War Relic

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.

Traber Burns worked for thirty-five years in regional theater, including the New York, Oregon, and Alabama Shakespeare festivals. He also spent five years in Los Angeles appearing in many television productions and commercials, including Lost, Close to Home, Without a Trace, Boston Legal, Grey’s Anatomy, Cold Case, Gilmore Girls, and others.