By Jeff Walker
San Marcos — Rich Mussler — a native Texan himself — very much enjoys the mystique that comes with life in the Lone Star state.
He celebrates such quirky people and their attitudes, along with the chaotic life of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, in his latest book, “Tales of the Twisted Texan.”
And no — as he is so often asked — the book is not about President George Bush.
The Flower Mound-based author will host a book signing for the collection of short stories from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Book Warehouse in the San Marcos Outlet Mall.
“The stories are about Fritz Hauser, who grows up in Tyler, and both his life as a DEA agent and the crazy Texans who influence his life and impact his work,” Mussler said. “He’s a typical Texan. He’s raised in a church family, and he’s very independent in his thinking.”
Mussler has been a story teller most of his life, writing screen plays and shooting short films as a kid, and later composing short stories. But those projects had spent decades in his attic. That is, until 2004, when Mussler was run over by a 16-year-old driving through his neighborhood. Upon recovery, Mussler reassessed the path his life was taking.
“I really think it was one of those God inspired things,” Mussler said. “When I recovered, I thought about all those films and stories and realized that my kids would never have known anything about them.”
So he pulled the stories out, picked a few of his favorites and began polishing them. One particular story involved a DEA agent, and Mussler soon after tried to get it published.
“I went to Barnes and Noble and found 10 publishers’ names and addresses and wrote to them,” Mussler said. “Three of them said they would like to read it, and one came back and said they wanted to publish it.”
Mussler was born in Corpus Christi but moved to Oregon soon after birth. When he returned to Texas as an adult with a wife and children, his work often took him to the north East Texas area. The small towns there reminded him of places in Oregon and inspired much of the setting for “Twisted Texan.”
Mussler says his stories have been received well among Texans, many of whom say the character reminds them of a relative or even themselves.
“The most common question I get is if the book’s about George Bush,” Mussler said. “That one always makes me laugh.”
