The Realfanatic

Michael R. S. Ledingham was born on September 18, 1981 in Seattle, WA. Although a lifelong Seattleite, he spent most weekends of his childhood at the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie. This gave him a deep understanding and appreciation of trains, as well as the people who volunteer to preserve them. After graduating from Roosevelt High School in 2000, he studied Fine Art at North Seattle Community College. He also began taking guitar lessons around this time, and developed a new hobby of indulging himself in his love of folk music. However, his first love has always been historic trains, and to this day he has been volunteering his spare time (when he has some) at the Northwest Railway Museum. His volunteer activities have been all-encompassing, including train crew, track maintenance, and rolling stock restoration. He has also contributed articles to The Sounder, the museum's monthly newsletter, as well as text to the museum's official website. These experiences were part of what inspired him to write this, his first novel.