William Johnstone

William Wallace Johnstone (1938-2004) was a prolific American author known for his western, horror, and survivalist novels, writing nearly 200 books across genres including suspense, post-apocalyptic fiction, and men's adventure. Born in southern Missouri as the youngest of four children to a Methodist minister and a schoolteacher, he quit school at 15, worked in a carnival and as a deputy sheriff, served in the Army, and later spent 16 years in radio broadcasting before becoming a full-time writer. He also published two novels under the pseudonym William Mason and is noted for series like the post-holocaust Ashes sequence.