GRAVES, Russell A. 1969-

PERSONAL:

Born October 17, 1969, in Mesquite, TX; son of Harold (a welder) and Ona (a homemaker; maiden name, Thorton) Graves; married Kristy Baker (an educational aide), September 11, 1993; children: Bazlee Lee Ann. Ethnicity: "White." Education: East Texas State University, B.S. Politics: Republican. Religion: Baptist. Hobbies and other interests: Photography, hunting, fishing.

ADDRESSES:

Home and Office—706 Avenue I S.E., Childress, TX 79201; fax: 940-937-3649. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Childress Independent School District, Childress, TX, teacher, 1993—. Childress County Historical Museum, member of board of directors.

MEMBER:

Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association of Texas, Texas Outdoor Writer's Association.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Named Agriscience Teacher of the Year, 2001.

WRITINGS:

Managing Wildlife as an Enterprise, John Deere Publishing, 1997.

The Prairie Dog: Sentinel of the Plains, Texas Tech University Press (Lubbock, TX), 2001.

The Hunting Dogs, Krause Publications (Iola, WI), 2002.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Communicating in the Agriculture Industry, publication by Delmar Learning (Clifton Park, NY) expected in 2005; research on prairie dogs.

SIDELIGHTS:

Russell A. Graves told CA: "My primary reason for writing is to capture the experiences of my life and what I have witnessed and offer them to a broader audience. My work is influenced by nature and by writers and photographers such as Wyman Meinzer, David Sams, Jan Reid, and Bill O'Reilley. My writing is inspired by the beauty of nature and my longing to capture its essence."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 2002, Nancy Bent, review of The Prairie Dog: Sentinel of the Plains, p. 785.