Tom Cotter had been involved in nearly every end of the automotive and racing industries before writing his first book. From working as a mechanic and auto salesman to heading the public relations department at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Cotter then formed his own racing and automotive PR agency, Cotter Group. The agency represented some of the largest clients in NASCAR, IndyCar/CART, drag racing, and road racing. He has written biographies of the legendary Holman-Moody race team, Tommy Ivo, and Dean Jeffries, but is best known for his series of barn find books, such as Cobra in the Barn, 50 Shades of Rust, and Barn Find Road Trip. Cotter appears in the Barn Find Hunter series on YouTube, which is distributed by Hagerty Insurance. He teaches public relations at Belmont Abbey College, sits on the advisory board of McPherson College's Auto Restoration program, and is a member of the Road Racing Driver's Club (RRDC). He is married to Pat, and has one son, Brian, and lives in Davidson, North Carolina. Tom Cotter (Davidson, NC) writes regularly for Road & Track and other magazines and has a deep-seated love for motorcycle and automotive rescue.

He has written four books on the lure of collector vehicle archaeology, the award-winning The Cobra in the Barn, The Hemi in the Barn, The Corvette in the Barn, and The Vincent in the Barn. Cotter most recently authored the biography of drag racing legend Tommy Ivo.