Wisdom from my grandfather: "Take care of people when you can, and they'll take care of you when you can't." Wisdom from my father: "Live your life so that it doesn't matter what anyone says about you... even if they lie." I was born in Maryland, spent a few years in California, and finally settled down to grow up in rural North Carolina. Our family lived in a very small farming community in North Carolina where I graduated high school. I attended several colleges before finally arriving at Univ. of North Carolina at Wilmington in the BFA Creative Writing program. From there, I moved to Charlotte where I live now with my wife and family. I have a degree in Laser Optics and Photonics (basically an optical engineering degree that was light on the calculus and heavy on the lab time). I enjoy reading (and writing) about everything from Tolkien style high fantasy all the way to technical physics and deep science like Einstein's Relativity. When I read Treasure Island in the 3rd grade, I knew I wanted to be an author. I've spent basically the last few decades since then planning, striving, and working towards becoming one. I hope I've done it well.