Robert F. Stump was an emergency medicine physician for decades prior to retirement in 2019. He earned a BA and an MS in chemistry, with specialization in physical and quantum chemistry, and a PhD in cell physiology and biophysics before attending medical school. He lives in El Paso, Texas, but frequently travels to the Philippines, where he is encouraged to write by his family's midnight-snack-loving Chihuahua mix, Maximus.