Growing up in Gore within sight of the Hokonuis, Ron Hay developed an early love of the hills and the wide open spaces. He became enthusiastically involved in tramping and climbing while doing postgraduate study in English literature at Otago University. Some years of secondary teaching followed, allowing generous amounts of holiday time for trips into the valleys and mountains of the Southern Alps. Ron then did a theology degree and entered the Anglican ministry. He was vicar of Temuka and then Sumner-Redcliffs in Christchurch before taking early retirement in order to devote time to writing. His first book, Finding the Forgotten God, won the Ashton Wyllie Book Award in 2015. Ron is a member of the New Zealand Alpine Club and has contributed articles to the NZ Alpine Journal and to Wilderness magazine. He is married to Liz and they have three children and seven grandchildren. They now live in Castle Hill Village surrounded by the peaks of the Torlesse and Craigieburn Ranges.