"Tom grew up outside of St. Louis, MO surrounded by nature. His mother was a voracious reader of all science fiction and fantasy, and taught him the immense joy of reading. Although he is the youngest of four children, Tom spent most of his youth alone due to the large age difference between he and his siblings and the isolation of their home. This gave him lots of time to spend reading, making up games, and honing his imagination. He always loved writing and dreamt of one day being an author, but didn’t think he could make a career out of it. So instead, he went to college to become an engineer.
While in college at Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly UMR) studying to be a metallurgical engineer, Tom began writing his first book. Although he finished the novel after graduating, as with most first projects, nothing became of it and it currently collects dust in a three ring binder shoved in a box somewhere.
He took his first job after graduation at an iron foundry in northern Indiana. He once again found himself isolated and spent his time working on the second shift, learning to play guitar, dabbling in writing, and listening to almost nothing but Phish. It was during this time that he reconnected with one of his former college girlfriends, Rachel, and the two quickly fell in love. The couple spent the first nine months of their relationship hundreds of miles apart, but were able to write back and forth to each other using the newly created internet."