A Tennessee native, the author is now retired and lives in Hampton, Virginia. After spending more than a decade in the world of newspapers, including the earning of a BS degree in Journalism from UT-Knoxville, he swapped a typewriter for a calculator when he moved into the realm of naval shipbuilding for five years. His working days ended after serving a quarter century as an appointed public official in his adopted city of Hampton. He wrote local history articles and books as a sideline during his years as a public servant, turning to fiction after retirement.