My name is John Cave Osborne. I’m married to a charming and beautiful woman named Caroline. We live in our hometown of Knoxville, TN with our eight-year-old daughter Alli, and our two-year-old triplets—Sam, Jack, and Kirby. Oh, and Briggs. We live with Briggs, too. He’s our spasmodic chocolate Lab whom we love dearly despite the fact that his shenanigans are likely taking years off of our lives.
I co-own a granite countertop company called Stone Creek Surfaces with my sister-in-law. When I’m not at Stone Creek or hanging out with my family, I’m busy writing, but in a former life I toiled away in the financial services industry. After graduating from Vanderbilt University, I began working for a GE Capital company in Seattle, before moving on to a better position (and back to the Southeast) with a smaller firm called American Skandia. After my first full year at Skandia, I won the highest award the firm gives out for sales excellence, the Reach the Peak award.
Things were great until I realized one thing. I hated my job. So I did what anyone else would have done. I quit. Flabbergasted, my boss asked me what I planned to do next. I was embarrassed to hear the answer that came out of my mouth: attend Jazz Fest and run the San Diego Marathon. Beyond that, I hadn’t a clue. I just knew I needed a change.
Around that same time, I signed a children’s book deal with a Manhattan-based group called Kids Corral. For the next few months, I dedicated most of my time to the project, working with a brilliant editor as well as an incredible illustrator (who did the cover art for Tales from the Trips). For the first time ever, I wondered if I could actually turn a passionate hobby into a money-making career. But fourteen months later, Kids Corral went under a few weeks before my book was to go to press.
That noise you may have just heard? It was the sound of my dreams crashing to the ground. Despite the disappointment, I never stopped writing—nor did I ever stop wondering if I could make money by doing it. (Make me stop wondering…buy my book, damn it!) So once Caroline and I finally got over the shock that comes with suddenly learning you’re about to add three infants to the family roster, I knew what I had to do—write. After all, I had a story to tell. Two years later, here we are.
I consider myself a hard-working, Christian man who, aside from writing, loves hiking, camping, watching SEC football (go Vols!), making home movies, cooking perfect steaks on the Big Green Egg, hanging with my buddies, and going to the beach. But most of all, I love spending time with my lovely wife and our four incredible children. I thank God each and every day for the incredible blessing He has given me in them.