Russell Henry Greenan grew up in the Bronx, New York City. After attending Long Island University, he went to live in Boston, Massachusetts. He worked for several years as a traveling salesman selling industrial machine parts. His savings enabled him to travel to Nice, France, where he stayed for a year to write. He returned to Boston and married Flora Bratko. He maintained his career as an author by dividing his time between Europe and the U.S.A. He died in Providence, Rhode Island.