Michael Dukes

Michael Paul Dukes II (born January 23, 1990) is an award-winning American novelist and screenwriter, as well as the creator and producer of the popular TV miniseries "Cochise". While he is best known for his success in the Western genre, Dukes has been praised by critics for his versatility.

Infobox Writer
name = Michael Dukes


pseudonym = Jack Mayo Peter Swift
birthdate = birth date and age|1990|1|23|mf=y
occupation = author, screenwriter, television producer
nationality = American
genre = Western Action adventure Mystery

Biography and career

Dukes, the oldest of two siblings, was born in El Centro, California, to Evangelical Christian parents of modest means. His father worked as a customs inspector and later as a state employee; his mother was a real estate agent. Dukes has mixed English, Scottish, German, Spanish, and some Greek ancestry.

Dukes graduated from Southwest High School in May of 2008. He was a three-year starter on his Varsity American football team, playing running back, and broke every rushing record previously set in the school's twelve year history. His father also played running back for crosstown rival Central Union High School, as did his grandfather, a member of the 1950 Kansas state champion Wichita High School East football team.

Much like the main character of his semi-autobiographical novel, "Fleeting Glory", Dukes surprised many when he did not go on to play college football. Instead, the young Dukes, an avid reader, attended the local extension of San Diego State University in nearby Calexico, California, later transferring to Point Loma Nazarene University, majoring in English lit. He was especially influenced by the work of Western writer Louis L'Amour.

Literary Career

Dukes credits his grandfather, Ken Dukes, as the source of his interest in anything Western. He completed his first manuscript during his freshman year of high school. A Western, set in late 1800s Montana, was, chronologically, the second part in what would later become "The Donovan Trilogy", following the life of fictional Texas Ranger, cowboy, and lawman Mike Donovan.

Close on the heels of the action-packed "Donovan" (which turned out to be the best-selling of the trilogy), Dukes followed up with a modern Western about a broken-down, would-be rodeo star. The aptly-titled "One Last Ride" spawned national acclaim, especially among fans of the sport. The day after he completed "One Last Ride", Dukes began work on arguably his most successful novel, "The Avenging Angels", a gritty, tragic look at the life of an embittered outlaw, which won him the Western Writers of America Golden Spur Award.

Over the course of his literary career, "Publishers Weekly" declared Dukes "the John Grisham of our time". So far there are more than 10 million copies of his books in print around the world. He is also the only author to have his first three books adapted into film adaptions.

Movies and Television

Dukes has written the screenplays to two of his three book-to-screen adaptions: "One Last Ride" (2018), starring Lucas Black as Mike Sampson and Tom Selleck as Sampson's ailing father. Randy Travis appears in a cameo as a rodeo announcer.

"The Avenging Angels" (2015), starring James Caviezel as outlaw Gabriel Kings in an Academy Award-winning role. Dukes took home the Best Adapted Screenplay honor, the youngest writer ever to do so.

He also produced and wrote the pilot episode of the acclaimed TV miniseries "Cochise" (2031), following the early days of the founding of Cochise County, Arizona, the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and the vendetta that followed. The series gained praise for its historical accuracy, and was, Dukes claimed, "everything "Deadwood" should have been".

Personal Life

Dukes is a born-again Christian, a vocal supporter of the Republican Party, and a member of the National Rifle Association. He has been criticized for his blunt and sometimes politically incorrect stances on such controversial topics as gay marriage, abortion, and stem-cell research. He has also had Type 1 diabetes since he was seven years old.

An animal lover, Dukes also owns a 1,000-acre ranch outside of Helena, Montana, where he keeps horses, cattle, and a small herd of buffalo. He has been a prominent leader in the fight against bullfighting.

Life with his wife and their five children splits their time between their Montana ranch and a summer home in Colorado.