Brian Kelling, 45, lived two decades in the American West, and still maintains property in Colorado. His first book, Travel-Trailer Homesteading Under $5,000, 1999, Loompanics Unlimited, details how he lived as he wrote Wind Of The Mountain. A lover of the West, he has owned horses, panned for gold, and followed the Santa Fe Trail. To prepare for his novels, Kelling travels to each and every setting; researching, plotting, and "getting the feel of the country." His next western, The Long Canyon Mountains, is due Fall 2001 from this publisher. He comments: "There's more to come."