John J. Thomas was born on January 10, 1966, in Hartford Connecticut to a native Georgian man of African descent and a French-Canadian mother. John grew up in Charter Oak, Stowe Village, and the Dutch Point Housing Projects until he was adopted by Thomas J. and Lizzie Thomas, both native Georgians. He thus began his life on Albany Avenue.

John excelled in the Hartford school system, winning many awards for academic excellence. He attended the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor and then Weaver High, in Hartford. After a tour in the Marines, John returned to Hartford where he chose to live in the Hells in which he had grown up. These writings document those times. Today, John is recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. He writes and takes care of his youngest of four children.

The home page displays a portion of a watercolor on kraft paper done by Jack Bolles' sister and in 1978 salvaged from the trash in Newington, Connecticut.