Ralph Compton's life had more hardships and switchbacks than the most arduous Texas cattle drive. Born into poverty in Depression-era Alabama, he left home at age 20 to join the military, and then embarked on an itinerant life of guitar-playing, songwriting, ad sales, and newspapering, interspersed with roughly 500 menial jobs that might have broken the spirit of a lesser man. Through it all, Compton knew that he wanted to write, but it wasn't until 1990 that he took a stab at the genre that was to make his reputation. His first western, "The Goodnight Trail, was published in 1992, and was followed over the next several years by dozens more, including the "Sundown Rider and "Border Empire series. Compton had found his calling: to write, as he put it, "good, clean western novels, " which his readers could count on for a strong sense of time and place, rich characterizations, and a driving, spurs-flying brand of storytelling. Compton died in 1999, but his characters, themes, and style live on in new titles by authors who are established western novelists in their own right. For his legions of fans, the trail hasn't ended; there are outlaws and escapades around every bend, and the sagebrush still fills the air with the sweet taste of freedom.
