Born in North Carolina, F. Edward Clay used to spend his summers working with his brothers and sisters on their tobacco and peanut farm. The ninth child in a family of eleven, he was forced to take on the responsibility of raising the younger children when his father died.

After high school the author joined the navy, serving for two years in the South Pacific during World War II. When the war was over and he was discharged, he began a career as an automobile dealer. Now, at 83 years old, he is a real estate agent in Key Largo, Florida. Mr. Clay has three children and six grandchildren.