13,000 Cyclists, One Explosion—Who Gets Home? Author REYNOLD CONGER talks with Chris Dabbs

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[Music]

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Hello and welcome to author conversations.

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As usual, I'm Chris Dabbs

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Now today we're speaking with Reynold Conger,

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a about his thriller, a dangerous bike ride.

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Wow, the first book in the Richard Tracy series.

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Now, Reynold is a chemist and an engineer

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who spent much of his career working in the paper industry.

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His work eventually took him around the world

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as an international consultant,

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helping paper mills in different countries.

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It was during those long periods away from home,

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often as you'd expect,

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staying in hotels with little English language television,

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so you were a bit bored Reynolds, I get it,

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that you began writing fiction to entertain yourself.

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After his industrial career,

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he spent eight years teaching secondary school math and science.

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Now fully retired,

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he lives with his wife in rural New Mexico,

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where he runs.

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That's quite good.

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Gardens keeps bees, I'm really interested in that,

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and continues to write books, of course.

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A dangerous bike ride, by the way,

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I'll give you a little bit of diesel

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before we actually meet up with Reynolds.

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Follows Richard Tracy,

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a 70 year old retired detective and marathon runner.

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Now, Richard's adult children persuade him as they tend to do

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to join them on the Texas MS-150,

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which is a two day charity bicycle ride

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from Houston to Austin.

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He expects well, saw muscles, family time,

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and perhaps a little embarrassment,

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of trying to keep up with thousands of experienced cyclists.

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Yeah, not surprising.

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- Jesus, a runner and not a bicycle.

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- I know, I expect it to be running, right?

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Or a marathon or something.

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Anyhow, right?

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So instead of that, though,

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an explosion transforms the ride into a dangerous rescue mission.

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Along the way, Richard meets Mary Beth Austin,

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a retired chef, gardener, serious cyclist, and a widow.

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Now, I could go on and give more spoilers away,

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but I don't think that's the idea.

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We'd rather meet up with you.

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So Reynold, welcome to Author Conversations.

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How are you?

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- Well, thank you.

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And I might add, who would expect

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that a retired detective and a retired chef

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could get into trouble?

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A trouble for them.

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- Hey, that's always good, though, right?

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So this thing, all right.

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So the inspiration for this novel,

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it came from a striking sort of real life moment, didn't it?

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After the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, I think it was.

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- Yeah, it's a one of the 10s.

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- Yeah, tell us about that.

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- Several people were killed or injured.

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And injured seriously.

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Well, about a week after the bombing,

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my wife and I studied in Austin, Texas,

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washing bicycles, cool,

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but that was the finish of this MS-150 bike ride.

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We had been informed by a telephone call

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from my son, cell phone,

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that they were expected to be passing

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in about five minutes.

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Well, of course, everybody had on their mind

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the Boston Marathon bombing.

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And my writer's brain says,

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"God forbid could that happen here?"

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We got 13,000 bicycles,

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and all these crowds of spectators could that happen?

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Well, probably yes.

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And my mind started writing the story.

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- I know, it is a good point though, isn't it?

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I mean, this is the thing.

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These things can happen wherever there's large groups

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of people, I suppose, but yeah,

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if you're actually standing somewhere,

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so soon after that event in Boston.

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Okay, so how did that moment then develop

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from a disturbing thought like that

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into the story then of a dangerous bike ride?

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'Cause it's not just about a bike ride, is it?

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The MS-150 is, you know,

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it's just not simply a convenient setting.

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Well, I mean, it's an embarrassing moment for Richard

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because he meets this beautiful Texan lady

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and she's in trouble.

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She needs help, and so he helps her with her bicycle.

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And from there on, they ride the rest of the way together.

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Tell there's a big explosion.

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- Okay, so why the cycling there?

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Well, I mean, is that a special thing

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within that, is that just because he helps her with the bike?

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You know, did you want readers to understand

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about the charity side of the bike ride

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so that you could sort of promote it in a way?

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- Well, the charity side is they're trying to raise money

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for multiple cirrhosis research.

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And that year they had close to 14,000 bicycles riding in it.

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And so one of the odds that you're going to meet

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the love of your life, just riding a bicycle.

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And it's a two day event, right?

