Local Forest Service Employee Turns Childhood Project into Debut Novel, Spur Award Finalist

SANDIA PARK, N.M. — For 29-year-old Canyon Young, a career with the U.S. Forest Service perfectly suits a man named after the rugged outdoors. But it is his lifelong affinity for the American West that recently propelled him from a self-published debut author to a finalist for a prestigious literary prize.

Young’s debut novel, “Eyes on the Horizon,” was recently named a category finalist for a Spur Award by the Western Writers of America. The recognition came as a shock to the East Mountains native, who submitted the historical fiction novel primarily to appease his parents.

“I didn’t think that judges in a literary award of that stature in America would really take seriously a self-published Amazon book by some guy in his 20s in New Mexico,” Young said. “I was very caught off guard and shocked.”

Dusting Off a Teenage Dream

The seeds for “Eyes on the Horizon” were planted long before Young was navigating New Mexico’s forests professionally. Growing up homeschooled in rural New Mexico, he spent his childhood watching classic John Wayne and Clint Eastwood films with his father and grandfather.

His passion for writing was first recognized by his teachers at San Antonito Elementary in Sandia Park, who encouraged him to write extracurricular short stories. By the time he was 13, Young had drafted two-thirds of a Western novel. Life, high school, and college eventually took precedence, and the manuscript sat untouched on a flash drive in his parents’ closet for over a decade.

When life settled down a few years ago, Young retrieved the drive.

“What you thought was good writing when you were 14 or 15 … it was lacking a bit,” Young noted. “I had to restructure quite a bit, but the general idea was still there.”

Working on the manuscript intermittently between full-time shifts as Wilderness and Trails Program Manager for the Sandia Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest., he completed the restructuring and published the book last summer.

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About “Eyes on the Horizon”

Set in the New Mexico Territory between the 1860s and 1880s, the novel follows a fictional protagonist named Jacob.

• The Plot: Jacob is a carefree man in his early 20s whose simple life is upended when uncomfortable family secrets are unearthed.
• The Conflict: Forced onto a journey across the territory, he uncovers a government conspiracy orchestrated by the Santa Fe Ring that led to his mother’s death when he was a child.
• The Themes: The story explores deep character development, endurance, and the harsh, transformative realities of the frontier.

Grounded in Real History

Young credits his geographical accuracy to a lifetime spent exploring New Mexico and the influence of iconic mid-century authors like Gary Paulsen, Jim Kjelgaard, and especially Louis L’Amour.

“If you read [L’Amour’s] books, you’ll notice that he’s very specific about geographical details,” Young said. “The scenes in my book, the places are all real places … there’s a lot of rich descriptions in my book because they’re places that I have been, and I know that I’ve actually seen them with my eyes.”

From driving past the sites of the Lincoln County War to standing where Billy the Kid broke out of jail, Young allowed his physical environment and deep passion for his home state to shape his fictional world.

Looking to the Future

With the unexpected validation of a Spur Award finalist nod, Young is now exploring marketing strategies to expand his book’s reach. He is also brainstorming his next move in the literary world.

While he admits the hardest part of writing is pushing through creative blocks to maintain momentum, his advice to young, aspiring writers is straightforward: “Just do it.”

“Let your experiences and your unique background inform your creativity,” Young advised. “If you are passionate about something, you are just by nature going to become better at it.”

As for Jacob’s story, readers may not have seen the last of him. Young is currently mulling over ideas for a sequel set in a later era of American history, proving that his eyes remain fixed firmly on the horizon.

Young is the son of East Mountain area residents Patti and Jeff Young.