Seattle resident J. David Herman is a first-time author and former newspaper sports writer. He traces his love for journalism and storytelling back to age 9, when he created his own “front pages” on binder paper to cover the top news stories of the day. Sports gripped Herman a couple of years later, when he latched onto his hometown Columbus (Ohio) Clippers as a first favorite team. His passions for sports and storytelling soon merged. He wasn’t much of an athlete himself and was never the first kid picked for anything, until one of his grade-school teachers divided his class in two for an essay-writing contest, and Herman was, for once, the first one of the board. It was one of several moments that pointed him toward a writing career. After graduating from Gonzaga University, he wrote for newspapers in Washington and Idaho before moving to the web with MSNBC.com, Olympics.com and MSN.com. He’s spent the past 17 years in various roles with Microsoft, including his current position as a managing editor for Microsoft News. He lives in Seattle’s Maple Leaf neighborhood with his wife, Karin, and their three children.