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So that's quite interesting.

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I mean, have you ridden that, ridden that?

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So you mentioned that you want to, you're someone's done it.

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- I'm a runner.

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I like Richard, I say, I don't ride in those things.

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But my son was in them for about five years.

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My daughter joined him for four of those years.

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And every year we would go down to Texas

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and we'd stay a night or two in my son's house in Houston.

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And then we'd take off with our camp here.

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We would camp and route and be ready back at the start

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and to the stadium to cheer them on, get them going.

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And we would then follow the bikers

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and stop where we think they'd be next

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calling them up on our cell phone and they'd say,

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"Oh, no, we've already passed there."

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Or we won't be there for another 15 minutes or thing.

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And so we would chase them the whole way.

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Then they were on a little team that a support crew,

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the support crew would stop at the overnight place

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in a fairgrounds.

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And we would stop and visit their campsite

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and usually get fed by the support crew

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that was feeding all these hungry bicycles.

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Then we would go on to our campsite, say overnight

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and the next morning we'd be back on the road

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trying to catch up with them.

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Yeah, I can't get it.

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I mean, just go quick question on that

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because I've done a few long distance cycle rides like that

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in my time.

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How far is it?

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Is it 150 miles?

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150 miles plus people like my son

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can take the challenge route,

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which has another 20 miles.

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No, it's not.

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I'm sorry.

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You may as well, hey.

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You might as well take the extra route

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if you've done it with 150 miles.

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They probably don't want to stop at the end.

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I can imagine.

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Well, not on the other, but it's a very hilly section.

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So they get an extra distance and extra old.

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Well, brilliant.

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Okay, well, tell us about Richard Tracy then.

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I mean, he's 70 years old.

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So he's quite, I guess, brave going on this cycle ride, right?

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He's a retired detective at Widower

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and an experienced marathon runner,

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like yourself, I guess he's a runner.

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But, you know, I mean, he's saying that he's not a cyclist

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and yet will his son makes him do the 150 miles

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from Houston to Austin.

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What you did, you're in your shape of a marathon.

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You can keep up with him.

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You know, that works every time.

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Exactly.

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Oh my gosh, but Richard, you know,

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he's quite worried about his injuries, isn't he?

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And I'm familiar to be road cycling.

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He had scheduled to run, to run in the Duke City,

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marathon in Elba, curky in November.

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Now, this is only April, but that's when a marathon

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starts working out.

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So he has to be in shape by the early April

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to start running serious miles.

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And he doesn't want to break a leg or anything like that.

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And he'd be out for the year, right?

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At least, yeah, I mean, that's terrible.

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Okay.

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So what are trying to do then to the idea of an older hero

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beginning the story, you know, trying to be outside of his comfort zone?

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I mean, what made you think that is that something that you've experienced yourself?

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Well, for one thing to hear when is a little bit outside of her comfort zone,

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she may be bike enthusiasts, but she's riding an ancient six-speed,

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show it a three-speed, show in bike,

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not in her grand order, but I was lensing her road bike because the other, the, the, the

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the swing is not suitable.

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And she claims to be the same age as Jack Benny, 39.

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All right.

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Is that a gag that Jack Benny always said he was 39 today?

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He always was.

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And he and he was always celebrating 39 on, on a national TV.

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And, but here's the point, she is retired, chef.

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So obviously she's, she's like Jack Benny, she's cheating a little bit on the 39.

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Yeah.

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Must be exactly.

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Retired, chef.

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Hang on, was it at 39?

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Yeah.

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Okay.

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So that's amazing.

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So let's talk a bit about Richard then so that people can get an understanding about him.

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So he spent many years in law enforcement, right?

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That's right.

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And 20 years, I believe, right?

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I don't really put a number of years there.

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I just say at one point his son says when he says I might have somebody shoot at me, he says,

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oh gee, dad, it's been 20 years since you've been in law enforcement.

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And you said most of those people are either dead or in jail.

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So that's where you might got that, that I've gotten the 20, but I've left it sort of indefinite.

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All right.

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So it could have been longer actually if you're saying, you know, for those people in jail

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a little bit.

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Well, it's hard to say it.

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I mean, return.

