-The author, Vic Lindblom, is a retired mechanical engineer, who designed vehicles in the fields of earthmoving, roadbuilding, commercial, and military equipment for large corporations. He writes with an understanding that technology, teamwork, and relationships among family and co-workers are critical to progress. The “Franchise” series of the “Ridgelands” saga incorporates these distinctive aspects into an adventure tale of emerging industry and political intrigue, set in a time before the advent of electricity.