Ralph W. Cotton was an American author working in the western genre. He was born March 16, 1945[1] near Caneyville, Kentucky. [2] He died on February 14, 2024, in New Albany, Indiana.
Cotton's debut novel, While Angels Dance: The Life and Times of Jeston Nash, was published on June 1, 1994, by St. Martin's Press.[3] He subsequently published over 80 novels,[4] including three under Ralph Compton's byline after Compton's death.[5]