In The Dread of Night (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781439222553)

I was born in Chicago, Illinois in the year 1928. As a child I grew up amidst the crime spree of Al Capone and bank robber John Dillinger. My home was a little over a mile from the Biograph Theater where John Dillinger was killed by the FBI. In 1945 I enlisted in the United States Navy, serving on board the USS San Francisco in the South Pacific during the last few months of World War II. I am a graduate of Florida Southern College where I majored in journalism and minored in English. I was a high school and college teacher for almost 30 years, teaching journalism, creative writing, English, and photography. Before entering college I worked, in Chicago, for a large department store in its automotive division. During that time I observed the regular schedule of the Brinks truck when it came for its weekly cash pick-up from the department store. The Brinks' guards would walk right past me, totally ignoring me, as they came out of the store. I realized how easy it would be for someone to rob the store and consequently, many years later, this novel began to form in my mind. My desire to write was inspired by reading a number of books written by talented authors who motivated me to write novels that would provide captivating entertainment.