fiction Archives - Ron Franscell

‘Angel Fire’ was published 25 years ago today

“Reminiscent of Charles Frazier’s ‘Cold Mountain’ … Ron Franscell’s themes involve a fresh approach to our rural roots as a font for the elusive American spirit.” — USA Today Twenty-five […]

by Ron Franscell

Which is harder to write … true crime or crime fiction?

My true crimes like SHADOWMAN and THE DARKEST NIGHT are the product of old-school research and investigation. I’m an old-fashioned reporter who believes in first-hand, up-close sensory experiences that tell […]

by Ron Franscell

DEAF ROW

FINALIST in 2024 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards in Crime Fiction! Retired to a small Colorado mountain town, ex-Denver homicide detective Woodrow “Mountain” Bell yearns only to fade away. He’s failed […]

by Ron Franscell

Something novel

Unable to go out into the world during Covid, I turned inward. How could I use what I’ve learned in decades of true storytelling and journalism? How can I still write a provocative book without leaving the safety of my home and imagination? The answers changed the arc of my writing.

by Ron Franscell

Unfinished.

Once upon a time—which is how all worthwhile stories begin—I knew a man named Herman who had reached a moment when there was more of his life to look back […]

by Ron Franscell

5 Book Terms That Can Make You Sound Brilliant (or Stupid)

I’ve been astonished at the number of people who have expressed some trepidation about communicating with an author out of fear they’ll misuse a word (or never send fan letters […]

by Ron Franscell

Atticus Finch and the #MeToo movement

You know the story: A young lawyer named Atticus Finch is appointed to defend a black man against rape charges in Depression-era Alabama. His defense is vigorous, but ultimately futile […]

by Ron Franscell

20 years ago today, ‘Angel Fire’ was published

On this day—June 4—in 1998, a tiny publisher in an Alabama small town released a little book, a first novel by an unknown writer in Wyoming. It didn’t change the world but it changed the writer’s life. The little book was titled “Angel Fire.” And the author was me.

by Ron Franscell

Angel Fire

No. 74 among the 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century West San Francisco Chronicle A haunting tale of two brothers on separate odysseys of self-discovery. Twenty-four years after […]