James McKimmey

Born in Holdrege, Nebraska, in 1923, James McKimmey grew up in Nebraska and began studying architecture before World War II changed his course. He served in the U.S. Army's 102nd Infantry Division, then continued his education after the war at several schools, including the University of San Francisco, where he graduated in 1950.

He turned seriously to fiction in the late 1940s and went on to publish a large body of short work along with numerous novels. His stories appeared in magazines such as Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Planet Stories, and he became known for writing both crime fiction and science fiction.

McKimmey's reputation today rests especially on his lean, fast-moving suspense novels from the 1950s and 1960s, as well as his versatility across genres. He died in Carson City, Nevada, on January 19, 2011.