Mackey Murdock (1932-2012) grew up on a stock farm sandwiched between four of Texas' larger ranches. In tune to the rhythm of horses, livestock, and the people who nurse them, his writing echoes that early beat. Later, he served in the Korean War, taught school, and spent thirty-three years in industrial management. Although Murdock crosses the line between fiction and nonfiction, the Southwest typically provides the setting for his work. Murdock was a member of the Dallas-Fort Worth Writers' Workshop and an active member of the Western Writers of America.