Dylan Finlayson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. After a childhood spent in Honolulu, Hawaii; Louisville, Kentucky; and Denver, Colorado, he ended up back in Utah at age 7, where he has mostly remained.

Dylan's childhood was fairly typical. He was encouraged to participate in sports, and played baseball until he was 14, and football all the way through high school (though admittedly, not very well). He did well academically, and was one of 18 valedictorians from his graduating class (which he felt really cheapened the accomplishment). Though he did have a few friends, he always found it difficult to connect with other kids. Fortunately, his social skill eventually bloomed, and by the time he entered his first year of college, he had many close friends.

After high school, Dylan enrolled at Utah State University (which was actually closer to his house than his high school) as a physics major. Follow his freshman year, Dylan served a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Mozambique. While serving, Dylan began a correspondence Stan Checketts, former president of USU, who enjoyed the stories Dylan wrote in his letters home. Stan lauded Dylan's talent as a writer and encouraged him to "...keep his pen to paper," no matter what vocation he eventually pursued. Dylan now writes exclusively on a laptop, but likes to think he's honoring the sentiment.

After finishing his mission, Dylan returned to USU and graduated magna cum laude with degrees in Physics and Economics.  While there, he met his wife, Deborah, and married at the beginning of his final year. He did very little studying that year.

After graduating, Dylan took a job as a risk analyst at a commodities trading firm in Wichita, Kansas. Soon after arriving in Wichita, Deborah (correctly) informed him that they needed to move back to Utah, so Dylan applied and was accepted to the University of Utah to pursue a PhD in Finance.

At about this time, Deborah inexplicably became pregnant with their first son, who was born on Thanksgiving and "...really spoiled the holiday." Their second son was born in the summer of 2020, which was a lot more convenient, global pandemic notwithstanding. Dylan's family is undoubtedly the best thing about him, but having children is also a huge life change that sparked some severe mental health issues in Dylan.

Originally, Dylan was diagnosed with an adjustment disorder, i.e. it was believed he was doing a piss-poor job of adjusting to fatherhood and having real responsibility. When things didn't improve, it was upgraded to generalized anxiety disorder. This didn't quite feel right either, and eventually, at the age of 31, Dylan was diagnosed with ADHD. He was as shocked as you are, but the meds do seem to help. He wrote his novel, I See Dragons, as a way to process the strong emotions and experiences that accompanied his diagnosis.

Dylan successfully defended his dissertation in the spring of 2020, but what with Covid and the new baby, he didn't get around to filing the paperwork until 2023, when he finally received his PhD*. (At the time of this writing, he hasn't actually received it, yet, but all the University offices assure him that it is on its way.)

In the mean time, he took a job as a risk analyst at a renewable energy company, where he still works. He lives just north of Salt Lake City with his wife and their two sons (and soon, with his daughter, arriving June 2023). He enjoys smoking meat, weightlifting, and reading.