Vernon Schmid is a native of the west. He has been a ranch hand, horse trainer, trail guide, wrangler, rough stock rodeo rider, disc jockey, radio and newspaper journalist. A prize...view moreVernon Schmid is a native of the west. He has been a ranch hand, horse trainer, trail guide, wrangler, rough stock rodeo rider, disc jockey, radio and newspaper journalist. A prize winning poet and syndicated columnist, he is a retired pastor whose published work includes the novels Showdown at Chalk Creek and Seven Days of the Dog and a dozen poetry collections including Kissing Moctezuma’s Serpent. His work has appeared in nearly a hundred periodicals. He and his wife, Susan, live in rural northeast Maryland where they spend time with their horses and he teaches at Cecil Community College.view less