Thomas Whaley was born in 1972 and has lived on Long Island his entire life. He is an elementary school teacher and has always enjoyed writing as a pastime. Thomas currently lives in Shoreham, New York with his husband Carl, their two sons Andrew and Luke, and loyal dog Jake. LEAVING MONTANA is Thomas Whaley's first novel and also the WINNER of the 2015 ERIC HOFFER Small Press Award, the 2015 INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARD for Best New Literary Fiction, the 2015 INDEPENDENT AUTHOR NETWORK AWARD for Outstanding First Novel and THIRD PLACE in the 2015 IAN Book of the Year Award! Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Leaving-Montana... Thomas recently won the 2014 NYS 2nd Grade Teacher of the Year Award and was featured on NPR's 50 Great Teachers on All Things Considered! Check it out: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/0...