Mike Swope was born and raised in St. Joseph, MO. He earned his BA in English Literature from Missouri Western State College (now Missouri Western State University) and his MFA (Short Fiction) from Wichita State University. He lives in Mulvane, Kansas with his wife, Lynette, and their brood of children. His story "Timepieces" was published in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume VIII (1992). His stories "Dreams" and "Timber Wolf" were published in consecutive issues of The Triangle literary journal in 1990-1991 by Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society. "Dreams" received the Judson Q. Owen Award for Short Fiction for this publication, selected by the poet Naomi Shihab Nye.