Defiance Press: Rick, Gold Miner’s Daughter is clearly just the beginning of Wyatt’s story. You’ve mentioned that you’ve already written the second book and started the third. Where does the series go from here?

Rick Steeby: Double Sided Coin is written and I’m editing it now. Old characters return in minor roles while others move up in importance, and new characters join the cast. I made sure that none of the surviving characters from Gold Miner’s Daughter meet an untimely end, so readers can look forward to seeing their favorites again.

The great thing about writing a series set in Alaska is that the state is huge and offers so many different settings and challenges. Alaska has many places that are completely different from each other, plus there are always new cases to solve. My home was in Chugiak, Alaska, and the native residents referred to it as the Place of Many Places – that’s true for the whole state.

Defiance Press: How do you keep a series fresh over multiple books?

Rick Steeby: I learned something from Craig Johnson, who writes about Sheriff Walt Longmire in the smallest population county in Wyoming. He’s geographically limited, but Wyoming has four distinct seasons, which change the setting dramatically. His books take place in each season, and it expands time too, so the future keeps getting farther away.

Alaska has two seasons: winter and fishing season, also referred to as construction season. For that reason, complex cases in Alaska tend to drag on from one season to the other. I use time, character growth, and weather to keep things fresh. The seasonal changes in Alaska are so dramatic they’re almost like changing locations entirely.

Defiance Press: What time period are you covering in the series?

Rick Steeby: I’m currently working on the third Wyatt book, set in late winter, early spring, taking place primarily in South Central Alaska. My current storyline is in the spring of 1962. As a kid, the most significant occurrences I recall were JFK’s assassination in 1963 and the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake. Once my series hits that timeframe, I know the earthquake will have a profound impact on Wyatt and his family.

The 1964 earthquake was magnitude 9.2 and lasted over four minutes. It fundamentally changed Alaska, both physically and culturally. That’s going to be a major event in the series when we get there.

Defiance Press: How much of Wyatt’s character arc do you have planned?

Rick Steeby: As a pantser, I don’t have everything mapped out, but I know the general direction. Wyatt is a better man and a better lawman than he realizes, and fate has decided he has no choice but to step up or lose everything that matters to him. Amy becomes the catalyst that makes his recovery trajectory turn skyward and forces him to confront his demons.

The weight of his badge – that family legacy, the responsibility, the sense of duty – that’s going to be a continuing theme. Each book will challenge him in different ways, force him to grow, make him stronger and more confident in his abilities and his worth.

Defiance Press: What about the supporting characters? Will we see them develop across multiple books?

Rick Steeby: Absolutely. Amy, obviously, is central to the series. Her relationship with Wyatt evolves as they both grow and change. Dottie, the bar owner, becomes like a mother figure to several characters. Miss Gail with her mysterious past and sharp wit. These characters have their own stories to tell.

I also love writing short stories about things that shaped my characters’ pasts to understand them better. I share these with followers on my email list – they see them first as bonus content. It helps me develop the characters while giving readers more insight into what makes them tick.

Defiance Press: Any plans for spin-offs or related series?

Rick Steeby: I’m considering revisiting two other series I wrote before the Wyatt books. It won’t require all the work of a new series on top of what I’m doing now, and it presents possibilities for adding to those storylines later.

One I wrote as a trilogy and will probably leave that way. The other one, I already started spin-offs because the main character was getting too old to handle the physical abuse that comes with being an action hero. [Laughs] There’s only so much punishment a character can take before it becomes unrealistic.

Defiance Press: How do historical events factor into your series planning?

Rick Steeby: They’re crucial because they provide natural story catalysts and deadlines. The transition from territory to statehood, the building of the Alaska Highway, the oil pipeline, major earthquakes – these events shaped the people and the place in profound ways.

The 1960s were a time of incredible change in Alaska. The state was still figuring out its identity, its laws, its institutions. That creates opportunities for stories about people caught between old ways and new, about communities having to adapt to rapid change while maintaining their essential character.

Defiance Press: What’s your ultimate vision for the series?

Rick Steeby: I want to create what Louis L’Amour did with characters like Tell Sackett – characters so compelling that readers wait eagerly for the next book. I waited sometimes for a year or more for Louis to write another book with Tell Sackett in it. That’s my goal.

Success would be signing up to write a series and delivering those books with the intent of making each one better than the last. I want readers to finish each book wanting to know what happens to Wyatt and Amy next, caring about their relationship, invested in their future.

Defiance Press: How many books do you envision in the series?

Rick Steeby: I have more “what if” ideas than time to write them. I could easily write ten or twelve books following Wyatt from 1960 through the major changes Alaska experienced in the following decades. Each era brings new challenges, new opportunities for character development, new stories to tell.

I feel I can write enough to do as many as four books a year, although since I don’t need them to feed me, one or two good ones seems like a better target. Quality over quantity – I’d rather write fewer books that readers really love than pump out books just to meet a publishing schedule.

Defiance Press: Any hints about what’s coming in the immediate future books?

Rick Steeby: The third book deals in part with issues I saw firsthand working as a policeman in Anchorage, as well as what my cousin, a State Trooper, encountered. Back in those days, it was less of an issue than when I worked, and way less than it is today, but it was still there.

I’m excited about reaching 1964 and the earthquake. That’s going to test every character in ways they’ve never been tested before. Natural disasters have a way of stripping away everything superficial and revealing what people are really made of.

Begin Wyatt’s journey through a changing Alaska in “Gold Miner’s Daughter” – coming soon from Defiance Press and Publishing.