About The Author

About the Author

Rich Nixon—no relation to the other guy (well, possibly, but none that I know of). I was born in 1943 in Bay City, Michigan, and after a detour through tool-and-die design, potato farming, and a stint in the U.S. Army, I finally sat down to write my first novel at the age of 80. Why? Because ankle surgery gave me three months with my feet up and nothing to do but think…and write.

While digging through family stories, I stumbled upon the name… “Fingerless Will Nixon.” There was no story to go with it—so I wrote one. Set in 16th-century Scotland, my book brings to life the rough, raw world of ordinary people—the common men and ignored women whom I suspect surely did live beside them, even though history often chose not to believe it.

These people lived in extraordinary times, in an extraordinary place, doing extraordinary things in a world almost completely historically overlooked by modern writings. I am hoping this story will help to rectify that, even if in the smallest of ways. I live with my wife of 49 years on the same farm my family bought when I was four. I hope you enjoy reading The Legend of Fingerless Will Nixon as much as I enjoyed bringing it to life—one stubborn word at a time.

Author’s Note

The author and his wife, Jean, at Hadrian’s Wall

I cannot take full credit for this book. My wife, my partner of 49 years, served as my editor—and did much of the heavy lifting. She kept my thoughts on track and even added some of the more poignant passages. I dare say I could not have written this without her. Indeed, many of the insights here come from the life we’ve shared, and it is she who inspired the character Mattie.