Raised in Texas, educated at Harvard, Bill Mares is a former journalist, state representative and high school teacher. He has authored or co-authored 20 books on subjects ranging from the U.S. Marines to desert travel, from war memorials to brewing beer, from beekeeping to Vermont humor. For pleasure and work, he has traveled to over 60 countries. From 2007 to 2018,  he  delivered over 200 commentaries for Vermont Public Radio. He has served  on the boards of VT Digger, the Vermont Beekeepers Association, the Fairbanks Museum, the Vermont Council of World Affairs, the Vermont Brewers Association and Food4Farmers. He lives in Burlington with his wife of 52 years, Chris Hadsel. They have two sons. His hobbies have been choral singing, fly-fishing, home-brewing, beekeeping and running marathons.

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"A photograph keeps a moment from running away," wrote Eudora Welty.  Bill Mares' writing life was similar. Through education, journalism, travel and teaching, he enjoyed a host of experiences that begged for documentation. In some ways, the books were the dues he paid for the joys of research. As the Tammany Hall politician George W. Plunkett wrote,  "I seen my opportunities, and I took 'em."