Michael Robert Drane lives in the San Francisco Bay Area but was born and raised in Western Pennsylvania. He fell in love with history and storytelling at a young age.

Michael has a B.S.Ed. in History and a B.S. in Geography from Shippensburg University, as well as a Master's in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley. Michael’s writing blends his interests in these subjects to create narratives that examine how individual lives fit within their wider context. In particular, Michael loves reading and telling stories about the everyday people who helped make Western Pennsylvania what it is today. 

When he’s not writing or reading 130-year-old newspapers, Michael spends his time with his wife, three children, and two dogs.