While hiking in Montana, the author came across a decaying mound of cast-off artifacts at the base of the Rocky Mountains. He surmised that the discarded items were part of the hopes and dreams that early settlers had for their new life in the Oregon Territory. He wondered what must have gone through their minds when they were forced to relinquish these precious treasures, and how much that loss altered their future.

The author’s experience in Montana and the memory of his Grandfather’s dog, Bones, ultimately led to the story of Billy Bones.

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Ron was born in the American Midwest. He earned a degree in speech and drama from Yankton College in Yankton, South Dakota; a degree in voice from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland; and a master’s degree in drama from Catholic University in Washington, D. C. Since then he has written a musical comedy, a religious opera, a book, and a number of reviews, plays, and poems.

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Ron has directed or performed professionally in over 100 operas, musicals, and plays from New York to Miami. He was the artistic director of the Garrison Playhouse in Baltimore County, Maryland, for 10 years and taught drama in Howard County, Maryland, for 16 years. More recently, Ron stage-directed seven operas for the Municipal Opera Company of Baltimore, Maryland, and numerous shows for the Woodbrook Players in Towson, Maryland. Ron was the bass-soloist with the Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Towson for many years and teaches voice in Washington, D.C. and the Maryland area. Ron lives with his wife in Maryland.