[3] According to his personal website, Owl Goingback was given the surname Heidbrink at the age of ten, when he was adopted by his stepfather Carl M.
[4] According to the Daily Beast, the author legally changed his name to Owl Goingback in 2000 in Seminole County, Florida.
He dropped out of high school his senior year to join the United States Air Force and later attended Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University.
[5] As of March 2024, the author's website states that he is "mixed blood Native American heritage (Choctaw/Cherokee, not enrolled, and Caucasian)".
[3] After leaving the military, Goingback owned and managed a restaurant in Georgia called Jim's Place from 1981-1986, after which he devoted himself to writing full-time.