#ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Otis Ritch is a Choctaw Indian who was born in the Mudlark bottoms country of Stigler Oklahoma. He loves to write books that teach truth, beauty, and goodness, as well as to entertain his readers. He truly believes that little children are the future of the world and that they will be the ones who will bring harmony to our world.

As a child I grew up in the desert Southwest, in and around the Casa Grande Valley in Arizona. I spent many happy hours roaming the desert and mountains learning about the animal and plant life there and why there are sea shells on the tops of the mountains. The desert can be a harsh teacher where death can come quickly to those not prepared for the constant dangers that exist. There are rattlesnakes and Gila monsters as well as coyotes, wolves, skunks, wild hogs, cougars, scorpions and centipedes. The desert is also a beautiful place that is full of life and adventure. In the solitude one can take the time to meditate and contemplate on life and the reasons thereof. One can find the Great Spirit and seek guidance on ones life path in the desert. I learned much from the desert and also from the Indians of the desert country. As an adult I have traveled over half of the states in the United States. I have worked as a field hand, ginned cotton, worked cattle, worked on a core recovery drill rig, fry cook, service station attendant, pipe line construction, welded bridges, welding shop foreman, plowed land, irrigated crops, foreman on two farms, played music at honkytonks, sold everything from grand pianos to grandfather clocks, taught meditation classes, owned stores, etcetera. I am also a master boot maker and leather artist. I have worked since I was twelve years old and have been making my own way in the world since I was sixteen. I am self-educated and I like to meditate and spend time in natural surroundings. One can gain much soul growth by seeking out a quiet place to commune with the Great Spirit. I have made a lifetime study of people, trying to learn what motivates them as they act out the drama of life. With fishing and golfing as hobbies you might guess how I learned to tell stories. One thing to keep in mind as you read my stories is that some of the things I write about may seem to be so fantastic that it must be pure fantasy -- yet sometimes the truth is more fantastic than fiction. Read "Where Eagles Soar" a spiritual adventure novel.