James Grady has led a bit of a charmed life, selling his first novel, Six Days of the Condor, when he was only twenty-three, and having that book made into a film, directed by Sidney Pollack and starring Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway. One of the things that is most appealing about Mr. Grady is that, fifty years later, he is still amazed at how a kid from a small town in Montana found himself in that situation. And it has led to a remarkable career. But five years ago, on a trip to his home town of Shelby, Grady had something of a spiritual experience that led to a strong inspiration to write about his childhood in Montana, and the result of that is a trilogy of novels, The Smoke in Our Eyes, Something’s Happening Here, and Tramps Like Us, the last two of which will be released in one volume called American Sky in July of 2025.