WL Cox, born in 1947 in Middletown, Ohio. I was the 2nd of six children, and we all helped farm near Germantown, Ohio, for the first 18 years of my life. During my senior year in High School, I tried out for the senior class play, and to my surprise, I was given one of the leading roles. I remember that tryout night, my mother was late picking me up from school. She told me that our tobacco barn had burned down, and we had lost all our farming equipment, including all three farm tractors, and 13 acres of tobacco that was hanging in the barn. Tobacco was our big money crop at that time in our lives. My father was sharecropping, and while the barn was on fire and the fire department was there, our neighbor drove into town and bought the farm for pennies on the dollar from the old man who owned it. They came to the farm and informed my father that they now own it and that we need to leave. We remained on the farm for a few more months and sold our livestock. I hated seeing the 27 milk cows go away. I had milked them for over 5 years and knew I would miss them. I knew all their strange quirks and hoped the new owner wouldn’t mistreat them. I raised rabbits for fun. I turned my rabbits loose to forage in the fields. They made nests under the one large tool shed. I felt sad about leaving them, but I had no choice.
Dad rented a farmhouse in Gratis, Ohio. We lived there for the next six months while Dad planned his move to Montana. I enrolled in Wright State University and couldn’t go with them. I stayed with my grandparents, who lived near Franklin, Ohio, while attending college. The army sent me a draft notice during the Vietnam War, so I joined the Air Force at Clinton County Air Force Base in Wilmington, Ohio. I spent six years repairing and replacing R3360 engines on the Douglas C-119 Flying Boxcars. I was part of a special team. We traveled the U.S. repairing and replacing engines. I enjoyed flying and staying in transit barracks at different Air Force Bases. They gave us 7 days to replace the engine. We worked nearly 20 hours a day to complete the job in 3 days. This gave us a few days off to rent a car, go into town, and often go to the beach when the base was near the ocean. I got an honorable discharge as SSgt. When my time was up, the commanding officer offered me a pay grade increase if I re-enlisted and attended jet engine school. I had other plans for my life, so I left the Air Force. I was stationed at Lockbourne Air Force Base at that time. It is now called Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, located near Columbus, Ohio.
After the service, I tried many different jobs. I worked as an ironworker, millwright, welder, carpenter, painter, and truck driver, and finally settled in retail sales. I worked in retail sales for over 40 years.
In 1976, I moved to Montana. Living in different areas of Montana, I finally settled in Helena, where I have lived for the past 50 years.
After leaving retail sales, I became bored and reentered the workforce at The Home Depot, where I worked in different departments. I achieved the platinum level in their Homer Awards program and received the platinum award and a wristwatch. I began writing the Storm Warrior and Hunt-U.S. Marshal series while working at The Home Depot and left The Home Depot to focus on my writing full-time. I have been a writer for the past 16 years. I published my first Storm Warrior book in 2010.
While writing the first Storm Warrior book, I liked the bounty hunter who was chasing Charles across the plains and was awakened in a dream to create a second series that I named Hunt-U.S. Marshal. I got up at 1:00 A.M., went to my desk, and wrote the name down so I wouldn’t forget it in the morning. A habit that I got into has cost me many hours of sleep over the past 16 years. Often, I have difficulty relating my sloppy notes when I sit at my desk the following morning.
Being an avid reader of western fiction for most of my life has shaped the western fiction writer that I am today. I hope that the readers of my books get as much enjoyment from reading them as I get from writing them.