Page 61 - Reader's House Magazine Issue 48

The Medicine Line is a compelling tale of redemption and resilience. John Hansen masterfully weaves vivid historical detail with a haunting narrative, capturing the reader’s imagination as James Coumerilh embarks on a transformative journey through the rugged landscapes and turbulent times.
Your experiences as a wild- life biologist and wildland firefighter in the rugged landscapes of the West must have provided you with unique insights into the natural world and human resilience. How do these experiences influence the authenticity and atmosphe- re in your western stories?
Your passion for writing began at a young age and has continued throughout your life. How has your writing style and approach to storytelling evolved over the years, particularly now that you have more time to focus on longer works?
rough your characters
needing to resolve
a conflict or reach a
goal. Something the
reader can root for
but at the same time
it’s got to be belie-
vable, and morally
justifiable. In the case
of Phil and Martha, I
had to make Martha
enough of a sympat-
hetic character in the beginning so that her abduction would be
believable. However,
I still had to provide enough acrimony between her and Phil to plant a seed of doubt in the reader’s mind. With respect to my primary protagonist, I find it is often a moral balancing act between good and evil.
In The Outfit, Jake’s journey involves themes of lo-
yalty, justice, and personal growth. How do you balan- ce the historical accuracy of the western genre with the emotional depth and deve- lopment of your characters?
I invest considerable effort in researching the major events of the time in which any of my bo- oks are set. With respect to Jake, I was cognizant of the Victorian mores of that period in Monta- na. From the outset, Jake was intended to be a compassionate man. The ending of The Outfit, of course, presented him with a moral conundrum.
As a member of the Wes- tern Writers of America and the Western Fictioneers, how do you see the wes- tern genre evolving in con- temporary literature? What aspects of the genre do you feel are timeless, and which elements are being redefi- ned by modern writers?
Several years ago, I was at
a party and told a woman that
I had written a western novel. Her immediate response was, not what is it about or anything of that nature but rather, “Isn’t that a dying genre?” From what Westerns once were, I suppose
My experience in the outdoors has most definitely helped me create a more believable story. I try, as much as possible, in every scene or interaction between characters, to cause them to emp- loy one or more of their senses beyond simple recognition of a person or place. It is bringing
If I were to point to any one aspect of my writing and how
it has evolved for the better, I would say it centers on my emp- hasis of letting the character tell the story. Any time I see a page where a character has not spo- ken, either aloud or in thought, it raises a red flag for me. Another pervasive trait of my writing, regardless of the genre, is my protagonists are not invincible. I believe most everyone has a flaw of some kind in their character. Writing novel length works allows me to explore these flaws
she is correct. However, I do believe that the Western genre can survive if today’s writers are steadfast in historical accuracy down to the most minor detail and they have in-depth character development. I believe in the long run, the demographic of
the current Western reader will evolve to where they will insist on these metrics. And too, I believe an objective and balanced portrayal of Native and African Americans will be critical.
Your book, GRAYS LAKE, recently won the Western Fictioneers’ Peacemaker Award for Best Western no- vel of 2023. What inspired you to write it?
out these nuances that puts a reader there with your charac- ter. Whether it be the smell of campfire smoke or wind rushing through the tops of pine trees or
in considerable detail. Through the course of the book I try to allow the character to bring a successful resolution to feelings of guilt or sel- f-doubt. But above all, I realize the necessity of maintaining a story arc. It is like a plane taking off. Lots of thrust to
John Hansen captivates read- ers with his authentic storytelling, rich character development, and profound in- sights into the human experience.
the rattle of aspen leaves or the squeak of saddle leather in time with the gait of a horse, these things all help to put the reader in the scene.
With respect to fighting fire, that experience has significantly shaped my perception of what constitutes a physical challenge. And too, the mindset of those who meet that challenge and those that don’t. Again, my expe- rience has better equipped me to describe the nuances of extreme fatigue, sleep depravation and the discomfort of going without
a shower for a week or more. I drew on my experiences in fire when I wrote IN PURSUIT OF GLORY. This book dealt largely with Roosevelt’s Roughriders and the rigors of fighting in the Cuban jungles. Extreme physical exertion and working as a cohe- sive unit were definite parallels between fire and the war.
get airborne. Once there, the ex- pectation is a pleasurable flight until you land. Engine failure a hundred pages into the book is not an option.
I guess the genesis for writing GRAYS LAKE came about one day when I happened to be thin- king about my great grandmother who single-handedly captured three bank robbers that came
The relationships betwe-
en your characters often drive the plot, such as the friendship between Josh and Seth in A Bad Place
To Be, and the tumultuous marriage of Phil and Martha in Hard Times. How do you develop these complex rela- tionships, and what do they reveal about human nature?
As far as developing complex relationships, I rely a lot on what I read and my life experiences. People are predictable just as much as they are not. Integral to this, however, is the overriding need to tell a compelling story. Reader interest is generated th-
to my grandparents’ ranch near Grays Lake, Idaho. She locked them in the root cellar and waited for my great grandfather, who was away with the posse, to come home. With this event in mind, I thought of Josh and Sarah from A BAD PLACE TO BE and what their lives might be like after escaping the wickedness of Montana for a ranch in Idaho.
It seemed natural to insert them into the roles of my grandparents and then let my imagination go to work. It was an enjoyable book to write that turned out very well.
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