About the Author

An award-winning author, Tom has always had a passion for writing. Spending nearly twenty years working as an assistant film editor in Hollywood on such projects as Jack Nicholson's "The Two Jakes" and the NBC mini-series "Blind Faith," he still found the opportunity to write. His first book, "William Friedkin: Films of Aberration, Obsession and Reality," was updated in 2003. Classic Images called it "the definitive work on the subject." Devoting himself to writing full time, Tom turned to his love of the West. His first novel, "The Pursuit of Murieta," tells the story of Joaquin Murieta, California's first notorious outlaw back in 1853. It was a Will Rogers Medallion Award Honorable Mention winner. His second novel, "West of Penance," was inspired by a true story about the wilds of New Mexico and the Colfax County War in 1874. It won the Will Rogers Medallion Award first place gold medallion for Best Inspirational Fiction, and the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award in 2016 for Best Historical Fiction. Tom is a member of the Western Writers of America and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife, Marilyn. His website is www.thomasdclagett.com.

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