About the Author

My earliest memories are of my mother’s voice reading to me. Once I could read for myself, I devoured books like candy. My nanny Miss Stella used to plead with me to leave my book and my rocking chair and go outside to play with the other children. Nothing else stimulated my imagination like reading. Without television for the first ten years of my childhood, books were my only refuge and escape. Throughout my entire life, stories and characters have bubbled to the surface of my consciousness and then haven’t left me alone until they were committed to paper.

The foothills and mountains of the Sierra Nevada is where we raised our family skiing, hiking, fishing and kayaking for many memorable years and where I have practiced law. The stories in this series suggested themselves as I came to know this unique corner of northeast California near the Nevada border rooted in pioneer history and the Gold Rush. My favorite characters to create and write about are ones that are fundamentally flawed, struggling to face their challenges and nonetheless, somehow find a way to either redeem or remake themselves. The landscape and the feel of a place, no matter how unique, is only a stage backdrop unless a compelling and human story brings it to life. I hope to have done that with the Upcountry Mystery Series.