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Most people work mainly until they either get injured or until they reach a retirement age

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where they can retire with lots of money and compared with their working years and enjoy

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themselves as retiring.

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Yeah.

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No, totally, totally.

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So how did you approach sort of writing the habits and instincts of a detective then

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who's left that profession?

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But you can, but you'd never really, obviously he'd never stop thinking like a police officer,

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right?

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And then he'd get into the mind of that and start writing it like that because obviously

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I have a close friend who, at least for a while, was was a sergeant of detectives for his

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police department.

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He's now the assistant chief.

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And so I pick his mind every now and then.

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So that's good.

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Well, at least you had a source then.

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You could actually find out from no brilliant.

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Okay.

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So let's talk about Mary Beth Austin and about her.

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You've already mentioned, of course, that she's a jack bany age of 39.

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And what they meet up at a rest stop of the cycling ride, I guess, right?

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You know, bicycles, especially the road bikes and the racing bikes, have very narrow, hard

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to sit on seats.

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And he's hurting by the time he has to rest up one.

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His rope hurts.

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And so he stops just to get off the bicycle.

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And he also needs to go into the porta potty.

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Well she's in line in front of him in the porta potty.

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And she's crumpling because she's on what she calls peepells for her high blood pressure.

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And she stands around and he says, "Well, you go ahead of me."

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And so they meet.

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And so they each get on their bikes and get going and a power mile down the road.

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There she is on the side with a flat.

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She's struggling to fix it because the wrench she has doesn't work and so he stops.

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Fortunately, his son is put a better side of the wrench is in the toolkit and between

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the two from the get on the road and ride side by side from there on.

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So that's actually quite a nice way to meet, isn't it?

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So that's good.

257
00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:21,320
I suppose really one of the main things about this is that she's quite complicated anyway,

258
00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:22,320
isn't she?

259
00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:25,760
And she's got a bit of a painful history, probably more than Richard.

260
00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:28,440
He just thinks she's some sort of happy, go lucky person, right?

261
00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:29,440
Well, yes.

262
00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:36,680
I mean, he recognized she's older than 39, but she's almost beautiful enough to look 39.

263
00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:41,080
So he's attracted, after all, he is a wetterer.

264
00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:47,480
And there's always a chance of something to snap in there sitting on fire.

265
00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:50,680
And so, and she's got a complicated one.

266
00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:58,320
She was sort of a, she says, says to Richard, your counterparts in law enforcement had a lot

267
00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:00,560
of business out of me when I was a teenager.

268
00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:07,600
They were always arresting me or sending or escorting me home to my parents.

269
00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:16,640
And it turns out her boyfriend at the time married her in this during the Vietnam era and

270
00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:21,120
he got shipped out, eventually came back with the Ed Wound, who was never the same after

271
00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:22,120
that.

272
00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:29,840
So she divorced him, got a job as a cook, turned into a chef, and finally married the owner

273
00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:33,680
of a restaurant she was being a chef for.

274
00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:39,480
And so, and he eventually died, but at least they had some children and she has grandchildren

275
00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:40,680
in the whole works.

276
00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:41,680
Nice.

277
00:13:41,680 --> 00:13:42,680
Okay.

278
00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:45,280
So between these two then, obviously older.

279
00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:50,880
I mean, did you really try to sort of challenge the idea that most books have that romance and

280
00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:55,400
adventure belongs to mainly younger characters rather than older people?

281
00:13:55,400 --> 00:14:02,720
Not on purpose, but I guess being an older person who, well, actually, I've got a wife

282
00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:05,040
the same age as I am.

283
00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:09,840
And we're deeply in love and we don't need to be in love.

284
00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:12,680
So, I go on that basis.

285
00:14:12,680 --> 00:14:15,880
Well, yeah, exactly right.

286
00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:17,480
I applaud that.

287
00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:18,800
That's very true.

288
00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:20,400
It doesn't matter what age you are, does it?

289
00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:22,840
You know, you can still love.

290
00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:23,840
So, okay.

291
00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:27,440
So we've set up that side of things for the book now.

292
00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:35,200
Now, the other side of the book where it kind of moves on after this is quite, you know,

293
00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:38,720
when I read about it, I was like, wow, this is amazing.

