Thomas R. Atkins

Thomas Atkins was born in Mobile, Alabama, and educated at Duke and the Yale School of Drama. He is the author of a suspense novel "The Blue Man," selected by writer John D. MacDonald as one of his favorite books of that year. He co-authored a bestselling nonfiction book, "The Fire Came By," which features an introduction by Isaac Asimov and has been translated into half a dozen languages. He lives with his wife Mary Ellen O'Brien in Florida. Their daughter Shawn was a Guggenheim Fellow in film, and their son Mark is a filmmaker who lives in Los Angeles.

Atkins can be seen in the movie, "Night Orchid," directed by Mark Atkins and featuring Mary Ellen O'Brien in a role for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Method Fest in Pasadena, California, in 2000. Mary Ellen is the author of a book "Film Acting: the Techniques and History of Acting for the Camera."

Atkins also wrote the narratives for two Emmy award-winning National Geographic Television Specials, "Hawaii: Strangers in Paradise" and "Great White Shark," narrated by David Attenborough and directed by his brother Paul Atkins who was a speaker at 2013 TEDxMaui event.