 Upon completing his Stegner Fellowship, McGuane and his first wife, Rebecca Portia Crockett (a direct descendant of Davy Crockett), began to divide their time between Livingston, Montana, and Key West, Florida.When the screen rights to "The Sporting Club" were purchased, he bought ranch property in Montana's Paradise Valley.His second novel, "The Bushwhacked Piano", appeared in 1971.