I started writing stories as soon as I could hold a crayon and though I've matured in both style and content (I hope :-) ) I still love the simplicity of a good story. Life is complicated enough and there's nothing better than disappearing into different worlds and different lives and following along through their adventures. Although I studied and appreciate the classics (if you haven't read Jane Eyre or East of Eden you must add them to your reading list!) I'm still a sucker for a great mystery. I grew up reading Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and enjoyed the challenge of putting together clues they laid masterfully on each page in what was usually a futile attempt to identify the killer. They were studies of people and how they interacted with each other and their environment under harsh circumstances. Many failed miserably, as so often happens, while other rose to the occasion surprising everyone including themselves. I also loved historical romances and consumed them like Lay's potato chips. I could never read just one! A few years back I donated over a hundred mass market romance novels I finished, in many instances, in one sitting. What can I say, I'm a woman who loves the idealized story of getting swept off her feet by the strong and handsome man of her dreams who would kill or die just to have her. Real or not what woman doesn't like that?! Each of my books is an homage to character driven mysteries where people are tested through difficult circumstances focused on a single or multiple murders. I love to push the boundaries of friendship and family dynamics by always asking the question: what if? Add on a layer of romance and raunchy, on occasion, sexual encounters and I write what I ultimately want to read. The austerity of the desert landscape in Phoenix, Arizona is the perfect backdrop for each story as it can be as unforgiving and inspiring as the characters in my books. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them! Michiko Katsu