JOHN R. ROSE (1939-2018) was born in the latter days of the dust bowl era in south central Kansas. His birthplace was probably thirty to fifty miles from birthplace of Dan Robbins, the protagonist of Alias the Kansas Kid and The Kansas Kid Rides Again. Otherwise, there is no connection between the author and the Kansas Kid.
The author had seven siblings and they all liked to read. Being raised on a sandhill farm, there was plenty of work and not much time for other activities. When the work was done, the primary activity was reading and listening to the radio adventure programs.
Rose attended college on basketball and track scholarships, earning a degree in education. He spent 37 years teaching and coaching in the Kansas public school systems.
At an early age, he became a collector of books, magazines and comics involving characters such as Tarzan, The Lone Ranger, Zorro, Flash Gordon, Red Ryder, and dozens of other characters.
The author married Meredith in 1964, and raised two children. Son, Michael, lives in Colorado and daughter, Anne Marie, lives in Arizona. Both are fans of their father’s writings. Since retirement, the author spent a great amount of time at the computer writing stories.