MARTIN WILLIAM SMITH

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Martin Smith was raised in that state and got his higher education at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a BA in Creative Writing in 1964. He got a job as a journalist which he continued for some time but in the early 70s, he began to write fiction, getting published in the Nick Carter series and creating his own action character, Francis Killy. When he decided to publish under his own name, he learned there were already several authors with that name and added the middle name Cruz from his grandmother's surname.