Mike was born in England and spent all but the first year of his life in Central New York. After a four year stint in the Navy, he got his teaching degree in education at Oswego State College. He taught English at the Jordan-Elbridge School District for almost twenty-nine years and retired in 2002. Mike likes to spend his time with June, his wife of thirty years, and their three sons ranging in age from thirteen to twenty-six. He enjoys working in the woods, splitting firewood, making maple syrup, hunting, fishing, and writing books.