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Susan Skorupa, RGJ. Now there's the book. "All That Followed" (Henry Holt & Co., $25 hardcover) is Urza's first novel, a story of politics, murder, a unique old culture, and layers of secrets woven together from some of the stories Urza heard in Spain and some things that happened when he lived there.

The book goes on sale Aug. 4. Sundance Books and Music will hold an author reception from 6:30 to 8 p.m. that day.

(The book) "grew from a series of events," said Urza, 36, who claims extensive Basque heritage on both the Urza and Laxalt sides of his family. "When I was in college in the Basque country, there was a series of political violence, political kidnappings, and some assassinations in more than one family, just before I was there."

Some of the events became jumping off points for his characters when Urza began writing "All That Followed."

"But I tried not to research the victims or perpetrators of the historical events," he said. "That gave me more freedom, being more creative."

Urza's roots run deep in Basque culture, writing and law. He's the son of Reno attorney Monique Laxalt, who also has published a novel, and Carmelo Urza, director of the University Studies Abroad program at the University of Nevada, Reno, who is of Spanish Basque heritage. He's the grandson of acclaimed Nevada author the late Robert Laxalt, who was of French Basque heritage. Urza's uncle, the late Bruce Laxalt, was both a lawyer and a published poet.

He's also the grandnephew of former Nevada governor and U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt, and related to other attorneys and political figures throughout the state.

"I think I was hesitant initially to write about the Basque situation," Urza said. "I did not want to go piggyback on his (Robert Laxalt's) legacy. A lot of my experience was growing up in the Basque area. But my experience was different than my grandfather's He wrote about French Basques and the French side of the border. Most of the time I spent on the Spanish side... I was sent to school in San Sebastian. Then in college, I did University Studies Abroad.

"I saw stuff that did not make its way into Grandfather's work. Political things," he said. "I felt more comfortable with that."

"All That Followed" follows three main characters. Joni is an American school teacher who has lived in the fictional town of Muriga, Spain, for decades, but never felt like a true part of the community. He has his own secrets. Mariana is the young widow of a slain politician, and Iker is the man serving time for the murder, which occurred when he was a teenager.

Their interactions and the history that the three main characters share control a plot centering on how people live when confronted with violence, betrayal and love.

"That was one of the things I wanted to do show — maybe how people get involved in crimes in ways you would not ordinarily expect," Urza said.

The American character, Joni, was the center of the first chapter Urza wrote and was the starting place for the whole novel, Urza said.

"Maybe because he represents the way I feel in Basque country," he said. "As much as I was there, I was still outsider even with Basque heritage."

Urza grew up with the writing and legal professions and with strong connections to academia.

"I think definitely being around both professions gave me the agency to think of those as things I could do, especially writing," he said. "It can seem nebulous — how to write a book, but being around a family with people spending time working on books was important and it made me feel OK to work on that.

"The law, I think, I went into despite of the fact mom and my uncle were lawyers," Urza said. "It's a stressful career."

Urza also thought about journalism — another career path his Grandfather Laxalt had taken.

"When I graduated law school I was writing a couple of things," he said. "I wrote a couple of stories for the Fallon Star Press, but I was looking for a paycheck and I went to the Public Defenders office. I could see myself doing that. It was very hands-on, and I thought it was a difficult job, but important."

But fate stepped in in the form of a creative writing class at the University of Nevada, Reno. The teacher, writer Christopher Coake, suggested Urza might consider a Master of Fine Arts writing program if he was serious about a writing career.

"I went to Ohio State University and finished that program in 2012," he said. "An early draft of the book was part of my thesis at Ohio State."

In 2013, he had a working draft of the novel. Henry Holt publishers set him up with editor Sarah Bowlin and they spent six to eight months working on changes.

He has ideas for more writing, but Urza's next step is into academia. He's been hired to teach writing at Ithaca College in New York.