Craig Lancaster
Craig Lancaster is the author of nine novels (including the bestselling 600 Hours of Edward and his latest, And It Will Be a Beautiful Life) and a collection of short stories, The Art of Departure. His work has been honored by the Montana Book Awards, the High Plains Book Awards, the Utah Book Awards, the Independent Book Publisher Awards and others.
He lives in Billings, Montana, with his wife, novelist Elisa Lorello, a dog named Fretless and a cat named Spatz.
Works

And It Will Be a Beautiful Life
Max Wendt has a family . . . but it's sliding sideways, and he has been complicit in its faltering. His wife and his daughter have pulled away from him amid his frequent absences, leaving him to bridge the distance between what he remembers and the way things are now.
Max Wendt has a job . . . but it carries him away from home most of the time, and its dynamics are quickly changing. There's a surprising new hire on his pipeline crew, strife among coworkers, and a boss whose proclivities put everything in peril.
Max Wendt has a friend . . . but this odd man Max meets during his travels perplexes him, prods him, pushes him, and annoys him. He sees something in Max that Max can't see in himself, and he's holding tight to his own pain.
Max Wendt has a problem . . . More than one, in fact, and those problems are flying at him with increasing velocity. Can someone who has spent his life going with the flow arrest his own destructive inertia, rebuild his relationships, and find a better way?
Awards and Recognition
- 2009: Montana Honor Book (600 Hours of Edward); 2010: High Plains Book Award (600 Hours of Edward); 2012: Independent Publisher Book Awards gold medal (The Art of Departure); 2017: Best Book Awards winner (Edward Unspooled)