You want basics? Born in Maine, live now in Maine, grew up here and there. Went to a great high school and a few meh colleges (or maybe they were just meh in comparison). Married in 1995, have three kids, plus various and sundry pets of one species or another. Not enough? Sorry; that's all there is here. Every author starts as a reader, and the same is true for me. Some of first 'real' books I remember are the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, the Hornblower books by C.S.Forester, and Lad by Albert Payson Terhune. The, ah, let's just say 'eclectic' nature of these first few began a trend that...