Dear Readers, We met Elmer Kelton twenty-two years ago when we attended our first Western Writers of America conference in Fort Worth, Texas. We hadn’t published any books yet, so we felt a little overwhelmed being in the presence of so many great western writers–many of whom we’d been reading since we were nine or ten years old. When we were introduced to Elmer Kelton, we were downright starry eyed. Generally writers who’ve won as many awards and acclaim as Elmer Kelton tend to be a bit stuffy. Instead, he was a true western gentleman, gracious, and self-deprecating, with a great sense of humor. Over the next twenty years, we tried to soak up every word he said about writing. Hopefully, some of it sank in. In our opinion, one of the greatest novels of all time is Elmer’s book, THE TIME IT NEVER RAINED. It should be ranked with London’s CALL OF THE WILD, and Steinbeck’s OF MICE AND MEN. To all of you who loved Elmer Kelton or his work, we mourn with you today. Regards, Mike and Kathy