294
00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:44,400
I mean, you mentioned Vietnam earlier, but what's going on with this other pilot and where

295
00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:45,800
it all goes from that?

296
00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:47,040
It, please tell us.

297
00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:56,120
Well, it turns out that that Mary Beth's husband is still alive and confined to a military

298
00:14:56,120 --> 00:15:00,720
hospital because of his head wound and his paranoia that goes with that.

299
00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:08,200
Now, I happen to have met at least met several Vietnam veterans.

300
00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:12,800
At least one of them was very seriously paranoid.

301
00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:19,800
And I can, he wasn't the type they would have gone along shooting up bicycle rides, but

302
00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:24,640
I, something made something more serious, could have tricked him, I guess.

303
00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:30,000
And, but at this point, his main problem is he had been a tonal rat.

304
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,680
And he just never recovered from that.

305
00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:37,120
Well, no, I can imagine that that's, that's something.

306
00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:43,560
So I cook up a villain, actually a group of villains that are suffering from paranoia over

307
00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:45,280
the Vietnam War.

308
00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:51,680
And as a resort, so I'll do some rather extreme things that make the book exciting.

309
00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:53,640
Well, no, okay, exactly.

310
00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:58,000
So, you know, they're sort of the way that they, they're together, aren't they?

311
00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:03,360
And they're, they kind of deal with the world through the memories of combat.

312
00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:07,080
And I think, you know, there's a lot of suspense here, but we have to say something about

313
00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:10,760
how, they see the cyclists, don't they?

314
00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:15,080
Well, okay, they, they are not sure what year it is.

315
00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:17,400
They think they're back in the 60s.

316
00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:19,600
They're not sure what country it is.

317
00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:22,120
They think they're back in Asia in Vietnam.

318
00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:28,080
And they're only hope is that if they can walk far enough southeast, they'll eventually find

319
00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:29,360
friendly troops.

320
00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:34,680
Because they have escaped from, they think they've escaped from Vietnam hands and they're

321
00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:35,600
on their own.

322
00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:45,600
And so when they see 13,000 bikers that go on the road, what do they think?

323
00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:48,800
Ah ha, that's the whole Chi Minh Trail.

324
00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:50,800
Yeah, well, they would, wouldn't they?

325
00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:52,400
I mean, yeah, exactly.

326
00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:58,440
Wow, it's an amazing way to think of things that, you know, that you've come up with that.

327
00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:02,960
So, you know, how did you approach those characters then without reducing them to just

328
00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:05,960
simple villains?

329
00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:06,960
I mean, you know, they would just go and shoot people or something.

330
00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:10,960
I guess you, you involve more of their own psyche and their own, you know, problems individually.

331
00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:12,960
That's what they're not real.

332
00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:19,960
They're not really just ordinary people anymore because they now have their psyche, their psychological

333
00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:22,640
problems, their head wounds, things like that.

334
00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:28,200
And they genuinely think they are fighting for the good old USA over in Vietnam.

335
00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:30,400
And they don't know their villains.

336
00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:34,400
They just think they're patriots doing their job.

337
00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:35,400
Absolutely.

338
00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:43,720
How is the book move on then from Mary Beth and Richard meeting to basically the guys see

339
00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:46,320
all the cyclists and thinking that it's the whole Chi Minh Trail?

340
00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:47,640
What happens next?

341
00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:55,880
Well, the, the, the appointment for this platoon runs across all these bicyclists.

342
00:17:55,880 --> 00:18:01,280
And of course, the conclusion they have is we have to, we have to get payback for our

343
00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:04,200
friends that are getting out in the rice patties.

344
00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:05,720
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

345
00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:11,440
I won't tell any more about that except that Richard is in a dish covering Mary Beth to

346
00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:12,440
keep her safe.

347
00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:13,440
Yeah, yeah.

348
00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:14,440
Okay.

349
00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:17,720
So, and Richard, I believe he ends up in hospital, right?

350
00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:24,320
Well, after then later as they're just finishing bang, a big bomb goes off.

351
00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:29,080
And Richard does end up in the hospital and Mary Beth ends up missing.

352
00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:35,640
Richard decides these can use his experience as a detective to chase her down and he does.

353
00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:38,680
It's the kind of story that you would never think of.

