Full Name: Christopher Kevin Barrett
DOB: 12/04/1970
POB: Columbus, OH
Height: 6'2" Weight: 195 lbs.
Blood Type: O-
Favorite Musical Acts: Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Jethro Tull, Young Dubliners, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, AC/DC, Blondie, Cranberries
Education: BA, MA, PhD. (Anthropology)
I grew up in Worthington, OH a town just north of Columbus and graduated from Worthington High School in 1989. I attended The Ohio State University from 1990-1993 and graduated with a BA in Anthropology. I went on to attend Graduate School at both Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL and after a years absence, re-enrolled at OSU in 1996. I received an MA in Anthropology from Ohio State in 1998. I received my Doctorate from Ohio State in the Summer of 2005. Want to read my Dissertation? Click Here.
I've worked a lot of jobs - including Technical Support, IT Management, and automobile reposession. Since 1999 I have taught Anthropology at Columbus State, along with short term appointments at Ohio State and Wright State University. I specialize in dental analysis, including dental fluctuating symmetry. In addition to my work with teeth, I have done extensive research on health changes in populations from the Late Archaic and Prehistoric periods in the Ohio River Valley Area. My skills have been put to more practical application by Federal, State and Local law enforcement on a number of forensic cases. I organize a seminar at Columbus State Community College on Forensics entitled, "Making the Dead Speak" which is open to the general public and held every summer.
In 2003 I started submitting stories for publication. In May of 2003 I received an e-mail from Chris Cevasco at Paradox magazine informing me that he was buying one of my stories. Since then I have won the PARSEC/Confluence Writing Contest twice (2004 and 2005). In August 2006 my short story, "The Qualities of a Monarch" beat out 79 other entries to win the Paradox Magazine Alternate History Flash Fiction contest. I work on my fiction whenever I can. While I still write Science Fiction and Fantasy, I have begun to focus more and more attention on Historical Fiction and Alternate History. For the past six months I have been researching an Alternate History novel; I hope to have the novel completed by 2008.
In addition to writing, I enjoy reading all sorts of literature, science fiction/fantasy media, and college football. I like almost anything that has to do with history, the space program, or celtic culture. I also enjoy (and practice!) the martial arts, not only for the self-defense applications but also for the mental benefits. I have been doing Shaolin Tiger Kung-Fu and Shuai Ciao for four years now. I earned my Black Sash in Shaolin and a Green Belt in Shuai Ciao in 2006, and in 2007 I competed in the Great Lakes Shuai Ciao tournament. I also love motorcycles and put almost as many miles on my motorcycle each year as I do my car.
Favorite Quotes:
"The First Step Toward Immortality is First Living a Life Worth Remembering" -- Bruce Lee
"I want my family to love me and my friends to respect me. Everyone else can go to hell." -- John Wayne
