For many writers, inspiration comes from cities like Boston or New York and places like California. Not for Randy Weir. 

Weir, who goes by the pen name R. Weir, thinks Colorado's diverse landscape proves a unique setting for novels. 

“I think it's a great area for stories that hasn't been used a lot in books, especially for my type of books,” he said. 

He lives right on the border between Broomfield and Westminster and has lived in Colorado since 1981. 

“You write what you know,” he said. 

In one of Weir's private detective series, the main character, Jarvis Mann, is a Denver-based private investigator. In another series, former U.S. Marshal Hunter Divine lives next door to Westminster in Broomfield. 

Weir won the Silver Falchion Award: Best Thriller for The Divine Devils and Readers' Favorite 2019 Gold Medal Winner in the Fiction Thriller Psychological Category for The Front Range Butcher. 

Weir started writing as a teenager, using poetry to document his emotions. Whether it was bullies or unrequited love, he turned to pen and paper. 

“I wrote a lot of poetry when I was a teenager to deal with teenage angst, now I write a lot of books to deal with middle-aged angst,” he said. “It's kind of like therapy to get me through the day.” 

Many national events influenced him as well, such as John Lennon's death and the Challenger crash. 

“I wrote some poetry to deal with that,” he said. 

Thriller novels mostly attracted him as a kid, and authors like Ian Fleming and Robert Ludlum kept him reading. 

By trade, Weir is an IT professional but tries to spend most of his time writing books. He has a wife and a daughter, and they take their motorhome on trips to enjoy the outdoors. Sometimes those trips are author-related. 

Not only can readers expect diverse characters, but snarky humor, hidden agendas and familiar Colorado landmarks also come with the books. Themes within his books range from concussion issues, murder, identity theft and more. 

Copies can be bought from Weir directly or through Amazon.