Michael Z. Williamson  Michael Z. Williamson (born 1967) is an American military science fiction and military fiction author best known for his libertarian-themed "Freehold" series published by Baen Books. Between 2004 and 2016, Williamson published eight "Freehold" novels, exploring military and political themes as well as first contact with alien beings. This was followed by the "Forged in Blood" (2017) anthology which consists of 16 short stories taking place in the "Freehold" universe, five wholly or partly by Williamson and the rest by other authors, including Larry Correia, Tony Daniel and Tom Kratman. Work outside the "Freehold" universe includes "The Hero" (2004), written with John Ringo, and the time travel story "A Long Time Until Now" (2014). Short fiction by Williamson includes the story "Soft Casualty", an exploration of psychological warfare which won a readers' choice award organized by Baen Books. Williamson's "Wisdom From My Internet", a collection of witticisms and political polemic from the Internet, was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Related Work in 2015. As of 2016, Williamson's books had sold half a million copies. Williamson was born in 1967 in Birkenhead, England. His family moved to Canada, then to Newark, Ohio, where he graduated from Newark High School in 1985. After high school, he joined the military and served in a support role in the Air Force for 5 years, then in the Air and Army National Guard, for a total of 22 years. Williamson's military career included service with the US Air Force in deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Williamson has three children and is married. Williamson's first book, "Freehold", was released in January 2004 and made #3 on the April 2004 "Locus" Bestsellers list for science-fiction and fantasy paperbacks. "Freehold" tells the story of Kendra Pacelli, a young soldier who begins the book in the service of a world-dominant, authoritarian United Nations. Accused of a crime she did not commit, she flees Earth for the Freehold of Grainne where she struggles to adapt to the climate and culture of an ultra-libertarian planet. She eventually joins the Freehold military and fights in a war against a UN invasion. Williamson has remarked that the main character is partially based on himself and his experience immigrating from the UK to Canada and the United States. Don D'Ammassa criticized "Freehold" as a political tract with an oversimplified and unrealistic view of humanity calling it a "very long but frankly not very entertaining diatribe".