Mission to the West

Theodore V. Olsen was born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin on April 25, 1932. He graduated from Rhinelander High School in 1950 and received his B. S. from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point in 1955. He had planned on being a comic strip artist but eventually grew more interested in writing than in art. In 1955, after many rewrites, Olsen sold his first book, Valley of the Hunted to Ace Books. It was published in 1956 as Haven of the Hunted. Olsen has written other genres besides westerns, including adventure, gothic, romance and historical. He has written under various pen names as well, such as Cass Willoughby, Christopher Storm and Joshua Stark. Olsen's book The Stalking Moon was made into a movie in 1968 and his novel Arrow in the Sun became the movie Soldier Blue in 1970. In 1992 he won the Golden Spur Award for Golden Chance. Olsen died July 13, 1993 at his home in Wisconsin at the age of 61.