Tom Poehlmann graduated from Indiana University with a master's degree in broadcasting, and worked at a public TV station in Southern Illinois for a while. He then did volunteer work with deaf people in San Diego for two years, before winding up at California State University, where he managed campus media production. He spent the next 30 years raising a family, especially a handicapped son who died just short of his nineteenth birthday. Three years ago he cashed in his retirement to buy a house (maybe not the best decision), spent a year teaching software an an Apple store, and then went to Utah to provide health care for his ailing in-laws. During this time he turned to writing in earnest, and Hollywood Nights is his first production.