354
00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:44,360
But I think that I like the way that you've mentioned a few other things that, how the weapons

355
00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:49,320
come across, which makes it really sort of, I think come alive, but also make you think,

356
00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:51,200
I think this is the point, isn't it?

357
00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:56,640
And think about this could possibly conceivably happen, not just at a cycle race or whatever

358
00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:58,200
or a cycle ride.

359
00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:01,960
It could be anywhere in any kind of situation at the moment.

360
00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:05,160
Well, they know that in Boston, but for a different reason.

361
00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:06,160
Yeah.

362
00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:07,160
Well, totally.

363
00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:10,520
And it doesn't matter about people's political views anymore, does it?

364
00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:12,240
Because it can be any political view.

365
00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:19,320
In fact, today, I think a person is in danger of being either criticized or attacked physically

366
00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:22,120
just because their views are different from somebody else's.

367
00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:23,120
Yeah, exactly.

368
00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:25,800
I mean, it's come down a lot, isn't it?

369
00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:28,720
That threshold, that barrier.

370
00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:30,560
But what did you actually want then?

371
00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:36,000
Because obviously we're going to think about what our readers, what your readers are looking

372
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:37,000
at.

373
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:43,360
What did you want them to feel, the moment that the story turns from the endurance ride and

374
00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:48,600
the sort of kind of love story, that kind of thing, into a rescue mission?

375
00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:50,320
What did you want them to feel?

376
00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:54,440
I wanted them to feel the risk and the danger.

377
00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:57,400
After all, Richard has found the woman he loves.

378
00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:01,280
He doesn't want to give her up, and he especially doesn't want her to hurt.

379
00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:07,480
So he has to find a way to find her and rescue her.

380
00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:16,280
And in turn, there is a chance that you can get injured during the rescue and marry

381
00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:22,280
Beth at one point does her best to keep him from getting shot.

382
00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:27,640
Did you actually start out with the idea of it being a thriller and a mystery kind of

383
00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:28,640
thing?

384
00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:32,600
And then I thought, "Hmm, actually, I'll put some romance in there and some family story

385
00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:35,880
and an adventure centered on older characters."

386
00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:39,520
Did it just come along as you were writing it?

387
00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,880
What did you start out with, the fact that you wanted to write an adventure with older

388
00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:43,880
characters maybe?

389
00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:48,280
Well, I started out with the bike ride and the romance part.

390
00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:52,120
Of course, in the back of my mind, I knew I had to have some excitement.

391
00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:58,840
So I had, we'll call them the lost platoon, any of the background, ready to go into action.

392
00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:02,120
I love that, I love that, the lost platoon.

393
00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:04,840
And then you kind of just wove it into the story, right?

394
00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:09,080
Authors, one reviewer has described the book as keeping readers on the edge of their bicycle

395
00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:10,080
saddles.

396
00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:11,760
I love that as well.

397
00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:13,640
Not just on the edge of their seats, right?

398
00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:20,080
My opinion as a writer is that it's hard to write a good story, at least fictional story,

399
00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:26,800
that doesn't have a romantic interest and some danger and things like that.

400
00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:27,800
Exactly.

401
00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:31,440
And you've been able to describe all of those things quite well, apparently.

402
00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:35,760
According to another, well, you know, your technical background helps you, doesn't it?

403
00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:38,240
To describe, you know, those complex things.

404
00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:43,600
Yes, well, in fact, the cover for the book is one that I made up.

405
00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:47,800
I couldn't get anybody to do what I wanted for a cover.

406
00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:54,040
So I just happened to have a picture that I'd taken of my two children, coming through

407
00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:57,920
to cross the line on the race they were in together.

408
00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:00,360
It's not raised to the right.

409
00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:09,120
And so I then took a graphics package on my computer and I made up this red and yellow

410
00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:15,480
explosion symbol sort of thing and put it in front of the bicycle tires.

411
00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:22,560
And one of my friends who himself as an engineer looked at the cover and read the book and

412
00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:27,360
says, "She, I've never seen anybody describe an explosion so perfectly."

413
00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:29,360
It shows you, doesn't it?

414
00:22:29,360 --> 00:22:30,360
Yeah.

