Raimo Perttu

Raimo Perttu grew up on a farm in Finland. He met his American wife while he was studying in Finland, and he was in the navy. He moved to the United States with his wife in 1973 and has lived in Ohio for the past 47 years. He and his wife have two children and five grandchildren. Raimo, always a student of history and languages, received his undergraduate degree in German and his master's degree in Education Administration from Cleveland State University. Having recently retired from teaching German in the public school system, he decided to write about the canal culture, since he's always been intrigued with the Ohio and Erie canal and its history. His first book, Lock Forty, combines both history and the family drama of his fictional characters.