Winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award, Patrick Dearen is the author of twenty-four books. Dearen was born in 1951 and grew up in the small West Texas town of Sterling City. He earned a bachelor of journalism from The University of Texas at Austin in 1974 and received nine national and state awards as a reporter for two West Texas daily newspapers. His newest novels are "Apache Lament," "Dead Man's Boot;" "When Cowboys Die;" and "The Big Drift."