415
00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:31,360
I can imagine.

416
00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:35,400
I haven't read that particular part, but now I'm going to because I wanted to see how

417
00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:36,400
technical you've done that.

418
00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:37,800
I bet it's brilliant.

419
00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:38,800
All right.

420
00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:40,800
But we're actually running out of time, man.

421
00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:42,520
I'm intrigued with Richard.

422
00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:48,520
You know, at the end of the day, as a, as an ex-police person, as we've said, or a sergeant

423
00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:54,480
or detective, his courage that he goes out to try and fight Mary Beth is, you know, obviously

424
00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:55,480
great.

425
00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:59,600
But it doesn't mean that these people are never frightened, does it?

426
00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:01,640
And I mean, this is the whole point.

427
00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:05,240
They are still frightened when they do all this stuff, but they just still do it, don't

428
00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:06,240
they?

429
00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:09,560
Is that something you got from your friend, for me, you know, from your source?

430
00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:14,640
Well, no, it's sort of the thing I expect from my characters in general.

431
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:19,760
This is the first book in a whole series about these two people.

432
00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:24,640
And Richard Tracey is a former marine officer.

433
00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:28,560
So he is very familiar with explosions and danger.

434
00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:32,600
But he is also seriously in love.

435
00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:34,960
And he wants a projector.

436
00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:39,560
And you know, too many of our young people these days equate love and sex.

437
00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:41,000
And they're not the same.

438
00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:47,040
And in fact, in my opinion, is wonderful as sex can be, and it's exciting.

439
00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:49,160
Love is actually stronger.

440
00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:56,560
And a love bond can encourage you to be adventurous on and courageous, where otherwise you might

441
00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:57,560
not be.

442
00:23:57,560 --> 00:23:59,000
Well, that's true, isn't it?

443
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:00,800
I think, yeah, you're right.

444
00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:02,120
There are two different things.

445
00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:03,400
And I think as we get older, I say.

446
00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:09,000
Not the best for your lover, but in order to do that, you may have a route after us, something

447
00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:12,240
maybe embarrassment or a bomb or bullets.

448
00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:18,280
So I need to know how much of Reynolds can be refined in Richard Tracey.

449
00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:19,760
Is he based on your Reynolds?

450
00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:26,080
To some extent, for example, my wife and I moved down to New Mexico about the turn of the

451
00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:29,400
20s of the 21st century year.

452
00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:33,080
And we bought an acre land in a nice house.

453
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:35,200
And like Richard, we're both carters.

454
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:36,800
And I keep bees.

455
00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:40,560
And we like to hike and camp and things like that.

456
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:44,920
So yeah, there was an awful lot of me and my wife in this.

457
00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:45,920
Which is lovely.

458
00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:46,920
I'm a little muslim.

459
00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:47,920
I'd like to see that with my wife.

460
00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:48,920
That'd be great.

461
00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:49,920
Okay.

462
00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,200
This is book one of a series.

463
00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:57,840
And my tagline there is, who would think that I'd retire in shape and retire to take it

464
00:24:57,840 --> 00:24:58,840
when you get in trouble?

465
00:24:58,840 --> 00:24:59,840
Oh, I think so.

466
00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:00,840
Oh my gosh.

467
00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:01,840
Well, this is it.

468
00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:07,720
So a dangerous bike ride introduces Richard Tracey, as you said, and begins a larger series.

469
00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:11,160
Now the later books, these are published already, right?

470
00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:15,880
But the last question on this and did you always know that Richard would return for future

471
00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:16,880
books?

472
00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:18,880
Of course, I've planted that way.

473
00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:19,880
Of course.

474
00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:28,040
I've sort of set up the concept of most of the later books before I even started this

475
00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:29,040
book.

476
00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:30,040
Okay.

477
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:31,040
So you organized, right?

478
00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:32,040
This is it.

479
00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:37,640
So I guess the later books continue the same mixture of mystery, danger, humor, romance.

480
00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:45,440
And in fact, in fact, the later books in book one, Richard is saving Mary Beth in book

481
00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:46,440
two.

482
00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:50,240
Mary Beth more or less has to save Richard and so on down the line.

483
00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:51,240
Okay.

484
00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:52,240
That's incredible.

