Michael Carter was born in Eugene, Oregon, in 1940. His early years were spent in Oregon, California, and Utah. After graduating from Franklin High School in Los Angeles in 1958, he attended Pasadena City College for one year, where he was elected class president. In 1960, he joined the U.S. Army and was stationed at Ft. Bragg in NC, where he completed jump school and became a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne and was honorably discharged in 1963 as a squad leader (E-5). He then trained as a computer programmer and went to work for United Airlines in Denver, CO. Being a single parent and looking for answers, Carter sold everything, packed up the kids, bought a sailboat, and took a year off sailing in the Bahamas and Caribbean. Carter then settled in Pennekamp State Park, Florida. Later, he commuted to Miami to work on the reservation system at Eastern Airlines where he met his future wife. He also obtained his U.S. Coast Guard Captain’s License. After Eastern went out of business, Carter worked as a captain on a variety of boats, including tug and barges, a  research  vessel, a paddle wheeler, a ferry boat, an air boat, and evening cruise boats. Carter and his wife also delivered boats for people and businesses. Carter then wrote user manuals for the marine industry and received his Master’s in Technical Communication from the University of Central Florida. He later received his MBA in Management from Webber University in Florida. In the summer of 2002, Carter and his wife hiked approximately 750 miles of the Appalachian Trail. The Carter’s settled in Lake Wales, Florida, and from 2008-2012, he was elected city commissioner and then mayor. Carter taught English and Business Communications at Polk State  College for fourteen years. Carter lost his wife to ovarian cancer in 2021 and is currently retired and enjoys his time traveling, writing and helping other people.