Rudi Tautz was conceived in the Ukraine, born in Montenegro, raised until the age of 10 in Kunming, China and brought to the United States by an American couple in 1939. Sent to Montana with his step-mother and her infant daughter (due to fears of a possible German invasion of New York) he joined the Army at age 15 to escape a miserable life as a boy cowboy on a Montana ranch. Home schooled by his stepmother he was encouraged to explore knowledge wherever his interests led him. When asked how he found his material for his novels he said, "I've always found people interesting. I would walk up t...