Living in Western Pennsylvania all his life, J. T. Baroni has been an avid Whitetail hunter since he was old enough to tote a rifle, which is also about as long as he’s had a fondness for word games and literature. While hunting last year, the writer actually did stumble upon the pictured, weathered tombstone in the middle of the woods.
​​​​​​​          Waiting patiently for any deer to cross his path, he had plenty of time to think about that lone grave’s inhabitant and ponder her story, which he was then driven to write. Eerily enough, this is the premise of The Legend of Rachel Petersen, his first published novel, which he has revised.
          He calls Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a small town outside of Pittsburgh, his home.
​​​​​​​          JT, and his wife Becky, share their home with two retrievers - Piper, and Remmy.