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 his forests of hometown of Painted Post, spending hundreds 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 
• 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. 

Awards

• His novels The Forest Ghost and The Master of Hounds took First and Second place (book category), respectively, in the New York State Outdoor Writers Association (NYSOWA) 2021 annual Excellence in Craft Awards, 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 Mr. Wayne Thompson.

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

Coon Hound University with Tyler Duncan

• Part 1
• Part 2

 
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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