Austin began writing for real around the age of forty, a respite from working as an Information Engineer in the field of Computer Science, doing programming, an art, as it turned out. He calls himself a humanist, or a nontheist, when necessary, and is one who enjoys the liberal arts, but ever utilizes science, for it pervades every discipline. Austin is currently retired. He enjoys tennis, writing, fun, humor, thinking, sleeping, poetry, music, dining, romance, reading, swimming and life.