Joseph Gary Crance with his hound, Seth

 Joseph Gary Crance is the son of a retired New York State Forest Ranger. He grew up chasing behind coonhounds in the forests of his hometown of Painted Post, New York, spending thousands of hours in the woods, day and night, and in every season. After a nearly 30-year career with the U.S. Department of Defense, with over 20 years in uniform with the U.S. Air Force, he returned with his family to the timeless hills of Upstate New York.

Now, he's pursuing a lifelong dream as a novelist. To date, he's self-published six novels, a family saga, set in (of all places) Painted Post and with coonhounds, no less:

• The Last Coon Hunter: Book I of the Ryland Creek Saga
• An Exceptional Hound: Book II of the Ryland Creek Saga
• The Legends of Ryland Creek: Book III of the Ryland Creek Saga​
• The Master of Hounds: Book IV of the Ryland Creek Saga
• Return to Ryland Creek: Book V of the Ryland Creek Saga (est. publishing date Fall 2025) 
• The Forest Ghost: A Ryland Creek Novel
• The Time of the Backroads: A Ryland Creek Novel

Joe has an associates degree in Survival and Rescue Operations from the U.S. Air Force, and a Bachelors in Professional Writing from Mansfield University. He is also a member of the New York State Outdoor Writers Association (NYSOWA). 

Awards

• His novels The Forest Ghost and The Master of Hounds took First and Second place (book category), respectively, in the NYSOWA 2021 annual Excellence in Craft (EIC) awards.
  
  
• His novels, The Last Coon Hunter, Fifth Anniversary Edition, and The Time of the Backroads, took Second and Third place (book category), respectively, in the NYSOWA 2023 EIC Awards
  
  

• His first audiobook, The Last Coon Hunter: Book I of the Ryland Creek Saga, Fifth Anniversary Edition, took Second Place in the 2022 NYSOWA's Television, Radio, Video, and Audio category. This book was narrated by the phenomenal voice actor talent of Wayne Thompson.
  
  
• His second audiobook, An Exceptional Hound, took First Place in the NYSOWA's 2024 EIC Television, Radio, Video, and Audio category. This book was again narrated by the amazing Wayne Thompson.

Author interviews:
The following are podcasts or YouTube interviews with Joseph Gary Crance. 

With Bear Siragusa of The Hunting Hound:
 
The Hunting Hound with Joseph Crance

The Man Behind the Ryland Creek saga

With Friends of the Chemung County Library on YouTube:

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