William Barton was born in Boston in 1950 and currently resides in Durham, North Carolina. For the first half of his adult life, Barton was an engineering technician specializing in military and industrial technology, before switching to information technology on the theory that it would be nice to work indoors, warm and dry in the winter, cool and dry in the summer. He was at one time employed by the Department of Defense and worked on the nation's nuclear submarine fleet. He is currently a freelance writer and software architect.