“I arise full of eagerness and
energy, knowing well what achievement lies ahead of me.” – Zane Grey
Born in Ohio at the end of January 1872,
Grey was intrigued by history at an early age and started writing about it while
still in college, even though “Writing was like digging coal,” he said about
his early efforts. “I sweat blood. But the spell was on me.”
Grey self-published his first novel
but when sales exploded, Harper & Row took his next one and the rest, as
they say was history – both literally and figuratively.
Besides more than 70 Westerns
(adapted into 112 films), he wrote 2 hunting books, 6 children’s books, 3
baseball books, and 8 fishing books. His total book sales –
which made him a millionaire many times over – surpassed $40 million (to
date since many of the books are still in print).
A star baseball player in
college and a frequent brawler as a young man, his writing depicting both
athleticism and fistfights were often cited by his readers when talking about
the "realism" brought out in his books.
“Well, what is writing,” he
responded, “but an expression of my own life?”
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