William R. Stimson graduated with Honors in Botany from Duke University and went on to receive his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Columbia University. Deciding he wanted to be a writer, not a scientist, he took a teaching job in a small New Jersey college. About five years later, he left college teaching to wait on tables in an Italian restaurant so as to be able to devote himself more fully to his writing. Now he works evenings doing computer graphics for a consulting firm and spends his days writing, reading, meditating and practicing yoga, tai chi and kung fu. He lives in New York City.