Chad Odom was born in June 1982 in St. Charles, Missouri. He spent much of his childhood building Legos and watching all things science-fiction. At the age of 8, he read The Hobbit for the first time and was hooked on both reading and epic fantasy. For two decades after, he read The Lord of the Rings at least once every year.
His love of reading branched off into Star Wars fan fiction as well as science-fiction from Orson Scott Card, Phillip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov, and others. Combined with Saturday morning cartoons, Chad developed a love for all things super hero, which spurred him onto his first experiences in character and world building.
Generally unpopular in school, he spent his time reading books, studying history and religion, and creating his own stories. He earned his Eagle Scout at fifteen, picked up wrestling while in high school, and went into the Army at seventeen.
From 2001-2003, Chad served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Las Vegas, Nevada. During that time, in a set of $.99 notebooks, he scratched notes, character names, and plot points for a fantasy story of his own. With accompanying sketches, this laid the foundation for what would become The Last Archide.
Chad began formally writing The Last Archide in 2006. The first book, Warlord of Navarus was published by Tate Publishing in 2010. By his own admission, it wasn’t a very strong start and failed to gain any traction amongst readers.
Chad reworked the entire series and completed it in 2015. Tate Publishing folded the following year before it could be released. He took to self-publishing in 2018.
When he’s not writing, Chad loves to watch and play sports. He enjoys board and card games. He’s still an avid reader and movie watcher. As an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, he volunteers his time in various activities in his local community.
In 2003, Chad met Kathrine Jones who he would marry in the same year. He adopted her daughter, Melissa in 2005, the same year that the twins Brandon and Lucas were born. The final addition to the family, Ethan, was born in 2006. The family currently lives outside St. Louis, Missouri.