Michael E. Fox was raised in Crawfordsville, Indiana. During childhood, he had contacts with people who knew and remembered the great American author Lew Wallace. Lew Wallace wrote seven of his eight parts of Ben Hur in Crawfordsville, and Lew's study/museum is located there. Mr. Fox has been interested in 19th-century history and has read extensive books and articles concerning this period, notably Lew Wallace. In 1976, he graduated from Purdue University and was recruited to work at the R.R. Donnelley & Sons' Crawfordsville book printing plant. As a first-line supervisor and quality control expert, he would proofread, sometimes wholly read, and examine nearly every type of book printed. He also worked closely with quality experts from major domestic and international publishers.

In 1981 he went to work for the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York, before moving to high-tech equipment and software manufacturing. In 1991, he graduated from night Law School and became a licensed attorney. In 2005, he became President of Screen GP Americas, a manufacturer of high-speed, high-resolution ink-jet printing equipment. He sold the first machine in North and South America. Mr. Fox is considered a pioneer in modern-day printing and publishing technology. In 2012, he earned his Master of Law (LLM) with Honors. In 2020, Mr. Fox retired from Screen, moved to Southern California, and began pursuing his lifetime passion of publishing a book about 19th-century history and Lew Wallace.