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Raymond Almiran Montgomery a.k.a R. A. Montgomery, the author and publisher who founded "Choose Your Own Adventure" book series, died on Sunday, November 9 at his home in Warren, Vermont. He was 78. The sad news was announced on the "Choose Your Own Adventure" website.

Raymond, who was born in Connecticut in 1936, graduated from Williams College and attended graduate school at Yale University and New York University. He first started working in publishing in 1975, co-founding Vermont Crossroads Press with his first wife, Constance Cappel.

In 1977, an author named Ed Packard submitted his choose-your-own-adventure book for young readers titled "Sugarcane Island" to Raymond. The book was then published as the first in a series called "The Adventures of You". Raymond went on to write the follow-up of the book titled "Journey Under the Sea" and published it under the pen name Robert Mountain.

After getting divorced from Constance, Raymond sold his stake in Vermont Crossroads Press to her. He took his series to Bantam books, where it was renamed to "Choose Your Own Adventure" and became the fourth bestselling children's book series in the world.

Raymond continued to write "Choose Your Own Adventure" books for nearly 40 years. His latest book in the series "Gus vs. the Robot King" was released in September.

Raymond is survived by his wife Shannon, his son, his daughter-in-law, his two granddaughters and his sister. A private memorial for the author is planned for the spring.