

“If words have the power to hurt your feelings, you might remedy this personal shortcoming by spending more time with sarcastic people.”  —Rich Ritter

“The best lesson I ever got was to lose a Little League baseball game 27 to 4. I didn’t die. The sun still rose the next day. My family still loved me. And best of all, the coach showed up at the next game so that we could play again.”  —Rich Ritter

“Jerks are very important to your personal development. Do not retreat from them. If everyone was nice, you’d never amount to anything.”  —Rich Ritter

You may use these quotations without my permission, but only if you give me proper credit. Thank you.

Rich Ritter Books Webpage Now Up and Running

My new webpage, which was set up by the publisher, is now up and running. Please take a look at it when you find the time. You can use this link:

Rich Ritter Books

I look forward to hearing from you.

The Perilous Journey Begins on Amazon

The first book of Nor Things to Come: A Trilogy of the American West, is now available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback formats. You can use the following link to review and purchase:

The Perilous Journey Begins: A Magnificent Epic of Seven Tragically Entangled Lives

I have already completed the entire trilogy, so book two, Gathering of the Clans, should follow in approximately six months. That is, if I don't revise the galley five times as I did with book one.

Nor Things to Come: A Trilogy of the American West—The first sentence of the Prologue and first seven chapters of Book One: The Perilous Journey Begins

Prologue
San Luis Obispo, California
July 20, 1907

Azure eyes searching the distant sun-dappled hills above the polished rim of a porcelain cup, Muireall Anne Ravenscroft sipped green tea.

Chapter One

Dunnet Head Lighthouse, the Highlands of Scotland
April 1860

Gordania Sinclair twisted vigorously against the cool ground near a patch of heather until fresh grass slithered between her toes, bathing her feet in clean dew sparkled by the slanting light of a fresh morning.

Chapter Two

Shiloh, Tennessee
April 6, 1862

Manfred Herrmann slouched against the crinkled bark of an ancient hickory tree at the verge of a dense grove not far from the western shore of the Tennessee River and nudged the luminous petals of a fire pink with a black-powder-smudged finger.

Chapter Three

Nanjing, China
July 1864

Tseng Longwei—born of peasant farmers in 1819 in the mountainous region of Guangxi in southern China; educated in math, science, English, and the ways of Jesus by Baptist missionaries as a youth; hardened in the coal mines of Guangxi as a young man; swept away by the peasant revolt of Hong Xiuquan against the corrupt Manchu Dynasty in 1850; wounded by sword and arrow during the victorious advance of the Taiping Heavenly Army into the Yangtze Valley through the years 1851 to 1853; elevated to the rank of colonel and granted command of a full regiment during the disastrous and bloody Taiping march on Shanghai in 1861—walked.

Chapter Four

Fort Sedgwick, Colorado Territory
June 1867

Joshua Hotah patted the neck of his faithful appaloosa, then scratched the strong-willed animal along the base of her coarse mane.

Chapter Five

Sitka, Alaska
October 18, 1867

Roshan Kuznetsov, stinking of skinned sea otter and three months of unwashed tromping through the rainforests and waterways of Baranov Island, loitered unreasonably close to the polished double-B-flat tuba.

Chapter Six

Budapest, Hungary
May 1869

Csongor Toth delighted in the serenity of a spring afternoon as he strolled contentedly along the Széchenyi lánchíd above the sun-sparkled Danube River on his way to the Royal Hungarian University School of Law.

Chapter Seven

Salt Lake City, Utah Territory
May 1871

Priscilla Kimball—brown pigtails bouncing in the Saturday morning sun, white cotton dress swirling wrinkled across graceful legs, slender arms swinging in exuberant tempo—skipped urgently along the dusty edge of East Temple Street.