Christopher Scotton is an American author, known for his deeply moving and thought-provoking debut novel, The Secret Wisdom of the Earth. Born and raised in the suburbs of Washington D.C., Scotton spent his childhood exploring the cornfields and woodlands that surrounded his home. This early connection with nature would later become a source of inspiration for his writing.
As a teenager, Scotton experienced the loss of his childhood playground when developers bought up the land and transformed it into a construction site. This sense of loss and displacement had a profound impact on him and would become a central theme in his novel. Scotton's love for Appalachia, its music, and its people, led him to set his novel in this region, using it as a backdrop to explore the human condition.
Scotton's career has been varied and diverse, with stints as a carpenter, bouncer, kite flyer, amusement park ride operator, venture capitalist, and CEO of several technology companies. Despite his success in the technology industry, Scotton never lost sight of his dream of becoming a novelist. After moving to London and starting a family, he began writing in the early morning hours before work and in the evenings after his sons had gone to bed.
In 2001, Scotton returned to the United States and put his writing ambitions on hold to start a company in the search engine marketplace. However, he continued to write in his spare time, and in 2011, he finally completed his novel. Today, Scotton balances his work as a venture capitalist with his passion for writing, and he continues to be inspired by the beauty and complexity of the human experience.