I was born and raised in Maryland, USA. It's my mother's theory that I get my love of horror and fantasy from being born just a couple of blocks from the gravesite of Edgar Allen Poe in Baltimore!

I'm a very happy family man. My family consists of a beautiful wife (Dawn), a creative teenage daughter (Ellie), sister-in-law (Chris) (live-in), Seeing Eye dog and daughter's rabbit.

For some years now, I have been losing my eyesight to RP (retinitis pigmentosa). If you need someone to talk to about coping with vision loss or Seeing Eye dogs, feel free to contact me on Facebook.

I have been a huge fan of the horror and fantasy genre, especially the older material, since my pre-teen years. I was introduced to the genre by the family sitter. Sue and I had an agreement; if I didn't beat up on my sister, I could watch Creature Feature with her, which was past my bedtime and after my sister went to bed. I will never forget Sue Greenspan's words of wisdom, "Remember, what you see in the movies is only make believe and can't hurt you." Years later, when my buddies and I would go see Hammer Horror movies at the local theatre, I would sit in my seat laughing at my friends as they tried to take cover from the horror on the screen! Sue Greenspan, if you are reading this, thank you for many fun-filled hours with my monsters!

I wrote a thesis on Dracula in college that was picked as the year's best work. I was given the honor of reading the thesis to the class, and by sundown, the paper was both famous and infamous around campus! As a result, on campus, instead of "Tex," (because of my flare for western hats) I became "The Vampire."

I have been a bookworm from my early years. I still consume books like food, but since I am blind, most of my books are provided by The Congressional Talking Book program. They provide books on special cassettes or the (newer) digital books for the visually handicapped.