Early Life
Tracy Hickman was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on November 26, 1955, where he grew up. He graduated from Provo High School in 1974, where his major interests were in drama, music, and Air Force JROTC. In 1975, Hickman began two years of service as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His initial posting was for six months in Hawaii before his visa was approved, and he moved on to Indonesia. There, he served as a missionary in Surabaya, Djakarta, and the mountain city of Bandung before leaving in 1977.
Hickman returned to marry his high school sweetheart, Laura Curtis, in 1977, within four months of his return to the United States. They are the parents of four children: Angel, Curtis, Tasha, and Jarod. Laura Hickman was the inspiration for Lauranlanthalasa (Laurana) Kanan.
He eventually attended Brigham Young University. Hickman has worked as a supermarket stockboy, a movie projectionist, a theater manager, a glass worker, a television assistant director, and a drill press operator in a genealogy center.
Tracy and Laura wrote the original versions of the modules Rahasia and Pharaoh together, and privately published them. In 1981, Tracy entered into a business arrangement to produce an arcade immersion game, but his associate left the Hickmans with $30,000 in bad checks to cover. Destitute, Tracy sent Rahasia and Pharaoh to TSR, “literally so that I could buy shoes for my children”. TSR wanted the modules, but hired Tracy as well: “They said it would be easier to publish my adventures if I was part of the company. So, we made the move from Utah to Wisconsin. It was a terrifying experience. We had no money. My parents begged us not to venture into such foreign territory to pursue such a bizarre career. My father wrote that there was a secure job as a fry cook in Flagstaff (where my parents were living), and he pleaded with me to come take it.”
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