Denver, CO, August 5, 2021—W. Michael Gear, professional archaeologist and New York Times bestselling author with 60 novels, 82 non-fiction articles in print that have been translated into 29 languages, is being inducted into the Colorado Author's Hall of Fame.
His North America's Forgotten Past series, co-authored with Kathleen O'Neal Gear, has educated millions around the world and is the only series of books written by professional archaeologists that tackles the panorama of extraordinary native cultures that have inhabited North America over the past twenty thousand years.
The Gears were also just inducted into the Western Writers of America Hall of Fame, and Michael Gear was the 2020 winner of the Owen Wister Award. In Michael's words, "Receiving all of these awards, it doesn't happen very often for being in this business for 35 years. This is really refreshing."
Gear began writing one winter during a break in the archeology field season, after retreating to his family cabin. "I was reading a western novel, in which the protagonist takes off from Texas with a heard of steers. In the end, the main character is in a valley in Montana, and the steers were having calves, and it was just outlandish," said Gear. The inaccuracies in the book lead Gear to writing his own book.
"I knew that I could do better than that. At the time nothing else was happening, and I sat down with a typewriter, and two and a half weeks later, I had my first book," said Gear. "It stunk. The dialogue was all he said, she said, long didactic passages. But, the facts were all correct. And, the key was … I just so enjoyed the process of writing. It was fun. It was one of those moments of epiphany where you sat back and say, 'This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.'"
The Gears has been writing for over 35 years now, and his most recent novel, Dissolution, is a post-apocalyptic western, and a bestseller in western science fiction.
Gear's knowledge of archaeology and history gives him a unique perspective in his writing. "Kathy and I being anthropologists, we have been writing about the collapse of cultures now for 30 years. We write about what happens when civilizations fall apart, and as archeologists, the patterns are all there. The patterns are always the same. And even in our modern world culture where we are much more sophisticated, things still fall apart the same way."
The Colorado Authors' Hall of Fame will hold its second Author Induction celebration gala on September 18 at the Renaissance Central Park hotel in Denver, honoring an incredible group of exceptional authors. The public can attend and purchase tickets at ColoradoAuthorsHallOfFame.org
About Colorado Authors' Hall of Fame®
Authors' Hall of Fame® strives to educate the people of Colorado and the country about the stories of the authors who shaped their works using their personal presence and the environment of our State with courage, leadership, intelligence, compassion, and creativity. Inductees are authors who've made a major impact on others with their words. The Authors' Hall of Fame® recognition endeavors to ensure their legacies never die.
The next Induction of the Hall of Fame® will be held September 18, 2021 at the Renaissance Central Park in Denver, Colorado. Additional information about the upcoming Induction event, inductees, tickets, donations, events, and board members is available at www.ColoradoAuthorsHallofFame.org
Press inquiries: Contact Founder, Dr. Judith Briles, Judith@Briles.com or 303-885-2207.
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