Sam Lightner, jr. is the author of nine books. He calls Wyoming "home."

Long before Sam was a writer, he was a climber. "Virtually everything I have done over the past 40 years has revolved around the sport of climbing, and that includes my writing. There is no way to track "what might have been," but I'm pretty sure if I had not become a climber, I would not have become a writer." To Sam, climbing is not just a sport. It is a lifestyle.

Sam says, "I never intended to be a writer… it just happened. I fell in love with Thailand on my first trip to the country in 1989, and was so inspired that I had to put my experience down with pen on paper." Since then he has been traveling and writing all over the world. Most of his work has revolved around the outdoor industry, specifically climbing, but Sam is passionate about history and actually prefers to write on that subject.

See our interview with Sam. Our guest interviewer is Julia Johnson-Lewkowska.

Sam's website.