Gary Penley grew up in rural Colorado. Following his service in the military, he earned his B.S. and M.S. in geology from Weber State University and the University of Kansas, respectively. Penley worked as a petroleum geologist for more than thirty years, which included searching for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. He is a member of Toastmasters International and Pikes Peak Writers. He is the author of Pelican's Della Raye: A Girl Who Grew Up in Hell and Emerged Whole, Jubal, and Rivers of Wind: A Western Boyhood Remembered. Penley lives in Divide, Colorado.