R. Douglas Clark was born in Vermont, grew up in Colorado, attended college in Chicago, and received a Master’s degree in music from Brown University. Seeing no future for himself in academia, he spent a year in the Oregon woods, living in a primitive cabin, writing music reviews and cultural commentary for magazines and newspapers. Next stop, Eugene, Oregon where he spent 30 damp years as a bootstrap businessman, father and musician. On a vacation trip, he and his wife, Shelley, fell in love with northern New Mexico and subsequently moved there. After four years running a Boys and Girls Club in Chimayó and Abiquiú, he retired to write fiction full time.