John Riha was raised in Illinois and was lured to the West by the big mountains and wild rivers. He is the former Features Editor of Country Home magazine, Executive Editor of Better Homes and Gardens, and Editorial Director of Meredith's Special Interest Media. His non-fiction has appeared in Esquire, GQ, This Old House, Men's Journal, and others. His fiction has been published in Summerset Review, Toasted Cheese, and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. His first book, Rookies in the Wild, won an Indie Brag Medallion. He lives in Ashland, Oregon, with his wife, Deb, and a tabby cat. "The West can swallow you up. Maybe that's what makes it so intriguing for the writer. The scale, the raw beauty, the danger, the promise."