House Edge by Paty Jager

Paty Jager is the award-winning author of 53 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. House Edge is the second Spotted Pony Casino Mystery.

Dealing with justice and injustice

When Paty began this series, she knew she wanted her main character to work in the casino and for the murders to occur in and around that environment. She titled the series, Spotted Pony Casino Mysteries decided to use titles that are a play on words. “I decided to use gambling terms for my titles. I wrote a list of 13 terms down and started with ‘Poker Face’. I decided to use ‘House Edge’ for the second book. Working off the title, I wanted the murderer to possibly be the spouse. I needed a good reason to bring a group of people to the casino for a conference. I picked a controversial issue that has ramifications for Native Americans as well as everyone else, the breaching of dams in Idaho to help save the Native fish. From there I wrote down the murder victim, a list of suspects, and ran with it.” 

In general, Paty describes her books as dealing with justice and injustice depending on the premise of the story. “For the Spotted Pony Casino books, I chose a female disabled veteran who grew up on a reservation but is not Native American. The reason I made her a disabled veteran came about from my being part of a group of authors who put together bags of essentials for family members of military personnel in hospitals and rehab. I discovered how the men and women who put their lives on the line for us are forgotten when they come home scarred and injured. Their struggles made me want to shine a light on their plight. I write a lot of Native American characters to hopefully show that they are people with a deep sense of themselves and the earth. It has been centuries since we took their land and their culture from them. They are resilient and are gradually getting back their cultures and languages and persevering. I admire their strength and convictions and find solace in the way they see the Creator, creatures, and the earth.“

Getting the details right

Paty says she enjoys research and strives to be accurate about every aspect that isn’t the fictional story. “I have made friends with Nez Perce members to get historical facts accurate, I’ve traveled to the reservations where I place some books, and I try to find connections with anyone who has an occupation I use in my books.”

In fact, she jokes that she has her son-in-law, a State Trooper, on speed dial. “Actually, I usually either email or text him questions I come up with while I’m writing. It’s always how would the police handle this or what is the law about that? When I was trying to get more information about the Umatilla Tribal Police for this book, I sent an email to the contact on their website. It was about three weeks and I hadn’t heard anything. Then my son-in-law called and said he was at a conference with the Umatilla Tribal Police Chief and the chief was telling my son-in-law about this odd email that got passed on to him. He asked my son-in-law if he’d ever heard of a writer named Paty Jager. I now have the Tribal Police Chief’s email address. He answered several questions for this book.”

For her Gabriel Hawke Series, Paty did a day-long ride-along with an Oregon State Trooper with the Fish and Wildlife in the county where her series is set. “My character, Gabriel Hawke, is a game warden. The Trooper gave me ideas for books and a wonderful tutorial on all that they do. Then for the same series, I had a book that was going to be set along the Snake River in Hell’s Canyon, so I joined some friends jet boating the Snake River to get photos and a feel for the area. That was fun!”

Learn more about Paty Jager at www.patyjager.net. Did you like this interview? If so, click here to read more Behind the Story interviews from your favorite authors.