He's the world's oldest teenager. Reading, writing and rock & roll make for an awesome life. The occasional beach doesn't hurt, either.

Bill grew up in West Tennessee, riding his bike on narrow rural roads lined with wild blackberry bushes, in the days before urban sprawl. He spent those long rides dreaming of new worlds of adventure. Childhood for him was one interesting activity after another, from front yard football to naval miniatures, but from the very beginning reading was the central pillar of his life.

Any and all military history books fascinated him, beginning before age 8. By his teenage years he had discovered J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert E. Howard, Robert Heinlein and Fritz Leiber. Teachers ripped comic books out of his hands during Spanish and Accounting class. Oops! 

College found him searching for his favorite rock groups, smuggling beer into his dorm room and growing his hair long. He read a book a day back then, sometimes two, and always SFF. He even went to class sometimes. After college he turned to writing history and non-fiction and was published a number of times, including in World War Two magazine.