New Badge. Old Blood.
Nick Drake traded his past for the Sheriff’s star, but Harney County
doesn’t do election honeymoons. His tenure kicks off with a double
homicide staged as a murder-suicide—a lie Nick isn't buying. As he digs
into the crime’s rotting core, the rookie Sheriff finds himself fighting
a war on two fronts: a lethal learning curve with unproven deputies and a
political recall designed to bury him. In the high lonesome where secrets
kill, Nick must strike first and strike hard. Because in this office, the only
thing shorter than his term is his life expectancy.
Interview with Dwight Holing
Could you tell us about any research trips you took for this story? Which places did you visit, and what made them essential to your writing?
The Yellow Hair, like the entire Nick Drake series, is forged in the rugged terrain of Harney County, Oregon. I don’t just write about this landscape; I scout it. I’m out there in the wildlife refuges, on the ranches, and at the archaeological sites, absorbing the local cadence and the extremes of the high desert—from biting winters to searing summers. My stories are fiction, but they are grounded in a reality you can feel. Here, the sage scrub and steep canyons aren't just a backdrop—they are a catalyst for conflict, driving the tension as surely as the whitewater on a wild river or the heat between Nick and Gemma making love under a high lonesome moon.
What's the strangest thing you've ever had to research online for your book?
I introduce a character from the Jarai people, an indigenous group from Vietnam’s Central Highlands. My research into their culture revealed a motherlode of fascinating traditions. They’ve long been regarded as mystics by their neighbors, but their burial practices are perhaps their most striking feature. Rather than a somber mourning period, they hold weeks-long celebrations filled with music and dance. They construct a house for the dead at the forest’s edge, surrounded by wooden totems—including human figures in explicit sexual poses—representing the cycle of life. Once the festival ends, the tomb house is abandoned to the elements. When the forest reclaims the wood, the spirit is considered to have been released.
What research (history, mythology, science) goes into your world-building?
I believe the role of a novelist is to entertain as much as to educate. Drawing on my background in journalism, I take great pains to ensure factual accuracy, delivering research in a dramatic fashion that reinforces the world of the Nick Drake Mysteries. Because several recurring characters are Native American, I rely on a combination of oral histories, personal interviews, and academic texts. I also use contemporary resources provided by the Northern Paiute and Klamath tribes—such as online dictionaries and pronunciation guides—to ensure their beliefs and legends are represented with the precision and respect they deserve.
Have any of the people you've known, past or present, left a lasting impression on your writing journey? If so, we'd love to hear about a memorable experience that stands out to you.
The most profound influence on my writing journey was my grandfather, Dwight Mitchell Wiley. He was a master of the craft during the heyday of the Saturday Evening Post, back when readers waited for serialized installments with the same fervor we now reserve for Netflix drops. His transition to writing screenplays for Paramount—where he collaborated with the likes of Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler—brought the world of hardboiled noir into our family lore. Those stories of the Golden Age of Hollywood and the creator of Philip Marlowe were my gateway; they didn't just get me reading detective fiction, they convinced me that I could one day build a mystery series of my own.
Do you write in the same genre all the time?
I’ve spent the last twelve years dedicated to crime fiction—most notably with my Jack McCoul and Nick Drake mystery series—but my career has been anything but linear. Before turning to mystery and suspense, I wrote award-winning literary short stories and spent years as a freelance adventure travel and conservation journalist. My reporting assignments spanned the globe, from Alaska to Zanzibar, and those global experiences now fuel the grit and atmosphere of my mystery novels.
If so, have you ever consider writing in another one?
Absolutely. I recently revisited a historical Western I wrote years ago—a short story thick with the grit of the California Gold Rush. It’s got everything: complex characters, ruthless antagonists, and a landscape that demands its own voice. Expanding that into a full-length novel is a thrilling prospect. It’s an opportunity to invite my readers into a completely different, yet equally dangerous, new world, and I can’t wait to show it to them.
Which character, supernatural or human, do you enjoy writing the most and why?
While I inhabit Nick Drake’s skin to tell the story, Girl Born In Snow, known to most as November, is the one who keeps me grounded. She is a Northern Paiute elder—a dancer, a healer, and a medium who exists in the slipstream between the old ways and the new—moving effortlessly between the physical world, the dream world, and the spirit realm. November is easily the fan favorite—and I’ve learned not to mess with that. My readers have been very specific: if I ever kill her off, I’d better be looking over my shoulder. Their devotion to her is as fierce as the Paiute traditions she protects.
About the Author
Dwight Holing is the award-winning author of twenty books, including the
bestselling Nick Drake Mysteries and the popular Jack McCoul Capers. He is a
member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Western Writers of
America. He lives beside a coastal river in California with his wife and two
dogs who’d rather swim than walk.
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