Author Biographies

Marty Jourard was born in Atlanta and grew up in Gainesville, Florida where he performed in various rock bands before moving to Los Angeles in 1976. He played keyboard and sax for The Motels from 1979 to 1986, which earned him two gold albums and two Top Ten singles ("Only the Lonely," "Suddenly Last Summer"). He lives in Seattle and is the author of three books: Start Your Own Band (Hyperion 1996), The Marty Method (2004) and Music Everywhere: The Rock and Roll Roots of a Southern Town (University Press of Florida 2016). Since 2011 he has rejoined the Motels and is currently recording and touring with the group.

Larry Baker’s wife would insist that the use of “career” in conjunction with his life is a bit misleading. Admitting that, however, Larry would still insist that he has done a few things in his life that might constitute real work. He is currently an adjunct instructor of American History at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. With a PhD in English, he began teaching composition and literature on the college level in 1988, but he soon discovered that he was an overly critical comp teacher and an overly opinionated lit teacher. Thus, he went back to graduate school and earned post-doctorate credit in history, being certified to teach basic American History courses at the community college level. He was very happy. He is known for entertaining and enlightening lectures, and he is an easy grader. Students love him. Most students do. At least, many. Prior to getting his PhD in 1986, Larry was, in no particular order in a list not meant to be comprehensive: a Pizza Hut manager, Pinkerton security guard, emcee at a strip club, ad salesman, sports reporter, and hotel desk clerk. Most importantly, he owned and operated movie theatres throughout Oklahoma and Texas for fifteen years. After moving to Iowa City in 1980 to finish his PhD, Larry was soon involved in local politics. He was elected twice (yes, people voted for him) to the City Council. From that experience came his second novel, ATHENS/AMERICA (2005), a book that managed to agitate the dots of many people in Iowa City. Shortly after ATHENS was published, Larry ran for another term on the Council. He came in fifth. Although he had been publishing short stories since he was a teenager, he was fifty before his first novel, THE FLAMINGO RISING (Knopf-1997), was published. FLAMINGO was one of three finalists for the Barnes and Noble “Great New Voices” award for 1997, a Los Angeles Times “Top 100” book for 1997, and chosen by the Iowa Center for the Book to represent Iowa at the 2010 National Book Festival in Washington. It was also adapted for a Hallmark tv movie in 2001. With those pro-family credentials established, FLAMINGO was also included on the American Library Association’s “Banned Books” list for 2011. His third novel, A GOOD MAN (2009), was nominated for “Book of the Year” by the Southeast Independent Booksellers Association in 2010. His fourth novel, LOVE AND OTHER DELUSIONS (2012), was a dramatic departure for Baker in style and theme. As he says, "This is definitely not Hallmark material." His fifth novel, THE EDUCATION OF NANCY ADAMS, was released in April of 2014. Early buzz about that book was enough to get Larry selected as the “Writer on Tour” by the Florida Literary Arts Council. He was hosted by a lot of Florida colleges in the Fall of 2014 and Spring of 2015. His latest novel, FROM A DISTANCE, will be released in September of 2017. Imagine a combination of THE LOVELY BONES and PRINCE OF TIDES. Larry was included on the Iowa Literary Walk of Fame in 2010; joining other writers such as John Irving, Marilynne Robinson, Kurt Vonnegut, and Flannery O’Connor, et al.

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy. When she's not writing fiction, she runs the popular writing site Fiction University, and has written eight books on writing, including her bestselling Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting It), Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, and the Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft series.

Dr. J. Michael Butler is Professor of History at Flagler College in St. Augustine, where he has taught since August 2008. He received both his Masters and Doctorate in History from the University of Mississippi, where he specialized in 20th century Southern history with an emphasis on the civil rights movement. Dr. Butler has over forty credited publications including his latest book, which is titled Beyond Integration: The Black Freedom Struggle in Escambia County, Florida, 1960-1980. Beyond Integration, which the University of North Carolina Press published last year, won the 2016 Florida Book Award Silver Medal in the General Non-Fiction category.

Andrew Frank is the Allen Morris Associate Professor of History at Florida State University. He is the author of Creeks and Southerners: Biculturalism on the Early American Frontier as well as numerous other books and articles on the history of Florida and the southeastern Indians. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida. His book, Before the Pioneers, is the first in a new series from the University Press of Florida called "Florida In Focus," which aims to make microhistory more widely available to the general public.

Bob H. Lee is a former lieutenant and thirty-year veteran of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). During his career, he caught hundreds of poachers in the act and through complex wildlife investigations. Prior to his retirement in 2007, he taught man-tracking classes through the FWC Law Enforcement Academy. He also writes freelance articles for law enforcement and outdoor magazines. He lives with his wife, Karen, on eighteen acres next to a secluded lake in south Putnam County. Bad Guys, Bullets, and Boat Chases ​(University Press of Florida) is his second book.