Terry Conrad Johnston (1 January 1947 – 25 March 2001) was an American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

fiction author who wrote 31 novels and had more than 10 million books in print.

Background

He was born in Arkansas City, Kansas. His parents were a junior college president and a teacher. He gained a BA from

Central State University Central State University (CSU) is a public, historically black land-grant university in Wilberforce, Ohio, United States. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Established by the state legislature in 1887 as a two-y ...

Edmond, Oklahoma Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States. It is a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, located in Central Oklahoma. Its population was 94,428 according to the 2020 United States census, a 16% increase from 2010. maki ...

. As a young man, he traveled and worked various jobs, all the while becoming a student of the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

. Johnston published his first novel, '' Carry the Wind'', in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

after it had been rejected by 29 publishers; it won the

Western Writers of America Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction Western fiction is a genre of literature set in th ...

's Medicine Pipe Bearer's Award. Johnston wrote his first novel while he worked as a lease manager for Northwest Auto in Northglenn, Colorado, using the company's word processor after work to write, sometimes working through the night. He settled near

Billings, Montana Billings is the most populous Lists of populated places in the United States, city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, i ...

Major works

Johnston is best known for two major works: a series of nine historical novels spanning the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade era and its eventual demise told through the eyes of the protagonist, Titus "Scratch" Bass; and a larger number of novels about the

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wars of the West, the Plainsmen Series, following the conflicts through protagonist Seamus Donegan. Another series of books was based on a possibly true story of a relationship

General Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point ...

had with a

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

girl.

Death and legacy

Johnston said to his wife that he felt when he killed off Scratch or when Scratch died he wouldn't last too long afterwards, and he died of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

on March 25, 2001, only a month after being diagnosed. In his memory The Terry C. Johnston Memorial Scholarship Fund was established at

Montana State University Billings Montana State University Billings (or MSU Billings) is a public university in Billings, Montana, United States. It is the state's third largest university. Its campus is located on 110 acres in downtown Billings. Formerly Eastern Montana Normal ...

, as well as donations made to the Custer Battlefield Preservation Committee and the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance.

Personal life

He was married three times. His first wife was Doris (Howard) with whom he had one son (Joshua); they divorced in 1982. Johnston's second wife was Rhonda (Hill) Stacy with whom he had one son (Noah) and one daughter (Erinn); they divorced in 1992. His third wife was Vanette.

Published work

Bass/Paddock Trilogy (Bass' middle years) *''Carry the Wind'' (1982) *''Borderlords'' (1985) *''One-Eyed Dream'' (1988) Son of the Plains (Custer novels) *''Long Winter Gone'' (1990) *''Seize the Sky'' (1991) *''Whisper of the Wolf'' (1991) Jonas Hook *''Cry of the Hawk'' (1992) *''Winter Rain'' (1993) *''Dream Catcher'' (1994) Titus Bass
(Bass' early years) *''Dance on the Wind'' (1995) *''Buffalo Palace'' (1996) *''Crack in the Sky'' (1997) (Bass' latter years) *''Ride the Moon Down'' (1998) *''Death Rattle'' (1999) *''Wind Walker'' (2001) The Plainsmen Series *''Sioux Dawn: The Fetterman Massacre, 1866'' (1990) *''Red Cloud's Revenge: Showdown on the Northern Plains, 1867'' (1990) *''The Stalkers: The Battle of Beecher Island, 1868'' (1990) *''Black Sun: The Battle of Summit Springs, 1869'' (1991) *''Devil's Backbone: The Modoc War, 1872–3'' (1991) *''Shadow Riders: The Southern Plains Uprising, 1873'' (1991) *''Dying Thunder: The Fight at Adobe Walls and the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon-1876–1875'' (1992) *''Blood Song: The Battle of Powder River and the Beginning of the Great Sioux War of 1876'' (1992) *''Reap the Whirlwind: The Battle of the Rosebud, June 1876'' (1994) *''Trumpet on the Land: The Aftermath of Custer's Massacre, 1876'' (1995) *''A Cold Day in Hell: The Dull Knife Battle, 1876'' (1995) *''Wolf Mountain Moon: The Battle of the Butte, 1877'' (1997) *''Ashes of Heaven: The Lame Deer Fight-May 7, 1877 and the End of the Great Sioux War'' (1998) *''Cries from the Earth: The Outbreak of the Nez Perce War and the Battle of White Bird Canyon June 17, 1877'' (1999) *''Lay the Mountains Low: The Flight of Nez Perce from Idaho and the Battle of the Big Hole, August 9–10, 1877'' (2000) *''Turn the Stars Upside Down: The Last Days and Tragic Death of Crazy Horse'' (2001)

References

External links

List of works at MacmillanTerry C. Johnston Collection
at

FantasticFiction: Terry C. Johnston
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Terry C. 1947 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American Western (genre) novelists Deaths from colorectal cancer in the United States People from Arkansas City, Kansas Writers from Billings, Montana