William W. Johnstone

Infobox Writer
name = William Wallace Johnstone


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birthdate = birth date|1938|10|28
birthplace = Missouri, United States
deathdate = death date and age|2004|2|8|1938|10|28
deathplace = Shreveport, Louisiana, United States
occupation = Novelist
nationality = American
period =
genre = Western, Horror, SF, Military
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website = http://www.williamjohnstone.net/

William Wallace Johnstone (October 28,1938—February 8,2004) was a prolific American author, mostly of western and survivalist novels.

Biography

Born and raised in southern Missouri, Johnstone was the youngest of four children. His father was a minister and his mother a school teacher. He quit school when he was fifteen and worked in a carnival and as a deputy sheriff. He later served in the Army and, upon returning to civilian life, worked in radio broadcasting for 16 years.cite web | title=The William W Johnstone Website | publisher=The William W Johnstone Website | url=http://www.williamjohnstone.net/index.php | accessdate=August 1 | accessyear=2006]

Johnstone started his writing career in 1970, but did not have any works published until 1979 ("The Devil's Kiss") and became a full-time writer in 1980. He wrote close to two hundred books in numerous genres, including suspense and horror. His main publication series were "Mountain Man", "The First Mountain Man", "Ashes" and "Eagles" and his own personal favorite novel was "The Last of the Dog Team" (1980). He also authored two novels under the pseudonym William Mason.

Johnstone had lived for many years in Shreveport, Louisiana and died there at the age of 65. His death remained officially unconfirmed for nearly three years and was the subject of continuous debate in the forum on his web site. No statements were issued, however [cite web | title=Dead or Alive | publisher=William Johnstone's Website Forum | url=http://www.williamjohnstone.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=59 | accessdate=August 1 | accessyear=2006] [cite web | title=no answer on the forum | publisher=William Johnstone's Website Forum | url=http://www.williamjohnstone.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=60 | accessdate=August 1 | accessyear=2006] until the 2006 paperback release of "Last Gunfighter: Devil's Legion", which, on its copyright page has, indeed, confirmed that "William W. Johnstone passed away" and that a "carefully selected author" has been chosen to carry on his legacy. J. A. Johnstone is continuing William W. Johnstone's series.

Bibliography

See: List of works by William W. Johnstone

References

External links

* [http://www.williamjohnstone.net/ The William W. Johnstone Website]
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