Scott Oden

"Scott Oden was born in Columbus, Indiana, in 1967. The youngest of five, he was raised in rural North Alabama, near Huntsville, where he still resides. Scott's fascination with Egypt and the ancient world began in 1976, when his third-grade teacher showed the class slides from the traveling Tutankhamen exhibit. He studied history and English at Calhoun College and the University of Alabama before pursuing the usual variety of odd jobs--from delivering pizza to working in the bindery of a printing company to clerking at a video store. Men of Bronze is his first novel."

That's me in less than a hundred words. It's pretty concise, and it covers all the basics. But, it doesn't say anything, does it? Since you've been kind enough to visit my website, and hopefully to read one of my books, I feel I should tell you something more . . .

Did you know that, if you write a book set in the ancient world, people for whatever reason assume you're some kind of genius? The most common refrain I hear is this: "All that research! I don't know how you do it!" That skews the meaning of 'genius', if you ask me. An interest in Antiquity is no different from any other hobby or passion. The ability to breakdown and rebuild a carburetor appears as arcane to my eyes as a passion for recalling what happened in Egypt in 525 BCE might seem to others. We could argue which is the more useful skill . . .

I'm often asked why I write. The answer is simple, really. I write because I love to read. Nothing surpasses that feeling you get when you go into a bookstore and find that perfect piece of literature. Not technically perfect, mind you. But that one book that speaks to you, that tugs at your soul and draws you in with promises of warmth, love, adventure, whatever your heart's desire. Then, as you come to the end, you realize the author has kept those promises he made you. It's that connection I strive for in my own books.