'The journey is the purpose'

"When you're a writer, you're alwayslooking for conflict. It's conflict that drives great stories.”– William Kent Krueger

I first got to know St. Paul, Minn.-based mystery writer Kruegerwhen he would stop over to visit English classes at Augsburg University where I was teaching writing.  The first time I heard him wasshortly after he had Iron Lake, thefirst of his Cork O’Connor series, out on the market.  With his primary protagonist being half Ojibwe(the other half Irish) I was amazed to learn that he didn’t have any Ojibweblood, since he does a remarkable job of incorporating great detail about Ojibweculture into his stories. 
Krueger sets most of his tales in north-central Minnesota and now has 19 O’Connor mysteries plus many best-selling stand-alone novels (his most recent being The River We Remember).  He said he very much enjoys researching and writing about the Ojibwe.

“Readers anticipate that asignificant element of every story will be additional exposure to the ways ofthe Ojibwe,” he said. “The truth is that I enjoy this aspect of the work. Although I have no Indian blood running through my veins, in college I preparedto be a cultural anthropologist, so exploring other cultures is exciting tome.”                                                                 [image error] Born on Nov. 16, 1950, he was raised in Oregon and has an “Old West” vibe running through the way his lawman/privateinvestigator O’Connor operates, another wonderful element of his writingstyle.   As for advice tobeginning writers, he says,
“Write because you love thework not because of what might come from it. The journey is thepurpose. Very Zen-like, I know, but (for me) honest to God it's the truth.”