MICHAEL VAIN was born on April 2, 1963 in Baltimore, Maryland, to Judith and Charles Vain. His parents separated when he was three years old, and his mother soon found herself struggling to support her two children on her own. Facing lean economic times and an uncertain future for her children, she gave custody of he and his brother to her parents, Michael and Gladys Kradz. During his early years, Michael found both solace and enjoyment in drawing, painting, and other creative mediums.

When he was six, his grandparents relocated to an 18th century colonial home located in Elkridge, Maryland, where they would live until he was fifteen. His grandfather, a lieutenant in the police department and a pioneer in the field of criminalistics and forensics investigation, bought the delapidated brick structure with the goal of restoring it to its former glory. Michael and his brother helped to renovate the house in their spare time, which helped instill Michael with his grandfather's work ethic. His grandfather would often involve Michael in his work, taking him on nightly 'patrols' while off-duty, and later, having him prepare materials related to his work in criminalistics and stress-detection analysis. His grandfather's sense of justice and intent over the letter of the law became cemented in Michael's consiousness, and is the founding structure for his moral framework.

The move to Elkridge was a turning point for Michael in several ways. During this period, his grandfather earned a reputatation in the law enforcement community, and he and family were often the targets for the criminal element. Some went as far as offering bounties on his family, offering cash to anyone who could assassinate Lieutenant Kradz or a member of his family.

Shortly after moving into the house, Michael and his family discovered the structure fit the classic definition of a 'haunted house'. Family members and guests frequently experienced a number of unexplained and bizarre phenomena, which can only be described as paranormal in nature. Due to his grandfather's position in law enforcement, discussion of these events outside of the family was forbidden, for fear of damage to his grandfather's reputation and reliability as an expert legal witness. More information on these experiences can be found on the Strange Events page.

Growing up in such an environment had the effect of further isolating him from his peers, but provided a perfect atmosphere in which to explore the darker avenues of imagination, and would become a major influence not only in his writing and his art, but in his personal philosophy and beliefs.

Though he regularly achieved good grades, Michael continued to struggle socially at school, and was often the target of bullies throughout elementary and middle school. The desire to learn self-defense led to an intense interest in traditional martial arts, and after an initial exposure to Karate when he was eleven, Michael began to study esoteric weaponry, and after a period of self-training, began to study Shaolin Chin-Na, a Chinese grappling art, and then began training in traditional Okinawin arts, earning a Dan level in Kobayashi Shorin-Ryu, the oldest traditional form of Okinawin Karate, and Shorinkan Kobujitsu, the traditional Okinawin weaponry system. Michael continues to extend his martial training at every opportunity. More information on these styles can be found on the Martial Arts page.

Michael's grandfather later left the police department, and began working for Dektor Counterintelligence as a senior instructor and voice analyst, where he would later co-author the book Investigative Proof of the Reliability and Value of the Psychological Stress Evaluator in Science, Medicine, and Law. At age fifteen, the family moved to Millersville, Maryland, where Michael attended Old Mill Senior High School. He planned to attend Maryland Institute College of Art upon graduation, but this was not to be. His early marriage proved to be a difficult time, leaving him a single parent with two children, and rather than allow history to completely repeat itself, struggled to provide for them as best he could. Time and money limitations made further schooling a near-impossibility, so Michael took positions in any art-related jobs he could find, working his way to a position as Art Director for a display and exhibit company, while also working as a freelance artist. Michael found he would need to wear many hats as he continued to provide for his children, from working for a national circuit board company, to a major game manufacturer, and while he managed to earn income for his children, he found such jobs trying and creatively unfulfilling. He began writing to compensate for this, drawing upon his time in Elkridge as a frame of reference. This creative turn would eventually lead to the desire to become an author, a goal he continues to pursue with passion.

Today, Michael continues to create works of functional art in many mediums. In 1986, he formed an art company, Reincarnations, creating unique painted furniture and other artistic creations. He created the website for their work, Reincarnations.com, in 1997. After parting ways several years later, Michael is the author of the Reincarnations Website and blog, and continues to maintain the company website. His painted furniture has been shown in NICHE Award-winning galleries across the country, and his website continues to win awards and accolades. More information on his art can be found on the About the Art page.

Michael also creates illustrations for his novels and other works, combining his talent and love for painting and illustration with his writing. With his art director experience to guide him, he creates covers and interior artwork as companion pieces for his books. Although he is yet to be published, Michael continues to work diligently on his writing and artwork, with the hopes of bringing his unique voice to the world of suspense and horror fiction as one of the few authors to actually encounter the paranormal.

He currently resides with his lovely fiance Michelle, and maintains a studio in Virginia.