To Swallow the Earth: A Western Thriller Paperback - 2015

Karl Beckstrand is the bestselling and award-winning author of 18 multicultural/multilingual books and more than 50 e-book titles (reviews by Kirkus, School Library Journal, The Horn Book blog, ForeWord Reviews). Raised in San Jose, CA, he has a B.A. in journalism from BYU, an M.A. in international relations from APU, and a broadcast & film certificate from Film A. Academy. Since 2004 he has run Premio Publishing. A college media instructor, Beckstrand has presented to Taiwan's Global Leadership for Youth, city and state governments, festivals, and schools. Beckstrand's nationally lauded Y.A. stories, e-book mysteries, ESL/ELL Spanish/bilingual books, nonfiction, and wordless books feature ethnically diverse characters-and usually end with a twist. His work has appeared in: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Border's Books, Costco, Deseret Book, iBooks, The Children's Miracle Network, LDS Film Festival, the U.S. Congressional Record, Papercrafts Magazine, and various broadcasts. FB, Twitter, http: //KarlBeckstrand.com, http: //PremioBooks.com Ransom Wilcox was born in Taber, Alberta, Canada in 1907. The family moved to Vina, north of Chico, California. They farmed, tended livestock, and did a lot of hunting and fishing in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Once, to escape a charging wild boar, Wilcox stuck a pole he was carrying in the ground and climbed up! Financial hardship forced them to move often. One season the family lived in a tent while the men cut hay. Another year, Wilcox joined his father and brothers in Arizona, building a school on an American Indian reservation. Many elements of Wilcox's stories come from his early experiences. In 1943 Wilcox enlisted in the army. After the war, the Great Depression, and a divorce, Wilcox finished his schooling and opened a chiropractic practice off Union Square in San Francisco. Wilcox's friends called him Ray or Doc. Besides writing, Wilcox loved to walk in the great outdoors. Near the end of his life, he joked about leaving his body to science; "I'm sure they can use my brain. It's in perfect condition-never been used." His short stories and poems are published under the title, Horse & Dog Adventures in Early California.