Cal is an Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Auburn University. While The Black Angels is his first work of fiction, he has authored or edited 25 academic books. He grew up in New Jersey where he graduated from St. Bernard's School and went to college, a B.A. from Beloit, and graduate school, a PhD in Political Science from the University of Illinois. He then taught at New Mexico State University in the 1970s and the University of Wyoming in the 1980s before moving to Auburn in 1992. He served as President of the American Association for Chinese Studies (2002-2004) and won the Auburn Alumni Association's Award for Minority Advancement (2007), the College of Liberal Arts' Excellence in Advising Award (2004), and the Student Government Association's Outstanding Graduate Faculty Member Award (2012), as well as receiving a Pi Sigma Alpha Award for Teaching Excellence from the American Political Science Association (1998). He and Janet, his wife of 47 years who is also a retired Political Science Professor, reside in Auburn. They have three daughters, who are very excited about the publication of this novel, and enjoy reading, hiking, and going to the theatre.