Thomas Reid's lifelong dream was to be a professional couch flopper, but those plans were dashed when his father announced that he was "no longer on the payroll" after he graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in swing-set construction (also known as a BA in History). Thomas was instead forced into a nomadic lifestyle, gathering berries and catching fish with his bare hands in such places as Indiana, Wisconsin, and Washington State. Today, Thomas pretends to be a freelance author and editor in the Texas Hill Country, living on a quarter-acre cat ranch along with his beautiful (and patient) wife Teresa and their three boys, Aidan, Galen, and Quinton. To his great delight, he has rediscovered the joys of the couch when he's supposed to be working.