Douglas S. Malan

Douglas S. Malan grew up in a small southern Illinois community where coal mining, farming and teaching were popular careers and the St. Louis Cardinals were adored. There he slowly learned the benefits of being bored, which led to brainstorming entrepreneurial pursuits (selling mud pies), forming a neighborhood foamball league (with official rule book and a structure for levying fines), reading, playing sports, riding dirt bikes, writing stories about dirt bikes and many other activities natural for a boy living in a town of 3,300 people. Though he moved away for college and currently lives far from his hometown, he's still a meat-and-potatoes guy who respects his roots. Several of his teachers cultivated his love of learning and passion for writing, and his professional career began in 1997. He is interested in and has written about topics such as sports, law, music, history, food, and life.