Thomas Bowie Slater is the son of the late Thomas J. and Thelma Bowie Slater and is a native of Magnolia, AR and is a proud Arkansan.  While he has lived in Dallas, TX, El Paso, TX, Little Rock, AR and Charlottesville, VA, his favorite places are Magnolia, St. Andrews, Scotland and London, England.  He loves London because each neighborhood is like a small town, but London has all the amenities of a major city.  He loves St. Andrews because it is a lovely little college town off the North Sea with a few nice golf courses and many nice engaging people.  He loves Magnolia simply because it is home.

He is also an avid golfer, having won three amateur tournaments.  His all-time favorite golfer is Se Ri Pak of South Korea.  He admires not only her skill but her coolness under fire.  He is also a fan of Michelle McGann (who like him is diabetic), Angela Stanford, John Daly (a fellow Arkansan), the Irishman Graeme McDowell (pronounced "McDole" in Ireland) and the Swede Henrik Stenson. 

He also loves the writings of Jane Austen, Agatha Christie and Ursula Leguin.  Austen is one the great romance novelists of all-time; Christie, murder mysteries.  Leguin is one of the world's leading science fiction writers.  She has won both the Hugo and Nebula awards multiple times, the most prestigious recognitions for science fiction.  He is also a Sherlock Holmes fan, especially the Granada series starring the late Jeremy Brett.

One interest that crosses the lines of academic and hobby is the role of religion in science fiction, especially "Star Wars," "Star Trek," "Babylon 5," and "Battlestar Galactica."