Wallace Swenson

Wallace J. Swenson was born in rural Idaho in 1941. The fourth of eight children, he learned early about hard work and the value of non-material things. After a twenty-year military career as a weatherman, he returned home to Idaho where he finished his degree in computer science and went to work for the US Department of Energy. Retiring again in 2007, he now writes full-time as he and his wife of forty-eight years attend to their grandchildren and to each other. Morgan’s Pastures is Wallace’s debut novel, the fifth of eleven completed. He has published short stories in Idaho Magazine, presented his craft on radio and TV, and since his first entry in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association contest in 2001 took a first place, he has been a consistent contest winner in other venues. His latest triumph saw Calliope’s Call (as yet unpublished) named Best Novel in 2010 at the Idaho Writer’s League 70th Anniversary conference. Past state officer in the IWL, and current chapter president, Wallace feels strongly about giving back some of what he has been granted. Morgan’s Pasture (Three Muses Press, 2010) is a period piece set in 1955. It is the story of three young boys, soon to be men, who each take something different from shared experiences as they learn about integrity, loyalty, honor, and ego in a small, rural, Idaho town. The characters are all examined in a way that is neither preachy nor judgmental, but that will make some life-altering points without equivocation. It is a story that provides vindication for older readers and validation for younger ones.  Midwest Book Review calls it "highly recommended" and the critiques on amazon.com are unanimously in accord with five-star reviews.