John W. Austin was born in Langley, Arkansas, and attended college in Arkadelphia and Little Rock before graduating with a degree in Engineering from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He worked on the Canadian River Project for the Bureau of Reclamation in West Texas before moving on to Taos, New Mexico where he began the rest of his career with the Forest Service. Now retired, Austin lives in Baker City, Oregon with his wife Linda. This is his first novel.