The author was a public secondary and tertiary level educator for 38 years in the U.S., China, and South Korea until his recent retirement. He taught in the academic fields of applied linguistics, L1 English, EFL, world and American history, cross-cultural communication, creative writing, curriculum studies, and pedagogy. In addition, he was both a senior editor and principal writer for a major educational press in Beijing and the Ministry of Education and a volunteer with Project Hope, serving poor rural children in China. He holds a B.A. from The University of Wisconsin at Madison, a M.A. from The University of Texas at Austin, and a Ph.D from The University of Hawaii at Manoa. This is his first novel. He currently resides in his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin.