Verne R. Albright
“My earliest memory,” six foot, nine inch Verne Albright remembers, “is of an English class where the teacher assigned a one-page story. The other students’ reaction was summed up by a boy who exclaimed, ‘How will I ever write a whole page!’ I however, wrote twenty and in the process discovered my life’s first passion.”
At twenty-one, Verne traveled to Peru and was enchanted by the country and its people. During that first visit he, his wife, and their year-old daughter traveled by jeep in the Andes Mountains of four nations. Over the next half-century he returned to Peru sixty-four times and imported over two hundred of its Paso horses—including a pair he took overland to California, a nine-month trek of over five thousand miles in eleven nations. Riding much of the way, he came face-to-face with killer deserts, witch doctors, bandits, avalanches, poisonous reptiles, vampire bats, and a violent revolution. His new book, Horseback Across Three Americas, is a rewrite for general audiences of his Best-Seller about that journey.
“Finding a true calling is a miracle experienced by few,” he once said, “and Peru provided me with two. I promoted its Paso horses world-wide for over fifty years and more recently began writing historical fiction set in its fascinating past and rich culture.”
Verne is a master story teller and his novels are so well written that they’ve already begun appearing on Best-Seller Lists. And why not? He has lived adventures at least as exciting as the ones about which he writes.
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Acknowledgments
I was blessed with an excellent team to assist and encourage me as I wrote the two-novel set composed of Playing Chess with God and The Wrath of God. Among those who contributed far above the call of duty were my good friends Mimi Busk-Downey, Henry F. Curry, Jr. M.D., Terry Ellis, Rhonda Hart, Lucille Rider, Babette Sparr, and Jan Swagerty; my creative brother-in-law, Charles Bazalgette; my exceptionally talented and sharp-eyed test reader, Tina Clavelle Meyer; my brothers–Deane, a very helpful test reader…Harold, generous with encouragement and suggestions…and Ralph, whose motivating support was always available when my spirits flagged or I needed help; my stepdaughter, Krista Weber, whose wonderful artistic instincts and tireless efforts were immensely helpful; my high school classmate, Kay Galbraith, who found time to help no matter how busy she was; my first editor, Michael Parrish, who passed away before the job was finished; my Rewrite Specialist Jean Jenkins (I’m sure few editors ever contribute as much to a book as she did to mine); and my Peruvian friend Robbie Watson, who said he’d help in any way possible and more than kept that promise. And last but not least, I’m grateful to my wife, Laurie, for putting up with me during those times when I was discouraged, crabby, and possibly even unbearable. — Verne R. Albright
