W. C. McRae was raised in the badlands of eastern Montana, in a ranching community noted for Old West nonconformity and lawlessness. It's no wonder that he was on the run for most of his university years: from Montana to Scotland, on to France, back to Canada, and then to England. This wayward youth didn't help him much in the job market. Over the years he has worked as a bookstore manager, catering chef, tile setter, remodeler, bartender, and bovine artificial inseminator.
Bill's first travel guide was Moon Montana, and of all his books it remains his favorite. For this son of the West, capturing the essence of Montana's rugged yet courtly spirit was both a challenge and a therapy.
Bill is the coauthor of several other travel guides, including Moon Utah, Moon Zion & Bryce, Moon Oregon, and Moon Coastal Oregon, all with Judy Jewell. He has also written for Frommer's, Lonely Planet, and Mobil Guides; written and edited for the 1,000 Places to See Before You Die series; edited books for National Geographic; and provided content for websites including GORP.com and Expedia.com. In his day job, Bill writes high-tech marketing materials.
Bill makes his home in Portland, Oregon.
Judy Jewell was recently told that one of the benefits of a liberal arts education is being able to talk one's way into any job, no matter how unlikely, and once there, figure out how to do it. This rang true to her, and she admits that that's how she started her travel writing career, writing the first edition of Moon Montana with Bill McRae. After wrapping up the ninth edition, she realized that even though she'd largely figured out the job, she still felt a burst of energy whenever she passed the "Milepost 0 - No Services" sign on her I-90 route into Montana.
Travel writing is one leg of Judy's three-legged stool of self-employment. She also works as a scientific and technical editor and a yoga teacher.
Judy lives in Portland, Oregon.