485
00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:54,880
Considering they're getting older, unless of course you're doing it in flashback.

486
00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:55,880
I haven't.

487
00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:56,880
No, she's only 39.

488
00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:57,880
Oh, yeah, forget it.

489
00:25:57,880 --> 00:25:58,880
Yeah, that's right.

490
00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:00,880
Now you mention it.

491
00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:01,880
Yes, absolutely.

492
00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:02,880
Okay.

493
00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:03,880
Brilliant.

494
00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:10,640
So my final question then really is, what do you hope that younger readers take away from

495
00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:14,000
the relationship between Richard and his adult children?

496
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:18,520
Forget about his own little thing with Mary Beth, but what about his relationship with his

497
00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:19,520
children?

498
00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:21,440
Well, we go back to this.

499
00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:25,280
Love is not the same as sex.

500
00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:32,240
And we've got to get this younger generation thinking in terms of, do I love this person

501
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:35,080
or I just want to get in bed with him?

502
00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:38,320
And if you want to get in bed with him, that may be a lot of fun.

503
00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:44,600
But if you really, really love somebody, living with him and making sure they get the best

504
00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:46,920
you can do for is a lot more fun.

505
00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:47,920
That's fair enough.

506
00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:48,920
Yep.

507
00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:52,880
So if readers could remember just one truth then from a dangerous bike ride after finishing

508
00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:59,080
the book and putting it down again, what would you want that truth to be that they'd remember?

509
00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:07,520
Well, primarily that what you need to do is to be able to get your strength from a God

510
00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:13,840
such as Jesus, a God who loves you, a God who supports you and you get going from there.

511
00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:14,840
And there you are.

512
00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:15,840
Excellent.

513
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:16,840
Okay.

514
00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:17,840
So where can people learn more about you and follow your work?

515
00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:18,840
Are you online?

516
00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:19,840
Do you have a website?

517
00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:22,000
Yes, I have a website.

518
00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:23,320
I noticed my shame.

519
00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:29,560
I tried to Google my website the other day under Reynold Conger and you'd be surprised

520
00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:33,320
how many different websites have Conger or Red of the name.

521
00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:34,320
Other.

522
00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:36,560
Oh, excellent.

523
00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:42,480
But the book is being published by Ingram Sparks and I'm sure that they'll also put it

524
00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:44,640
on to Amazon as well.

525
00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:45,640
Well, that's great.

526
00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:46,640
Well, Reynolds Conquer.

527
00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:49,320
Thank you very much for joining us.

528
00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:54,760
And joining me, I've been really just make sure you wear a bulk profile duck when you read

529
00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:55,760
the book.

530
00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:56,760
Yeah.

531
00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:57,760
Yeah.

532
00:27:57,760 --> 00:27:58,760
Good point, actually.

533
00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:03,560
Well, thank you for joining us as a say and taking us behind the story of a dangerous bike

534
00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:04,560
ride.

535
00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:06,240
It's been a real pleasure speaking with you.

536
00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:09,440
And thank you to everyone listening and watching Author conversations.

537
00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:10,440


538
00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:13,800


539
00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:17,440
A dangerous bike ride is the first book in the Richard Tracy series.

540
00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:19,560
Look through your preferred book retailer.

541
00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:20,560
That could be Amazon.

542
00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:22,040
It could be anywhere online.

543
00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:26,000
And you can also visit Reynold Conger's website to learn more about the author and his

544
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:30,480
other books, which I believe actually is Reynold Conger.com.

545
00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:32,520
But you can have a look at that.

546
00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:37,280
Until next time then, hopefully we'll speak again Reynolds when the next book has come out.

547
00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:40,080
Until then, keep reading, keep writing.

548
00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:42,720
I'm discovering the stories.

549
00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:43,720
Brilliant.

550
00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:45,120
It's been lovely to meet you, Reynold.

551
00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:47,920
Have a great rest of the day and thanks very much for joining us.

552
00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:49,600
Well, thank you for inviting me.

553
00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:50,600
No problem until thanks.

554
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:51,600
Bye-bye.

555
00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:54,600
Goodbye.

556
00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:58,880
If you enjoyed this conversation, you can watch more author conversations here.

557
00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:08,880
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