Donovan Noel is a writer with roots in both Texas and France, where his love for Paris and its cemeteries often winds its way into his work. Before fiction, his life was defined by tennis: first as a ball boy at age seven, then as a player for Texas A&M, and later as a coach who founded the Texas Excellence Tennis Academy and guided players to collegiate and professional careers. He was nominated as a USPTR National Coach—before finally trading his racket for a keyboard.

 

A brief (and ill-fated) detour into poker proved far less rewarding; as Donovan likes to admit, losing doesn’t pay the bills.

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A lover of autumn, dogs, and the mythic figure of the jackal, Donovan blends personal heritage, history, and imagination into stories of identity, family, and resilience. He shares a rare INSP-A personality type with his literary hero, Victor Hugo, and—on a more eccentric note—claims lineage to both Lizzie Borden and Betsy Ross. Only occasionally does he feel the urge to channel either.