West of January
Science fiction, Canadian fiction, Fiction, general
Dave Duncan
David John Duncan is an award-winning Scottish Canadian fantasy and science fiction author. He made his first sale (A Rose Red City) two years later in 1986 at the age of 53, just two weeks after his 31 year career as a geologist came to an end due to a slump in the oil business, at which point he switched to full-time writing. 
Source: wikipedia