GARY ALAN RUSE

According to the bio on his website: "Born in Miami, Florida, the only child of Layton and Virginia Mae Ruse, Gary Alan Ruse has been a professional science fiction and mystery writer since 1972, and a professional illustrator and graphic artist since 1969.  Educated in the Miami area, Gary earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in the field of Commercial Art/Graphic Design at the University of Miami at Coral Gables, Florida in 1968, minoring in Mass Communications. He studied television production and scriptwriting as part of his minor.  While at the U. of M., Gary worked in student publications, doing writing, photography and artwork for the student magazine and newspaper, and served as Graphics Editor for the magazine during his senior year.  Gary also was employed in the graphics department of the U.M. television studio, producing materials used in televised classes.

Just before graduation from college, Gary was hired by Morrow Junior Books in New York to illustrate several of a series of children's educational books written by Dr. Herbert S. Zim and James R. Skelly, and had just completed the second book when he was called to military service.  Gary served in the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Republic of Vietnam 1969-1970, as a Public Information Specialist (reporter, photographer, and editor of the Group level newspaper, editing and polishing materials from the Battalion level offices).

Gary began writing fiction intensively after he returned home from Vietnam, and sold his first story to Analog Science Fiction Magazine in 1972."