The name Samuel E. Turner, which Ive used for this book, belongsin realityto my maternal grandfather, but given the fact that he was laid to rest over fifty years ago, I doubt that hed much mind my borrowing it. After four previous books that were historical in nature, I decided that it was time to broaden my interests and have-a-go at fiction-writing (even though L.A. Cops is partially based on actual events and places in the Southwest). I am a product of the greater Los Angeles area, and prior to moving to northern California in the late 60s, I had worked in a bank in downtown L.A., spent several years as a cryptographer and historian (with the Air Force), graduated from a state university in the region, and was a secondary teacher in public schools in and around Los Angeles, then in Northern California for two more decades after relocating in the Sacramento area. Even though my wifeof 57 years--and I attended the same high school, we didnt meet until some years later. She and I are the parents of three great persons, and grandparents of four. Since retiring from the classroom in the early 90s, Ive spent time on the area waterways as a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, then when this became too strenuous, Ive devoted much of my free time to research and writinggenerally about Southern California and its residents.