David Crabtree is a fifth generation Oregonian whose ancestors came by covered wagon in the mid eighteen hundreds. "Being the youngest, I heard a lot of old stories about 'the old days' on the farms, and in the small, hard scrabble towns where my ancestors lived. It's a way of living that has entered into myth, but the real heroes were the steady day to day folks. They built a future for themselves and their families." David says; "I guess I became a story teller when I was eight or nine. When my older brother told some jokes and got laughs, I copied him. When I got laughs, that was it. It seemed like a good idea to learn to tell stories of my own." He grew up between the city, the farm and the small town and spent a lot of time wandering around the woods to the West of the Cascade Mountains, and in the scrubby land along the Deschutes River, to the East. David often hiked alone (not what he endorses) because the lack of a partner was not going to keep him out of the mountains and woods. It also gave him the freedom to simply sit and soak in the beauty and fascination of Creation. He grew up with a BB gun and learned target shooting. In fact, he became a military weapons instructor and member of two marksmanship teams. Occasionally he is persuaded to join hunts with friends, but doesn't mind much if he doesn't shoot anything. All of these things, plus his experience on a rescue team for City Transportation, and in Emergency Management inform his stories. "I owe a lot to people who have shared their experience over the years." David passes the knowledge forward in his blog site, appropriately called Practically Everything @"everthingpractical.com" please visit him there. Hold Out is his first full length novel, with two more in the works.