Won a Colorado Book Award and was a finalist for the Book Sense Award for "Eventide" in 2005
Served in the Peace Corps in Turkey as a teacher for two years
Was a finalist for the National Book Award for "Plainsong" in 1999
Graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1965 and earned his master's from the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop in 1973
Published his first novel, "The Tie That Binds," in 1984 and his second novel, "Where You Once Belonged," in 1990
Quote: "I have come to think ․․․ that perhaps those years of unhappiness and isolation and living inwardly to myself have helped me to be more aware of others and to pay closer attention to what others around me are feeling․"
Best known as an author who wrote several novels set in small-town Colorado, including "Plainsong," "Eventide" and "Benediction․"
Worked as a high school and college teacher and spent several years at Southern Illinois University before the profits from "Plainsong" allowed him to retire
Worked in a number of odd places during his life, including a chicken ranch, a pest control company, a rehabilitation hospital, an orphanage and the Royal Gorge in the Rocky Mountains