J. Abram Barneck

Credentials

– Bachelor of Arts in English with an emphasis in Create Writing.
– 3 years with Leading Edge Magazine
– Author of multiple blogs since 2009.
– LTUE Presentations
– Various Author Panels
– President of Utah Fantasy Authors
– Master of Computer Science

About me

I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on June 27, 1977. I spent the first part of my life living outside a small Utah town called Roosevelt. As a child, I spent the summers in the cottonwood trees lining the creek that ran through our twenty-seven acres. I had a vast imagination, and I spoke my mind.

I grew up in the sticks, but also with a computer. So I became a gamer/computer geek and yet at the same time, I liked outdoors, horses, shooting .22 rifles, and just being a country boy. Growing up, many friends had thick rural accents. I may have avoided a strong colloquial accent because of how many books I read.

I finished the Lord of the Rings at the end of fifth grade, and I don’t think I have been the same since.

I attended Union High School, where I played two years of basketball, four years of football (we won the State Championship my Junior year), and four years of track & field, where I ran the 110 M Hurdles, the 100 M, the 200 M, the 4×100 M. I was the 110 M hurdles region champion and the track & field MVP.

I started my first book when I was a junior and didn’t finish it until I was 18. I finished it shortly before my 19th birthday. It is yet to be published because, well, the writing was abysmal. Hey, I was only a teenager.

I graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in English, an emphasis in Science Fiction and Fantasy/Creative Writing, and a Spanish Minor. At BYU, I joined Leading Edge, the Sci-fi/Fantasy magazine, where I became Assistant Fiction Director despite working full-time and attending school. My poem, The Sentinel, was published in Issue 48 under the pseudonym Abram Jacobs.

I fell in love with Michelle and married her on August 17, 2004. We have three sons and a daughter, Aiden, Lincoln, Jaxon, and Lily, all of whom are a joy to us.

I like to read fantasy stories to my boys before bed. I’ve been telling them Dragon Stories for years (I started my Dragon Stories before Aiden was born, telling them to my niece, Ellie), and they thoroughly love them.

I always had three career dreams: to become 1) an Author, 2) a Software Developer, and 3) a Football Coach. I am currently a Principal Software Engineer and Lead. I have published multiple novels. I’ve coached my boys in football and hope to coach my youngest still. In short, I am living my dreams.