Pen Name:
None
Genre:
Biography, Memoir, Nonfiction stories of wilderness adventures
Website:
Social Media:
Facebook
Twitter/X: @WilliamMur21821
Bio
I was born on a ranch in California and grew up raising Black Angus cattle and Quarter horses. We grew thousands of bales of oat hay and rumor was that we made our own whiskey. Life on the ranch was wild and woolly; fists first and conversation second! My dad taught me to ride bucking horses and to start colts. He had four brothers and they taught me to enjoy a few things that I was too young for! My dad taught me to work hard from dawn to dark seven days a week. He also taught me how to play, and boy, did we raise some hell; too much to recount here. Our ranch parties were famous for all the wrong reasons. It was here on the ranch that I learned to hunt and fish. I soon discovered that I loved the high country and the wildlife that lives there. Along the way I raised and trained some wonderful bird and stock dogs. I’ve spent almost my entire life raising livestock in the high country where critters eat each other. In the late 90s I began to pack and guide people into the wilderness and discovered my real passion (people!). I’m long in the tooth now and am taking the time to write my first of several books about my life of adventure. My life’s journey has taught me to love people and all the wildlife that we live with.
I’ve learned that the journey is more important than the hunt.
Books
Title: Rode Hard & Never Put Up: An Untamed Life
Publisher: Casa Urraca Press (July 7, 2026)
Genre: Memoir
One untamed life, lived at full gallop. No one ever accused William (Will) Murray of hanging it up. From riding bulls to romancing, he’s worked hard for every success (and every failure)—and that’s exactly how he wants it. Rode Hard & Never Put Up recounts a life that reads like Western folklore, just as Murray lives it. We ride with him through the California rodeo circuit of the 1960s and beyond. He logs big timber in rugged country, farms fresh produce, builds ranches from dust, coaxes feisty horses into lifelong partners, and discovers love and friendship in the high desert of New Mexico. His wry storytelling keeps us listening to one adventure—and misadventure—after another. This book is for those who know the aches of hard work and hard luck, yet still give each day another go. For those who dream of open horizons. For those with grit. Murray writes with unvarnished honesty, fierce humor, and hard passion. In an untamed life, there is no other way.
Available for Sale:
Title: On the Scent: A Lifetime with Dogs in the Field (Dogs in Our World)
Publisher: McFarland Publishing (June 24, 2026)
Genre: Memoir
Spanning sixty-five years, this memoir recounts the profound bond between lifelong outdoorsman William Murray and a memorable cast of canine companions, from the protectors who offered solace during a difficult childhood to the spirited gun dogs who shared in wild adventures. Through heartwarming tales about English Setters, chasing birds, and a dog with a taste for black coffee, the author captures the distinct personalities of the likes of Grizzly, Jeb and others with vivid emotion.
Available for Sale:
Title: Worn Out Saddles and Boot Leather: Memoir of a Wilderness Guide
Publisher: McFarland Publishing (July 31, 2024)
Genre: Memoir
William (Will) Murray has put a lifetime of sometimes wild adventure into his books. Stories and chapters about people and horses in tough and often unrelenting situations. From high adventure to the lows of bad luck. Words that tell of the extraordinary courage that people sometimes find when the going gets tough and of those that couldn’t rise to the occasion. From high humor to sheer physical exhaustion, you’ll read about every trip and journey into the wilderness and back. How the journey becomes the hunt without which there can be no harvest. How about those horses? You’ll know them all by name long before you finish this book. True tall tales for the young and old.