R.J. Shaw was born in Monroe, Michigan, and raised in the Appalachian Mountains of East Tennessee. Growing up as the youngest of six children in a family of blue-collar farmers and factory workers, Shaw’s early life was spent raising cattle and hogs for meat and growing tobacco for income. After graduating college, Shaw joined the U.S. Army, where he earned a Master’s Degree and served for ten years. Following his military service, he embarked on a distinguished 30-year career as an FBI Special Agent, during which he investigated organized crime, kidnappings, serial killers, financial fraud, and violent drug gangs. Shaw’s exceptional investigative work earned him the Investigator of the Year Award from the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation twice.