Hello. I am Hal Leonard. I am a father of one very active and amazing child. My wife Sarah and I find ourselves endlessly entertained with all the trouble he is so easily able to get into.

I am a software engineer. Because of my little one, I have been busy re-evaluating my priorities in life and how my work should fit into them. Until recently, I was working full time for a small company located over an hour from my house. This meant I was away from my home for over 10 hours a day, which made things a lot harder than they needed to be.

I enjoy the outdoors. I have been cycling for three years, now, and have done the Seattle to Portland (STP) twice (2008, 2009) and did half of it in 2010. I have ridden charity rides such as the Tour de Cure as well as the Tour de Lopez (three years running), an annual ride around Lopez Island in the San Juans. I am also working on increasing the amount of hiking that I do on a yearly basis. With the kid, I've been finding it easier to hike around than it is to bike around - I don't feel entirely safe riding with him on busy roads. The calm serenity of a mountain trail is much easier to do. In 2010, I realized a lifelong dream and was finally able to hike around the Incan city of Maccu Pichu. It was truly a phenomenal experience, and I am glad that I had the opportunity.

I am also an amateur novelist. When I was in high school, I wrote some stuff, but school and life swept writing away from me for a good ten years. I have recently gotten back on the writing wagon and am now over sixty thousand words in on a novel. It's both exciting to have come so far and daunting to know there is so much more to go. Be sure to look for my novel available in hardback Summer 2011 - hopefully.