D.M. Shepherd grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina, the same rugged country that inspired All They'd Ever Known. He works as a project manager for a federal government organization and serves part-time as a Chief Warrant Officer and Special Agent with Army Criminal Investigation Division in the Army Reserve. He holds a master's degree from East Carolina University and lives in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife, three children, and a blue heeler who has opinions about all of it.