Gary R. Gowers was born on Grand Avenue in St. Louis, MO in 1970. He attended Cleveland Jr Naval ROTC High School for two years, where he learned he never wanted to join the military. He spent another two years at Owensville High School, where he learned it was easy to complete homework on a rural school bus route. He started college at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, MO on a whim; where he learned college is no fun unless your parents pay for it. He did graduate with a BA in History and this led him to leave for South Korea in 1997 for a one-year ESL teaching contract. One year turned into more than 15 years, during which time he taught ESL to thousands of students, wrote 18 textbooks, appeared on several South Korean television programs, and offered up his baritone vocals doing voice-over work. During this time he also traveled around the world seeing the sights and meeting interesting people in Europe, Asia, North America, and Oceania. Most importantly, he met and married the love of his life, Cho Kyung-sook. 5th Floor Francis is Gary's first published work of fiction and draws heavily from his own personal battles with loss, loneliness, and depression. To read 5th Floor Francis is to see into the heart and mind of a self-proclaimed lovable loser who just happened to get lucky a few times.