John J. Osterhout was born in Ranger, Texas. He grew up in several towns in east and central Texas before escaping to college. John’s first book, The Schnoz of the Rings, is a ribald  retelling of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. When he is not trying to write, John slaves away at his day job as department chair and professor of chemistry at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas where he tries to trick freshman into learning chemistry. He lives in San Angelo, Texas with his wife, Kathryn.