Ralph Compton was a renowned American novelist, best known for his western novels. He was born in the early 1930s in St. Clair County, Alabama, and grew up to be a towering figure, standing at 6 feet, 8 inches tall. Compton had a varied career before he became a full-time writer, including jobs as a musician, radio announcer, songwriter, and newspaper columnist.
Compton's writing career took off with his notable work, The Goodnight Trail, which was a finalist for the Western Writers of America "Medicine Pipe Bearer Award" for the best debut novel. This success led to the creation of his popular series, including the Trail Drive series and the Sundown Riders series. In the last decade of his life, Compton authored over two dozen novels, with several of them making it to the USA Today bestseller list for fiction.
After Compton's untimely death in 1998, his publisher Signet continued his legacy by releasing new novels under his byline. These novels were written by authors such as Robert Vaughn, Dusty Richards, Jory Sherman, Joseph A. West, David Robbins, Ralph W. Cotton, Peter Brandvold, Marcus Galloway, and Matthew P. Mayo. Compton's work remains popular and continues to be enjoyed by western fiction fans today.
In summary, Ralph Compton was a prolific and successful American writer of western fiction, who created popular series such as the Trail Drive and Sundown Riders. Growing up in Alabama, Compton had a varied career before becoming a full-time writer, and his work remains popular and influential in the western fiction genre.