A former columnist for the Arts and Leisure Section of the New York Times, Fred Rosen is a veteran true crime and history author of twenty-four published books. A native of Brooklyn, he became a writer at about 1 a.m. one night in 1977 at University of Southern California's film school. Earlier that morning, his editing professor, Ken Robinson, who later edited the film Purple Rain, challenged him. "You're supposed to be a writer," he said after sharply criticizing a script Rosen wrote for the class.