Wallowa County is home to many diverse and talented writers including speculative fiction writer Joyce Reynolds-Ward.

Reynolds-Ward has recently released a new trilogy, “The Cost of Power: Return, Crucible and Redemption.” Set in fictional Thunder County, Oregon, a fugitive and psi-tech heir, Gabe, falls in love with rodeo queen, Ruby. Though the story takes place in 2030 — and in a different world — Wallowa County readers will likely recognize the setting as “home.”

A review by Paul Weimer of “The Skiffy and Fanti Show” notes: “There is a real grounding of the novel in the fictional Thunder County, Oregon, in the northeastern part of the state. There are enough clues and references to place where it should be (near the Wallowa mountains and Hell’s Canyon).”

Reynolds-Ward and her family first arrived in the Wallowa Valley in the early 1980s. For the past decade, they have been splitting their time between Portland and Wallowa County, but are currently living in Wallowa County full-time.

An avid horsewoman and outdoor enthusiast, Wallowa County provides a great place for Reynolds-Ward to enjoy many outdoor activities and to be inspired to write. While her writing genre is specific, she is also inspired by her personal reading which includes a variety of genres. She is drawn to science fantasy and neo-western. Much of her writing is also informed by her research of cutting-edge technologies such as mind control technology, precision agriculture and others.

Reynolds-Ward is a prolific writer. She believes that speculative fiction is evolving and that the Pacific Northwest has great potential for growing this genre, a genre that includes science fiction and fantasy, magical realism, cyberpunk and other subgenres.

“The Cost of Power” trilogy, her fifth published series, can be ordered locally at The Bookloft in Enterprise (www.bookloft.org).

Reynolds-Ward has also published a number of standalone books and has authored several short stories that have appeared in various publications, including “Children of a Different Sky” and “Tales from an Alien Campfire.” The complete listing of her books can be found at her website.

To learn more about this writer, visit www.joycereynoldsward.com.