Unlike many authors, Armen was not an early reader. He can honestly say that he didn’t voluntarily read a book until he finished The Hobbit in sixth grade. After that reading became a vice as he ravenously devoured science fiction and fantasy stories. Taking a more practical approach to college, he earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he was an Honorable-Mention All-American swimmer his senior year.
Commissioned as an officer in the USAF, he quickly found his way into systems development. After working on top secret ‘Area 51’ projects, where he never saw a single alien (dead or alive), he left the service and earned an MBA from the University of North Carolina. He spent a decade riding the internet wave and moving through five different states. After the wave crashed his environmental interest led him to join a second generation bio-fuels company – making fuel out of wood chips, corn cobs, and other agricultural waste. A highlight was presenting ideas to jumpstart the industry to United States House and Senate staffers.
Looking for something new, he and his wife opened a group of franchised hair salons. In addition to grounding them in one place, he finally found time to write those stories that had been bouncing around in his head since high school. His stories mix elements of science and history with a healthy dose of fantasy.
