Terry A. Del Bene

My father was a wonderful story teller and taught me the importance of stories to our lives. I have recently retired from a career in archaeology to spend more time with writing. I like to write about history and seek out the lesser-known and more colorful characters and stories. Accordingly my novels have a lot of history in them and my historical writings seek out the more compelling aspects in non-fiction that might appeal to the reader. Reading should be fun. My 2004 book, The Donner Party Cookbook, was an example of how history can be presented in an entertaining format. That book will be reprinted in 2015.

I mainly write history of the West but am branching out to novels. My first Novel 'Dem Bon'z is now available and a sequel called 'Dem Dry Bon'z is in progress.

I've had a colorful career and my jobs have taken me to the far flung corners and secret places of the United States. I retired to live in Alaska and since have been moving around the nation, collecting interesting experiences and stories as I go. I've worked with dozens of Indian Nations across the nation and seek to give my friends a voice through my writings. I recently worked as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Pit River Indian Tribe in northern California.

I spent decades as a living historian at parks and historical venues across the nation, though I must say my favorite experience was recreating the settlement and construction of Aurora,Colorado. My partner and I built and operated an ice house and ran a local construction firm. The rumors that our company was involved in organized crime were never proven, but we managed to help build a town and make some mischief on the side. During the event I helped a friend who had terminal cancer build his own coffin and when he passed away I dug his grave by hand and we did a full-blown 19th century funeral to satisfy his last request.

You can find out more about me and my writing projects on pulphistory.com. Be sure to buy True West Magazine to get my Survival Out West stories.

I love the outdoors, my many pets, and my family. Life has been an adventure and the best is always around the corner.