Writers don’t always have to be from the place they write about or even visit there. But whenever possible, it is of great value to immerse yourself in the setting for those small details that book or on-line research can’t give you. Montana is my inspiration—for my books and many other things in my life. The “Big Sky” stretches from horizon to horizon like a great blue dome. Its sunsets are unequaled, with streaks of orange and gold painting the edges. In spring, green-tinged hills roll through the landscape, buttered with bright yellow wildflowers. White-faced reddish-brown calves frolic through the meadow pastures, happy to be alive. Spring in Montana often comes late, after a long, snow-filled winter that seems to last forever. After four or five months of isolation, cabin-fever, and bone-numbing cold, spring is the new awakening, a new beginning, a season of hope. As the saying goes, “You can take the girl out of Montana, but you can’t take the Montana out of the girl.” Ther...