Austin Gary (born Gary Austin Heyde, March 7, 1947) is an American novelist and writer, best known as a songwriter for " The Car" by

Jeff Carson Jeffrey Lee Herndon (December 16, 1963 – March 26, 2022), known professionally as Jeff Carson, was an American country music artist. Originally a session musician in Branson, Missouri, and later a demo singer, he was signed to Curb Records in ...

(as Gary Heyde) and recordings by other

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

performers like

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

and John Berry, and as associate producer of albums by Carson, Berry and

Hank Williams Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of ...

's '' Hog Wild'' album.

Career

Novels and plays

Gary has published three

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

. His novel ''Miss Madeira'' and his unpublished novel ''Genius'' ("The Soul of Genius") have both been adapted into plays. His play ''Song of Myself'' is a two-man play based on

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

Songwriting

*"One Stone at a Time" –

*" The Car" –

*" Every Time My Heart Calls Your Name" – John Berry *"The Letter" – Ronna Reeves *"Dixie's Bar & Grill" – Brent Lamb *"A Love Like This" –

Cleve Francis Cleveland Francis (born April 22, 1945) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and cardiologist. Active since the late 1960s, Francis has recorded a total of nine albums, including three for Liberty Records. He has charted four times o ...

*"If Dreams Have Wings" – James T. Horn

Other ventures

Gary's Martin Luther King Jr.

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

''They Killed Martin: 3 Lives Forever Changed'' is available on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. He has appeared on Seattle Public radio station KUOW-FM with personal stories about

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' — a ...

and the

assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr., an African-American clergyman and civil rights leader, was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died at 7 ...

as well as The Best of Stories on Stage. Gary is also a high school teacher (in Haubstadt, Indiana; Franklin, Tennessee; Middle College, Tennessee; John Overton High School, and Big Picture, Washington), a

numerologist Numerology (also known as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, of the letters in ...

and a former advertising creative director, radio/television jingle composer, and newspaper

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

. He is a member of PEN Canada.

Personal life

Gary is the son of Geoffrey Austin (Dutch) and Helen (''née'' Heyser) Heyde, both deceased. In 1967, he married teacher and actress Glory (Kissel) Heyde. The marriage ended in 2002. He is the father of stage director

Rachel Rockwell Rachel Rockwell (born Natalie Rachel Heyde; July 14, 1969 – May 28, 2018) was an American theater director, choreographer and performer. Early life Rockwell was born Natalie Rachel Heyde in Columbia, Missouri, the daughter of songwriter/teache ...

, who died of

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

in 2018, and

Jeremy Spencer Jeremy Cedric Spencer (born 4 July 1948) is a British musician, best known for playing slide guitar and piano in the original line-up of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. A member since Fleetwood Mac's inception in July 1967, he remained with the ...

, former drummer for heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch. He attended the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

(Columbia); Lincoln University (Jefferson City) and is a graduate of the University of Evansville (Indiana), with a degree in Speech and Drama.

Bibliography

* ''Miss Madeira'' (2011) * ''The Queerling'' (2013) * ''A Delicate Dance'' (2015)

Accolades

* 2015: "Book of the Year" in

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

adult fiction by Foreword Reviews

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gary, Austin 1947 births Living people People from St. Joseph, Missouri University of Missouri alumni 21st-century American novelists American male novelists Songwriters from Missouri Jingle composers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Missouri