Robert James Connors was born in Chicago, Illinois, the eldest son of a CTA train motorman. He was raised in Florida and began work as a newspaper carrier at age eleven and joined his school newspaper in high school, where he displayed his passion for the written word. He was hired as a full-time news reporter before his graduation, only later enrolling in Barry University to study English. A former magazine managing editor and an award-winning writer, journalist, and author, he has more than 1,000 published human-interest stories, features, and commentaries. He is a contributor to publications covering topics ranging from environment to politics, classical music to history. Connors is an experienced public speaker, a former Florida county commissioner, and self-taught speaker of Italian. He has served as an invited guest speaker (in both English and Italian) at military commemorative events in Italy, recognizing the service of American and allied veterans of World War Two in the Liberation of Italy from the Nazi/Fascists. When not traveling, he resides with his wife, Susan, in Lake Wales, Florida. Follow Robert on Twitter: @R_James_Connors