William O. Steele was an American author. He was married to another author, Mary Quintard Govan

Mary Q. Steele

Mary Quintard Govan Steele was a noted American author and naturalist. She wrote over 20 books --- some adult-style, but mostly children's books. One of her books, Journey Outside, was a Newbery Honor Book. Steele sometimes wrote under the name Wilson Gage.Steele was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee...

.

Steele was born in Franklin

Franklin, Tennessee

Franklin is a city within and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 62,487 as of the 2010 census Franklin is located approximately south of downtown Nashville.-History:...

, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, the son of Core and Sue, and spent a large amount of his youth exploring the woods around his home. This led to an interest in the history of the area and of its pioneers.

Steele would eventually become an author of thirty-nine books. He wrote his historical adventure stories in his home on Signal Mountain, Tennessee

Signal Mountain, Tennessee

Signal Mountain is a town in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The town is a suburb of Chattanooga and is located on Walden Ridge, a land mass often mistakenly referred to as "Signal Mountain" itself...

 which was the location of many of his books. His book, The Perilous Road

The Perilous Road

The Perilous Road is a novel, published in 1958 by William O. Steele. The book is set in Eastern Tennessee during the time of the American Civil War. In 1959, The Perilous Road was awarded the Newbery Honor.- Plot summary:...

, which was published in 1958, won the Newbery Honor in 1959. Winter Danger earned the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award

Lewis Carroll Shelf Award

The Lewis Carroll Shelf Award was started in 1958 by Dr. David C. Davis with the assistance of Prof. Lola Pierstorff, Director Instructional Materials Center, Univ. of Wisconsin and Madeline Allen Davis, WHA Wisconsin Public Radio. Awards were presented annually at the Wisconsin Book Conference...

in 1962.

A few of his other books include:

• The Golden Root (1951)
• The Buffalo Knife (1952)
• Wilderness Journey (1953)
• Winter Danger (1954)
• Tomahawks and Trouble (1955)
• Flaming Arrows (1957)
• The Perilous Road (1958)
• The Spooky Thing (1960)
• The Man with the Silver Eyes (1976)
• The Silver Amulet (1979)