Archie Lynn Joscelyn was born on July 25^th, 1899 in Great Falls, Montana. He grew up on a cattle ranch, and used his background in the West to write popular historical Westerns. He was incredibly prolific, and also authored a number of detective and romance novels. His first book, The Golden Bowl, was published in 1931, and following this he published more than 200 novels under 12 pen name including:  A.A. Archer, Al Cody, Tex Holt, Jacqueline Kidd, Evelyn McKenna and Lynn Westland.

Joscelyn lived his entire life in Montana, and served a term as the president of the Montana Institute of the Arts. He died in Missoula on February 28^th, 1986.

His publishing career spanned 55 years, meaning he wrote and published more than 3 books a year for that entire span. There’s not much out there pertaining to the biography of Joscelyn, probably because he was busy writing, not chasing girls and drinking whiskey. 

Archie’s grandson, Alan, said his grandfather worked on a Sear portable typewriter, and, at night, sat with his eyes closed running through plot lines. 

Lesson from Archie Joscelyn:

Sit and write. When you need a rest, close your eyes and think of plot lines.