Larry McMurtry grew up on Idiot Ridge in southeast Archer County, Texas, on the southernmost rim of the Great Plains. His brand is a stirrup, branded on the left flank. No cattle are at present thus branded, but 28,000 books bear the stirrup bookplate. He lives in a large prairie-style home with his wife, Norma Faye Kesey McMurtry.

   Diana Ossana was mostly raised in the Italian section of South St. Louis known as Dago Hill, a fact that goes some distance towards defining her.  She rarely swims, preferring to read voraciously; few serious movies escape her attention.  With her writing partner Larry she has written two novels and more than thirty screenplays, including Brokeback Mountain, which she also produced.  She lives comfortably with her various nieces, nephews, and seven dogs.