John Steinbeck Salinas, Monterey and parts of the San Joaquin Valley were the setting for many of his stories. The area is now sometimes referred to as "Steinbeck Country". Most of his early work dealt with subjects familiar to him from his formative years. An exception was his first novel, "", which concerns the pirate Henry Morgan, whose adventures had captured Steinbeck's imagination as a child. In his subsequent novels, Steinbeck found a more authentic voice by drawing upon direct memories of his life in California. His childhood friend, Max Wagner, a brother of Jack Wagner and who later became a film
John J. Miller (author) a Fellow of the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) and is an authority on America's Negro Leagues Baseball of the 20th Century. John J. Miller (author) John Joseph Miller (a.k.a. J.J. Miller, John J. Miller, and John Jos Miller), born 1954 in New York state, is a science fiction author known for his work in the long-running (since 1987) "Wild Cards" shared universe series of original anthologies and novels, edited by George R. R. Martin. He has also published nine novels, and nearly 30 short stories and eight comic book scripts. He also wrote "GURPS Wild Cards", a supplement