About Bill

I was determined to be a writer even before I realized it. Back when I was a kid in South Carolina, my friends and I would pretend to be superheroes or part of Gatchaman (although, we called it G-Force back then, and you get major geek points if you recognize either reference). When I think back to those days, it seems like I was usually the one figuring out what our characters’ adventure or mission would be. By the end of middle school, I wanted to write comic books, but in high school, I realized my real ambition was to write a novel.

I graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Broadcast Journalism in 1995. In the years after, I worked as a TV news producer, first in Columbus, Georgia, and then in Richmond, Virginia, which has become home for me.

In 2001, I quit TV news and became a dispatcher for Henrico County Police. I like to joke that I went from a job where I made a living off the misery and suffering of others and traded it in for another job that does the same thing, only now I actually do something to help them.

Richmond is home to a strong writing community. Since moving here, my wife Sheri and I have both become heavily involved in James River Writers. I've spent many years as a board member, and both Sheri and I have served as past chairs for the organization's annual writers conference. In 2013, I was also honored to be named chair for the board of directors. Although I’m no longer on the board, I’m still involved in the organization, mostly as a moderator for many of their panel discussions. Some of the writers here in Richmond have become my best friends, and through JRW, Sheri and I have met other writers and people within the publishing industry from across the US and beyond.

For those of you who’ve randomly landed on my website looking for the actor Bill Blume from the short film “Possibly in Michigan,” I was about ten years old when that came out, so no, I’m not that guy.