J Scott Payne

J. Scott Payne is a product of the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas. He began his career as a cub reporter at the Kansas City Star. But then came a sabbatical of sorts with the U.S. Army. He served as a counterintelligence investigator in Korea, Vietnam and, worst of all, Washington, D.C.

Upon returning to civilian life, he decided he'd had his fill of tropical weather. He therefore migrated to Michigan where he worked as a reporter and editor for a miscellany of publications. He and his wife, Jane, have retired to a West Michigan college town whence they keep in touch with three daughters, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren

Jane and Scott share their home with a short white dog and a long black cat who constantly fight or, perhaps, play -- it's difficult to say which.

Meanwhile, she tries to find time to paint while he wraps up his eighth novel, "To End All Wars." Having just turned 81, he believes he'll now retire for real.