“Growing up in a rural situation gives you two options, finding a way to entertain yourself or having adults find something to occupy your time, like bailing hay. You’d be surprised how far your imagination will go to keep you away from honest labor.” – Craig Allen Johnson (http://craigallenjohnson.com/)

Wyoming fits author Craig Johnson’s description of the perfect place to grow a writer. While Johnson was born and raised in Huntingdon, West Virginia, he fell in love with Wyoming as a young adult and moved to Ucross, about 20 miles northeast of Buffalo, to build a home and write fiction. http://ow.ly/Vlhbk

Johnson is the author of the popular Longmire western mystery series, featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire. The series takes place in Absaroka County, a fictional locale loosely based on Johnson County, Wyoming. http://ow.ly/Vlh4o There are twelve books in the Longmire series, several of them award-winning. The A&E Network adapted the novels into a TV series also called Longmire, with the premiere debuting at #1 as an original series for the network. http://ow.ly/VlgYj

If you’re interested in raising a writer or artist in Wyoming, suggest your child go bail some hay and watch how quickly she finds something creative to do.

To learn more about Craig Johnson’s work, visit http://craigallenjohnson.com/ or follow him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Officialcraigjohnson.