What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Frontier Vengeance (Frontier Series Book 4)?
Writing the Frontier Series has always felt less like creating stories and more like coming home to a place that lives somewhere between memory and imagination. Danny, Ben, Molly, and the others have become more than characters on a page—they’re companions on the long road, voices that speak up when the fire’s low and the night feels endless. Every time I sit down to write, it’s like pulling off the highway into Darwin again, dust on the windshield, the scent of pine and coffee in the air, and that vast Montana sky stretching out forever. The stories that began with Frontier Justice, Frontier Outlaws, Frontier Marshal, and now Frontier Vengeance have taken me—and hopefully readers—deeper into the rugged heart of the West, where loyalty, loss, and redemption are always waiting just beyond the next ridge. Each book has been a chance to explore the edges of what it means to stand your ground when the world pushes back, to find courage in the quiet places, and to remind ourselves that even the toughest hearts carry their own kind of grace.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Frontier Vengeance (Frontier Series Book 4), what would they be?
“The Man Comes Around” – Johnny Cash. Across the Frontier Series, Danny isn’t some mythic gunslinger; he’s a man who carries the weight of the land, the people, and the dead. But when trouble comes—and it always does in Darwin, on the Dead Horse Reservation, or in the far reaches of Montana’s backroads—he’s the one who walks straight into the storm. Cash’s song is about judgment, reckoning, and the moment when all debts come due. That’s the heart of the Frontier Series: In Frontier Vengeance, the lyrics feel almost prophetic. Danny faces killers who believe they’re untouchable, secrets worth millions, and crimes that rot communities from the inside out. And every time, when the dust settles, there’s Danny—hurt, stubborn, bloodied, and still standing. The Man Comes Around isn’t just a song for the series. It’s the sound of justice walking the high plains, slow and relentless. It’s the sound of Danny Coogan doing what needs to be done.
What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
My favorite genre has always been the Western—nothing beats those big skies, moral crossroads, and characters who carry the weight of the land on their shoulders. Right behind it comes science fiction, especially the kind that blends big ideas with gritty, human stories. I cut my teeth on authors like Craig Johnson, C.J. Box, and Tony Hillerman—whose Leaphorn and Chee novels inspired the Dark Winds television series—and their work shaped my love for mystery rooted in place, culture, and character.
At the same time, I’m a huge admirer of Frank Herbert. While most people know him for Dune, my personal favorite has always been The Dosadi Experiment. Herbert’s ability to weave political intrigue, psychological tension, and alien environments into a gripping narrative left a mark on me. In many ways, that blend of frontier grit and speculative imagination continues to influence how I write and the kinds of stories I’m drawn to.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
My to-read pile is stacked pretty high these days. I’ve got a new western mystery waiting for me—gritty, character-driven, the kind that feels like dust and danger on every page. I’m also working my way through a series of Southwestern crime novels, full of culture, landscape, and slow-burning suspense. And when I want something with real weight, I dive back into a sweeping historical trilogy set during the Civil War era—big books, big themes, and writing that reminds me why I fell in love with storytelling in the first place.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
There’s a moment in Frontier Vengeance when Danny Coogan steps into a stretch of high-country Montana that’s all heat shimmer, dust, and buzzing insects. The sun is dropping low, staining the ridgelines gold. The air is thick enough to taste, carrying the sharp smell of pine sap and the faint echo of something moving where it shouldn’t be. Danny finds a sign—subtle, easy to miss, something out of place against the scrub and river rock. It isn’t a clue so much as a warning. Not written in words, but left by someone who wants him to understand he’s getting too close. The kind of thing that makes the hair lift on the back of his neck.
The river murmurs beside him, deceptively calm, as the shadows deepen under the cottonwoods. You can feel Danny’s mind working—slow, steady, methodical—connecting what the land is telling him with what he already suspects. And in that stillness, as sweat runs down his spine, he realizes he’s just crossed the invisible line between tracking someone… and being hunted himself. It’s tense, sun-baked, and filled with that classic Frontier Series sense of creeping danger—justice simmering just below the surface, ready to boil over.
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
My quirky habit as a writer is that whenever I’m stuck—whether it’s a stubborn scene or a plotline that won’t cooperate—I get up and do something completely unrelated. I might clean the house, wrangle the dogs, mow the lawn, or head out for a run. Once I step away from the keyboard and let my mind drift, the answer usually pops into place on its own. Then it’s a mad dash back to the desk before the idea gets away.
Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?
Mount up and get moving—ain’t nobody else gonna ride your trail for you.
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
That duty, honor, and sacrifice win out in the end, even if the cost is high sometimes.
Michael Cardwell is the author of the new book Frontier Vengeance (Frontier Series Book 4)
Connect with Michael Cardwell
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