Born in the Middle west in 1938, I was raised in the army and went on to a career in forestry, working primarily in fire management. I've always been interested in history and after retiring in 1994, I became interested in genealogy. My family history books are an evolution of those interests and I've tried to portray this host of ancestors in the historical context in which they lived. Since then, I've moved on into biography and, most recently, mystery fiction.