Joel R. Hall is a 7th generation Texan born on Easter Sunday of 1958 in Palestine, Texas. He spent the majority of his childhood living just outside of College Station, Texas, on a small "farm". When he wasn’t busy with school work, extracurricular activities and "farm chores", he spent a lot of time fishing, hiking, horseback riding, and developing his archery skills. After graduating from the local high school, A&M Consolidated, he went on to get his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the local university: Texas A&M. While attending A&M, he joined the Century Singers Choir where he met his future wife. Joel has worked at NASA JSC, for IBM, COMPAQ, GE, several investment banks, and several energy companies over his career. In addition to writing books, he currently writes software under contract and maintains the "Simply Put" blog (joelhall.wordpress.com). His primary goal in life is to pursue truth and to live as honestly and lovingly as possible.