Michael McGarrity

McGarrity attended the University of New Mexico for three years and graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelor's degree with distinction in English and Psychology. He earned a Master's degree in clinical social work from the University of Iowa and is a graduate of the New Mexico Law Enforcement academy. ==Career==

Legal career and nonfiction writing In addition to law enforcement work, he has been an investigator and caseworker for the New Mexico Public Defender's Office. As a social worker and range from the Tularosa Basin and Lincoln County to Hermit's Peak, although many take place in Santa Fe. Hard Country, Backlands, and The Last Ranch form a sweeping trilogy tracing the Kerney family's history in New Mexico from 1875 through the end of the Vietnam War. A ground breaking prequel trilogy, all three books are set on the Tularosa Basin of south central New Mexico. ==Awards==

McGarrity has been nominated three times for the Western Writers of America Spur Award for Best Western Novel as well as an Anthony Award for his debut novel, Tularosa. He has received the following awards: • New Mexico Social Worker of the Year, 1980 • Santa Fe's Police Officer of the Year, 1987 • Santa Fe Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts - Literature, 2015 • Frank Waters Exemplary Literary Achievement Award, 2015 ==Bibliography==