I was born in Dubuque, Iowa, on September 24, 1945. In 1967 I graduated from the University of Iowa with a BA in history and Latin, married my wife Jo (one son, Jonathan, born 1973; one grandson, Tristan, born 2003) and entered Duke Law School. I was drafted out of law school and served in the army 1969-71, spending most of 1970 as an interrogator with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, the Blackhorse, in Vietnam and Cambodia. I returned to finish law school in 1972.

I practiced law as Assistant Town Attorney for the Town of Chapel Hill, NC, for eight years, drove a city bus for one year; and since 1981 have been a full-time freelance writer.

While an undergraduate I sold my first story to August Derleth of Arkham House. Mr. Derleth bought three more stories from me, mailing the check for the last on July 3, 1971; he died the following morning.  I continued to sell stories in law school, the army, and while working as an attorney. In 1979 my first book, the military SF collection Hammer's Slammers, and my first novel, The Dragon Lord (a swords and sorcery piece) were published.

I was one of the three partners in Carcosa, a small-press publishing house, and was Assistant Editor of Whispers magazine from the second issue. I’ve sold over a hundred short stories and have written, co-written, or edited something in the order of 150 books.
   
I'm probably best known for my military SF, but that's never been more than about a quarter of my output. While all my work has been in the fantasy/SF genre, within these bounds I've written about everything except for romance--humor, thriller, epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, military SF, space opera, historical (both fantasy and SF).

For more about my interests and writing, see my web site at http://david-drake.com.  A complete list of my books and short stories are posted at http://david-drake.com/bibliography.html.