Charles Randall Goolsby is a fourth-generation Texan. He graduated from Irving High School in 1971. He earned a bachelor of arts in political science from North Texas State University in 1975 and a master of creative writing degree from the University of Dallas in 1978, where he studied under novelist and critic Caroline Gordon. He is a professional writer and editor and a career federal employee.

Richard Lynn Range, a fourth-generation Texan, grew up in Irving, Texas, and graduated from West Texas State University in 1974 with a B.M.E. in Education. He taught at the junior high and high school levels before becoming a 31-year career fireman with the Mesquite Fire Department, also serving as Spanish translator for both the fire and police departments. He has been a longtime collector and shooter of black-powder small arms and has firsthand experience as a participant in many live-fire events utilizing muzzleloading artillery.
Richard Range previously served as a board member of the Alamo Society, an international association of Alamo authors, scholars, researchers, and dedicated enthusiasts. Over the years he has published numerous articles in the quarterly publication of the Alamo Society, The Alamo Journal, and has given several presentations on the fortification features and the artillery of the 1836 Alamo at the Society's annual Symposiums. He is also a member of the Alamo Battlefield Association, the San Jacinto Battleground Conservancy, and an associate member of the Alamo Defenders Descendants Association. Range has spent over twenty years in Alamo research in both English and Spanish.