Rich Ritter discovered a passion for writing during his tumultuous high school years. This zeal was consumed by technical writing during his lifelong profession as an architect until the age of 49, when he began work on his first novel. Ritter was born in Iowa, raised in the social cauldron of Southern California, completed his Bachelor of Architecture degree (Cal Poly SLO) in Denmark, and has lived in Alaska more than 40 years. He has travelled the world in search of adventure including East Berlin, Russia, the British Isles, Western Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, Southern Africa, Mexico, Central America, Canada, and the United States, particularly the west. His fascination of Silver City, Idaho inspired him to write Nor Things to Come: A Trilogy of the American West, an endeavor that consumed five years of historical research and writing. Ritter is the author of five books including Toil Under the Sun: A Novel, and Heart of Abigail: A Lyric Novella of Juneau, Douglas and Treadwell.