David L. Parrott

David L. Parrott was born in Detroit, but as a boy he lived in Pittsburgh and Sweden. He spent his formative years in DuBois, Pennsylvania. He earned his Bachelor’s from Melodyland School of Theology in Anaheim, California, then moved to Boston where he studied church history and languages at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, with some coursework at Harvard Divinity School. While in Massachusetts, he earned a master’s in historical theology and worked restoring colonial homes. When he returned to Pennsylvania he ran a small construction business while writing fiction in his spare time. He and his wife, Leslie have two children, Travis and Lauren. Because his wife is of Japanese-American descent, he began researching the internment of the Japanese-Americans (including his wife’s entire extended family) during World War II. This research led to his first historical novel MURDER IN MANZANAR. His other published work is a humorous mystery, THE CURIOUS CASE OF PUNXSY PHIL based on the legend of the weather predicting groundhog. David’s interest in the Civil War grew from his work in church history as well as the connections between the oil region of Western Pennsylvania and the battlefields of the Civil War. His nephew owns a farm at Gettysburg and a number of the author’s friends are active Civil War re-enactors and historians. These connections helped him in his research while writing THE LAST BEST HOPE. It also helped to have a sister, Dr. Jayne Magee, who teaches writing at a community college in Ohio: she has helped improve the story with her insightful comments. He is currently working as a professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the Communications Media department and teaches courses on communications theory and scriptwriting. He is completing a doctorate in that field, with a research interest in foreign language acquisition in 3D virtual worlds using avatars, while continuing to write in his spare time. His interests include writing, history, restoration of antique British cars, and German toy trains.