Robert Kirby was born into a military family. After completing high school he served a two-year mission in Uruguay for his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where he learned to speak Spanish. Upon his return he pursued a career in law enforcement. His first work as a policeman was with the Springville, Utah police department (1979). While taking night classes at nearby Brigham Young University Kirby began writing columns for the local newspapers, first the Springville Daily Herald, and later the Utah County Journal (writing under the pen name Officer "Blitz" Kreeg). In 1...