Manuel and Benny met at the age of six and were raised in Miami, AZ, a small mining town, approximately 75 miles east of Phoenix. With the fall of the copper prices, they lived through their town as it struggled to support itself. Their adventures start at the early age seven and continue through adulthood. Running and climbing the surrounding hills and going into places they shouldn't make for an intriguing story. Both authors grew up and become educators in Arizona and are still great friends today.