About John Moot

John dabbled in fiction until he began writing in earnest after leaving his east coast law practice in 2017 and moving west to marry Lara Skidmore. She was soon stricken with cancer and died, but her undying love and inspiration drove him to write Virtue and dedicate it to her.

When not writing fiction, John is a volunteer with Oregon Legal Aid’s Domestic Violence Project. John also funded, in Lara’s memory, a new full-time attorney position with Legal Aid focusing exclusively on domestic violence cases.

John turned to the law in his 20s after holding several jobs that were neither remunerative nor memorable—the exception being John’s ignominious firing as manager of a cheese-selling kiosk for not meeting its sales quota, with the regional manager snarking, “Perhaps sales isn’t for you.”

So off he went to law school and, afterword, stumbled into energy law—a seemingly useful line of work given that everyone needs energy. He made partner at one of the world’s best firms and later became general counsel of the federal agency that regulates energy (FERC). He also became the most published author in his field.

John lives on Lake Oswego, Oregon, with his two dogs and is an avid golfer, snowboarder and basketball player. He has three wonderful children, Taylor, Ryan and Rebecca, and two wonderful stepchildren, Benjamin and Jacob.