"A fossil is any evidence of past life."

Here in Grayson County while Moody was growing up, he took an interest in collecting fossils. He has also been a lifelong geologist and paleontologist, and later, with his occupation in Venezuela, he discovered many important fossils.

Moody found and identified the first fossils discovered in Venezuela from a tar pit. Over 150 species of animals have now been recognized in just 2 cubic meters of tar at one locality. The entire tar pit is about 1 kilometer long and ½ a kilometer wide and contains millions of fossils still to be discovered.

Moody worked as the Curator of the Paleontology Section of the Biology Museum at the University of Zulia in Maracaibo, Venezuela (MBLUZ). He says he does not have a postgraduate degree, but his unique training and experience set allowed him to work at the university for 10 years until he eventually relocated to Texas. During John Moody's time in Venezuela, he taught a paleontology course and discovered new species of fossils, both vertebrate and invertebrate, in Western Venezuela.

He has published 19 fictional novels along with a non-fiction memoir about some of his experiences.

In addition to his work on novels, Moody has authored over 50 scientific and education papers, mainly on paleontology, including newsletter contributions on Venezuelan research and fossil localities. Over the past 17 years and at his current job in the Writing Center at Grayson College, Moody has incorporated his diverse interests into his teaching, inspiring his students to be life-long learners.

John Moody graduated from UT Arlington and is a member of the Authors Round Table Society, Dallas Paleontological Society, and Texoma Rockhounds.

Our meeting takes place the second Tuesday of the month, and we meet at Frontier Village in the Judge Vaughan Room located at Loy Lake, Hwy 75 south exit 61. The door is opened about 6:00, and the program starts at 6:30 p.m.