 |
| Bestselling Amazon author Robert Thomas, a former Westland mayor, relaxes at his home state of Mississippi as he prepares for another day of writing his popular Western series. |
Former Westland mayor is bestselling Amazon author
Thousands of eager fans begin to get a bit edgy at the end of every month, awaiting the next adventure of their favorite Western hero, Jess Williams.
They haven't been disappointed in five years as former Westland Mayor Robert J. Thomas releases one more 200-page epic tale of the late 19th century bounty hunter who lives by his own, distinct moral code. This month marked the publication of the 100th book in the series, a milestone achievement for any author in any genre.
If that weren't accomplishment enough, Thomas is the number-one bestselling author in Westerns on Amazon Kindle and his series about the nomadic bounty hunter with a mysterious, futuristic firearm has inspired the devotion of a multitude fans across the country.
Thomas said he writes every day, without fail. He said he hasn't taken a real break from his writing in the past several years as the character and the stories consume him and his imagination just as they do his legions of followers.
Thomas, who served as mayor of Westland from 1990 until he retired in 2002, now writes from his home office, where he enjoys a view of the Gulf of Mexico. He and his wife, Jill, moved to their Mississippi home in 2012 and eventually began their own publishing company which she manages.
“Now, I work for her. She writes me a paycheck,” he said. His first books were printed in hard copy, but Thomas said his wife urged him to put the novels on Amazon where the popularity of the series soared to the top of the bestseller lists.
Thomas, now 70, began his career in Westland in 1970 after graduating from Wayne Memorial High School. He still remembers every elementary school he attended along with his time at Adams Junior High School.
He worked on his first book, How To Run For Local Office, from 1993 until it was published in 1997 and he admits, it wasn't the success he enjoys with his current characters. He tried writing in the adventure-terrorism genre too, but that character “just didn't take off,” he said.
The first book in the Western series introduces main character Jess Williams as a young boy whose entire family is brutally murdered. The boy vows to avenge his family's death and begins to teach himself marksmanship and fast-draw with his dead father's gun. Then, destiny brings him a futuristic pistol and holster, although such a weapon won't be developed for about a century, which adds a supernatural element to the series. Williams practices relentlessly until he becomes unbeatable on the draw, Thomas said. He leaves home transformed from a boy to a highly-skilled shooter with no reason to live except to hunt down and kill each of the three men responsible for the murder of his family members, using the mysterious pistol and holster that no one has ever seen before---and won't again for almost 100 years. He grows into a professional bounty hunter, traveling the country pursuing “the worst of the worst,” Thomas said.
Thomas' work included a great deal of research regarding specialized firearms and fast-draw competitions to add credibility to the anachronistic weapon that Williams' brandishes. These fast-draw competitions are still exceptionally popular nation-wide and have a huge following, Thomas said.
“These guys use specialized holsters, specialized weapons, and wax bullets to shoot at 15-foot targets. They can shoot out two balloons in ¼ of 1 second,” he said. Thomas had a specialty gun like the futuristic one wielded by his hero built for himself, perfectly balanced with a steel barrel inside and aluminum on the exterior. He said he has always been interested in the Western genre, and watched cowboy movies and read Western-themed books growing up.
“I tried to invent a different character,” he said. “There is a lot more action in these books because that's what I like to write.”
He described his hero as having no compunction about killing a killer.
“He only hunts those who are wanted dead or alive and are wanted for murder. He doesn't go after cattle rustlers,” Thomas said.
“He is a split character and there is a generous side to him, too. He could be the nicest guy you could meet if you're not a bad guy.”
Thomas said his character constantly wanders through the country going from place to place searching for wanted men, allowing for the introduction of other characters and new plot lines.
“He's an easy character for me to write,” Thomas said, noting that he has only occasionally been stuck on a plot development and then only for a few hours.
“The 1870s, 1880s, 1890s were a strange time. Guys had come from the Civil War and many of them just didn't stop shooting,” Thomas said. “It was a time of the law of the gun, if you didn't fight back, you ended up shot dead. It was a crazy time of life.”
The entire 100-book Jess Williams series is available on Amazon Kindle and fans can expect number 101 in, no surprise, just about a month.
