Chap Reaver is best remembered for his 1990 young adult mystery, Mote, which won the Edgar Allan Poe Award. Reaver began a career in chiropractic medicine in Ohio in 1957, continuing his practice in Georgia after his family's move there in 1980. After his relocation Reaver also began dabbling in writing, penning Mote and contributing articles and short stories to periodicals. In addition, he found time to teach writing classes at Marietta Junior High School. In 1992, he saw publication of his young adult western A Little Bit Dead. He had completed a third novel, entitled Bill, before his death.

Reaver never planned to become a writer. He was perfectly contented with his private practice as a chiropractor and active family life. But then in 1980 he moved with his wife and two children to Marietta, Georgia, where they did not have many friends or relations. Reaver decided to use some of his...